Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty

Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty (2016), a historical novel by Ramona Ausubel, centers on what happens when a wealthy family in New England runs out of money. The book received mixed reviews upon publication, and some reviewers criticized it for a lack of believability. However, it was nominated for the Kirkus Fiction Prize in 2016. Ausubel is a bestselling, award-winning author whose work has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Paris Review Daily, and The Best American Fantasy.

The book takes place in 1970s America and is mostly set in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The main characters are a married couple called Fern and Edgar Keating. When the novel opens, they’re holidaying in a beach house with their young children. They’re from “old” money, meaning it’s inherited. They often talk of protecting this money so that it lasts longer, but they can’t make it happen.

Part of the issue is that Edgar doesn’t have a regular job. He’s a writer who dreams of one day becoming a published author. His book is about a privileged boy who shuns his inheritance and doesn’t want any part of the family fortune. However, he’s been working on this book for more than ten years, and it’s still not finished. Unfortunately for the Keatings, their money soon runs out. They’ve been living off Fern’s inheritance from her deceased mother and father, and this money is all gone.



Fern and Edgar sit down to discuss what they’ll do before they tell the children anything. They don’t want to ruin the family holiday just yet. Fern tells Edgar he needs to speak to his parents. They are major players in the steel industry and have a large fortune. However, Edgar needs to take a job with his parents and repair his estranged relationship with them, first. This means leaving his novel-writing days behind, at least for a while. Edgar, however, has no intention of doing this. He says that it means going against everything he stands for and giving up on his dream.

Fern and Edgar reach an impasse and the holiday is ruined. They return home to Cambridge and each sets off on a solo adventure, leaving their children behind. While they’re away, they must figure out what they want from life and what it’ll take to get it.

The narrative jumps back and forth from the past to the present, showing how Edgar resents all the expectations his parents put upon him. His parents could only have one child, and they expected a lot from him because of it. They fought their way out of poverty to riches, and they’re disappointed Edgar doesn’t have the same ethic. Edgar resents how money rules their lives, but it takes him a while to understand that it quite clearly rules his, too.



To take his mind off things and get back at Fern, Edgar starts seeing a woman called Glory. She vacations at Martha’s Vineyard and she has always been attracted to him. Secretly, Edgar wants Fern to know about this affair, and he wants her to have one of her own so that he feels less guilty about what he’s doing. No one seems to consider what’s happening with the children and if they’re okay. Although the novel takes place over a seven-day period, this still makes us question what kind of parents Edgar and Fern are.

Meanwhile, we learn that the couple met during the “hippie movement,” but that they didn’t join it because they wanted money and comfortable trappings. They’ve always wondered what being free-spirited feels like, but they didn’t take the chance to find out.

Edgar sleeps with Glory and wants Fern to know. He arranges for he and Fern to “double-date” with Glory and her husband. The dinner goes well enough, but Fern soon discovers that Edgar wants her to sleep with Glory’s husband so that he’s not the only one who cheated. Fern tells Edgar she doesn’t want to see him again.



Back at the house, Fern watches the children play. She’s worried about the kind of life they’ll live now with less money, but she also questions if it’s healthy that money rules everything. She decides she’ll teach them how to be grateful and more appreciative of what they have. First, she needs time on her own, and she sets off again. She finds a man called Mac who wants a platonic relationship, and they travel south together.

However, it’s not long before Fern misses her family and realizes she’s made a mistake. She thinks she’s punished Edgar enough. She goes home and Edgar is there, without Glory who’s back with her own husband. They apologize to each other and decide to move closer to Edgar’s parents. He’ll accept his place as heir to their fortune for the sake of giving their children more financial security. They’re going to downsize and sell off property they don’t need. It’s not clear, though, if they will follow through on these new plans.