Anita Shreve, about whom I alerted you several books ago, and who eventually won a national reputation when her novel THE PILOT'S WIFE was selected as an Oprah Winfrey book of the month, has resurfaced with a new book, bound to be a best-seller, FORTUNE'S ROCKS (published by Little Brown) and it is probably already being turned into a screenplay.

Set at the turn of the last century, FORTUNE'S ROCKS, in the best sense of the phrase, is an old-fashioned novel. Remember plot and character.

There is an Edith Wharton feeling to FORTUNE'S ROCKS, not only because of the era and the setting, but also in the characters. Olympia Biddleford, the central figure, is a 15-year-old Bostonian, the daughter of a privileged family summering in the New Hampshire resort of Fortune's Rocks. A friend of Olympia's father, the handsome and imposing Dr. John Haskell, enters the scene. He is married and a father several times, nearing 41 years of age.

None of these statistics about the Doctor can halt the tidal wave of emotions between the doctor and the teenager. It is more than a Lolita tale, but rather closer to Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers even if Romeo is old enough to be Juliet's father.

In some circles, this might be described as a woman's book, if labels are imposed by male reviewers whose taste and condescension often affects honest criticism. But indeed it is a woman's book, written with a woman's perspective about society's double standards based on gender.

The relationship of Olympia and Dr. Haskell in 1900 New England is doomed. A series of events threaten their relationship, but not their love. They endure pain and separation, but Ms. Shreve is a romantic with a social sensibility. FORTUNE'S ROCKS will be a popular novel and I am delighted that this first-rate story teller has achieved public recognition. Another reason to applaud Oprah's crusade to get Americans to read.