"In the course of his distinguished career, the novelist and playwright Ronald Frame has been compared to Hitchcock, " wrote "The Times" of London. "But a more illuminating comparison is between Frame and Daphne du Maurier, whose work Hitchock loved." "Permanent Violet" is Frames thirteenth book and it deals with many of the themes prevalent in his earlier works: love, betrayal, and obsession. The main character is female -a recluse whose young artist husband died just as his career was taking off. With the rediscovery of his work comes an inquiry into his life, and the widow is forced to reflect on the pain, love and deception they shared in their life together.