Alison Lurie's 1984 novel, "Foreign Affairs," follows Americans traveling to London in an attempt to reset their lives. The book focuses primarily on two academics, Vinnie Miner and Fred Turner, who are conducting research for their books.

Vinnie Miner is 54 years old and plain-looking. She has assimilated into England and now considers herself at least partly English. A negative review of her work published in The Atlantic magazine haunts her.

Fred Turner is young, handsome, and recovering from a painful divorce.

Vinnie begins an affair with loud, unsophisticated Oklahoman Chuck Mumpson. Fred falls in love with the melodramatic English actress Lady Rosemary Radley, who introduces him to the elite London bohemian crowd, but becomes irate when she learns that he must return to the US to teach the following semester. Presumably, these are affairs of the book's title.

Lurie focuses her story on human nature. Assumptions and expectations hinder communication, and the cultural differences make this even more difficult. But her characters evolve throughout the story. Vinnie arrives in England as an uptight Anglophile, prepared to embrace her adopted home. Fred is running away from his past until he becomes obsessed with Rosemary. By the end, each has come to appreciate their home and discover themselves and what is important to them.

On my four visits to London, I have found the city to be culturally similar enough to be manageable, but different enough to feel exotic. I imagine every American experiences the city differently. Lurie captures these differences and experiences through her characters' conversations. 

George Bernard Shaw famously observed, "England and America are two countries separated by the same language!" Alison provides evidence of this truth.