“The Heel of Achilles,” by E.M. Delafield, published in 1921, meticulously chronicles the formative years of Lydia Raymond, an intelligent and observant girl who navigates the complexities of family, social expectations, and personal ambition with a keen sense of self. The narrative, unfolding in thirteen chapters, follows Lydia from the age of twelve, after the death of her father in China and later her mother, through her adolescence and into young adulthood, as she strives for independence and self-discovery.