Jenkin's Power — Saaskia Aark-Bennett

Three (the fourth one resists!) unique and capable women are under the despotic JENKIN's thumb until he suffers a massive stroke which rather upsets the balance as he struggles to maintain his hold on them. The action centers around Jenkin's fine RIVER HOUSE overlooking the bucolic Saône river near Macon, where he reigns supreme over YVETTE, his long-term mistress. She's attractive and cultivated,so why won't he marry her? His brother JACK arrives, escaped from a war zone with his wife SASKIA who sees JENKIN for the despot that he is. His niece, the hard-headed twenty-year-old CARMINE, is capably managing his business interests. She'd like to amalgamate them (and herself) with the racey DAVID's Property Development company. When JENKIN is floored by a series of strokes, SYLVIE, by her prompt action, saves his life, but he develops a brutal love/hate fascination for this happily-married young sculptress, resulting in his repeatedly calumniating and harassing her. The intrigue is in how each woman reacts to Jenkin's changing circumstances and abilities â€" and, as a matter of fact, did one of them plot to kill him? JENKIN'S POWER carries one through Saaskia Aark-Bennett's strongest social commentaries to date - situations which many of us may ourselves recognize - but could we deal with them as these heroines do? As JENKIN remarks, "I didn't need YVETTE upsetting the applecart. If I hadn't cracked my head, we might be married by now. I thought she'd be back, of course. It's human nature to not want change. CARMINE's a sharp kid, saw the writing on the wall with Real Estate and with that shark DAVID. Good luck to her."