Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler: Summary and Study Guide

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Your well-being matters more than any story.

If you need immediate help, please call or text a crisis line in your country.

You are not alone.

(This note is not part of the novel's narrative.)

Back to top

(This is a placeholder for a table of contents, but we'll just have a simple list of sections below.)

Quick Facts

• Publication Year: 2022

• Genre: Contemporary fiction / women's fiction with romance elements

• Setting: London, England (with flashbacks to Cambridge, Mallorca, New York, and Massachusetts)

• Narrator: Third-person limited, primarily following Adelaide, with occasional shifts to Rory and an omniscient epilogue

• Main Characters: Adelaide Williams, Rory Hughes, Eloise, Madison, Celeste, Nathalie Alban

• Themes: Mental Health and Diagnosis, Romantic Idealization, Grief and the Shadow of a Lost Love, Female Friendship as Support, Self-Worth and Identity

• Symbols: Books, Food, Daisy

Short Summary

Adelaide Williams, an American in London, meets Rory Hughes and instantly believes he's her soulmate. Their on-and-off relationship is shadowed by Rory's unresolved grief for his ex-girlfriend Nathalie, who died in an accident. Adelaide pours herself into caring for Rory, neglecting her own needs and mental health. After a miscarriage, a painful breakup, and a devastating realization about Rory's betrayal, Adelaide attempts suicide. She survives and is diagnosed with bipolar type two disorder. Through therapy, medication, and the support of her friends, she begins to heal. Years later, she is in a loving relationship with Brennan, has a fulfilling career, and has learned to value herself independently of romantic love.

Full Summary

The novel opens with Adelaide in a Chelsea hospital after swallowing a large number of Xanax pills. The narrative then flashes back to the events leading to this crisis. Adelaide, an American graduate student in London, meets Rory Hughes outside the Old Vic theatre, recognizing him as the man she once approached at a boat race years earlier. They begin dating, and Adelaide quickly becomes infatuated, convinced he is her Disney prince. Rory is charming but emotionally distant, often going silent for days. Adelaide's friends, especially Eloise, Madison, and Celeste, provide support, but Adelaide increasingly prioritizes Rory above all else.

Flashbacks reveal Adelaide's past: a sexually and emotionally abusive high school relationship with Emory Evans, which left her with deep scars and a tendency to suppress her own needs. Rory's own history is also explored: his long-term relationship with Nathalie Alban, a brilliant editor at The Times, ended when he broke a promise to move in with her. Nathalie's sudden death in a car accident throws Rory into grief, and Adelaide becomes his primary comforter, bringing him food, books, and emotional support. She also learns that Nathalie was the ex-girlfriend he never fully got over.

As Rory grieves, he becomes increasingly critical of Adelaide, comparing her to Nathalie and questioning their compatibility. Adelaide, meanwhile, discovers she is pregnant, but suffers a miscarriage, which she hides from Rory. Their relationship deteriorates further. During a trip to meet Rory's family in Shere, Adelaide feels belittled and unwelcome. After returning, she discovers Rory has been active on a dating app, leading to a confrontation and breakup.

Devastated, Adelaide spirals. She moves into a new flat, but her mental state worsens. She becomes envious of Nathalie's legacy and death, feeling that she will never be extraordinary. She decides to stop living and takes an overdose of Xanax. She survives and is hospitalized.

After her release, Adelaide attends daily check-ins and eventually meets Dr. Grayson, who diagnoses her with bipolar type two disorder. She begins medication and cognitive behavioral therapy with a therapist named Meg. She takes time off work and slowly starts to rebuild her life. She reconnects with friends, adopts a dog named Fitz, and even redownloads a dating app, where she encounters Brennan (Bubs), Rory's former flatmate.

The epilogue jumps forward several years. Adelaide is running in Green Park when she sees Rory, who doesn't notice her; he wears a wedding ring. She learns he married Ivy, his first girlfriend. Adelaide is now living with Brennan in Angel, working at Alliance, and applying for campaign jobs. Her friends have moved on: Madison to Singapore, Celeste to Paris, Eloise to Brooklyn, where she's expecting a daughter named Mia Lucille Adelaide. The narrator reveals future events: Brennan plans to propose, Adelaide will join a presidential campaign, they will marry, and she will survive difficult days. The novel ends with Adelaide feeling alive and loved.

Main Characters

• Adelaide Williams: The American protagonist whose relationship with Rory Hughes and struggles with mental health drive the novel, culminating in a bipolar type two diagnosis and recovery.

• Rory Hughes: Adelaide's on-and-off love interest, an orphaned former lawyer turned film worker who struggles with commitment and grieves his ex-girlfriend Nathalie.

• Eloise: Adelaide's closest friend, who supports her through crises, gets engaged to Nico, and later confronts Rory after Adelaide's suicide attempt.

• Madison: Adelaide's London flatmate and friend who supports her through the Rory relationship and later moves to Bangkok with Anurak.

• Celeste: Adelaide's flatmate and friend who helps her move, comforts her after the breakup, and supports her recovery.

• Nathalie Alban: Rory's ex-girlfriend of over five years and a senior editor at The Times whose sudden death shapes the latter half of the novel.

Themes

• Mental Health and Diagnosis: The novel explores the process of receiving a bipolar disorder diagnosis and the subsequent journey toward stability and self-understanding.

• Romantic Idealization: The narrative critiques fairy-tale notions of romance, showing how an idealized partner can become a source of self-erasure and emotional exhaustion.

• Grief and the Shadow of a Lost Love: The story examines how the memory of a lost love can intrude upon and complicate a new relationship, creating feelings of inadequacy and comparison.

• Female Friendship as Support: Throughout the narrative, close friendships provide crucial emotional support, practical help, and honest confrontation during crises.

• Self-Worth and Identity: The novel depicts the gradual realization that self-worth is not determined by a partner's love, leading to a reclamation of identity and agency.

Symbols

• Books: Books recur as symbols of emotional connection, identity, and memory, exchanged as gifts and markers of intimacy throughout the novel.

• Food: Food serves as a recurring motif of care and emotional labor, with Adelaide expressing love through cooking, baking, and delivering meals to Rory.

• Daisy: The daisy appears as a symbol of romantic promise and its betrayal, from Rory's daisy ring to Nathalie to Adelaide's potted daisy.

Ending Overview

The epilogue reveals Adelaide's life years after her recovery. She is in a healthy relationship with Brennan, has a fulfilling career, and has learned to love herself. She sees Rory in passing, but he is a distant memory. The narrator discloses future events: Brennan will propose, Adelaide will join a presidential campaign, and they will marry. The novel ends on a note of hope and resilience, with Adelaide feeling alive and loved.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

| 20 | Seventeen | Adelaide comforts Rory; he misheard