# XIX explained — Cakes and Ale

> Chapter companion for Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham.

## What happens

Six months after the success of 'The Cup of Life', the narrator receives a telegram from Mrs. Barton Trafford urgently requesting his presence. At her flat, he learns from Allgood Newton that Rosie Driffield has run away with Lord George Kemp. The group, concerned for Edward Driffield's welfare, persuades the narrator to travel to Blackstable to gather information about the situation.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Reputation

The characters' concern for Edward Driffield's reputation and the careful management of the scandal reflects the social importance of appearances.

### Love and Sexuality

Rosie's elopement with Lord George Kemp highlights the complexities of love and infidelity.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Receives a telegram from Isabel Trafford and learns of Rosie's elopement; agrees to go to Blackstable to investigate.

### Mrs. Barton Trafford

Sends the telegram and orchestrates the narrator's mission to Blackstable.

### Allgood Newton

Relates the story of finding Edward Driffield agitated and learning of Rosie's departure.

### Edward Driffield

His wife has run away; he is distraught and has not been seen since.

### Rosie Driffield

Has run away with Lord George Kemp, leaving Edward.

### Lord George Kemp

Identified as the man Rosie has run away with; a Blackstable man.

## Key lines

> Please come and see me at five o’clock this afternoon without fail. Important. Isabel Trafford.

Isabel Trafford urgently requests the narrator's presence at her home that afternoon.

_The telegram sets the chapter's plot in motion._

> Then you don’t know that Mrs. Driffield has run away from her husband?

The narrator is informed that Rosie Driffield has left Edward.

_This revelation shocks the narrator and drives the chapter's action._

> She’s run away with Lord George Kemp.

Edward Driffield reveals that Rosie has eloped with Lord George Kemp.

_This is the central fact of the chapter._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cakes_and_ale_se/chapters/xix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cakes_and_ale_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cakes_and_ale_se/chapters