The Far Side of a Kiss, by Anne Haverty (Vintage, £6.99 in UK)

Essayist William Hazlitt's Libor Amoris, his "book of love" , published in 1823, caused quite a scandal. But not because its theme was obsessive desire. The outrage was created by Hazlitt's love object not being a great, preferably married, lady and therefore unattainable - the stuff of true romance. Instead Sarah was his landlord's daughter, a serving girl, sexually available and lacking protective social status. Haverty's graceful, convincing yet hectic second novel is far more than the defence of a wronged woman. Sarah tells her story in a rueful tone and emerges as a vain, vulnerable and likeable young girl who was flattered by the attentions of the famous, if crazed, older man. The characterisation of the chaotic, vengeful and pathetic Hazlitt is brilliant. Yet the true achievement of this atmospheric novel lies in Haverty's handling of Sarah's agony when she meets a young lawyer who is drawn to her but brutally rejects her when she is disgraced. As a study of confusion and regret, this is a dazzling, sophisticated performance.