Gate of Angels

The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald, 167 pages

This short novel tells the story of Cambridge physics professor Fred Fairly, who unexpectedly wakes up in bed next to poor nursing student Daisy Saunders after a serendipitous bicycle accident knocks them both unconscious.  Fred's fellowship at the College of St Angelicus requires celibacy.  Daisy's past holds secrets that, in 1912, might make her unmarriageable.  As developments in atomic theory seem to suggest, however, there may be forces that are unobservable, which can overcome any resistance.

Fitzgerald moves the story along briskly, giving tastes of scholarly eccentricity, faculty politics, ghost stories, and mystery without letting them dominate the novel.  Some might find this endearing, others exasperating.  This is the kind of novel where the end comes suddenly, though it does not feel hurried.  Not a great book, but enjoyable enough.