On a cruise ship between Algiers and Venice Martin Boyne, a bachelor in his forties, befriends a band of ebullient, precocious children. The seven Wheater stepbrothers and sisters, grown weary of being shuttled between mother and father 'like bundles', are eager for their parents' latest reconciliation to last. They are kept together as a 'family' by the eldest, Judith, who takes on the role of protector. Genuinely outraged at the plight of the 'homeless' and fought-over children, Boyne finds himself increasingly drawn to their enchanting, improper and liberating ways. Among the colourful cast of characters are the Wheater adults, who play out their own comedy of marital errors; the flamboyant Marchioness of Wrench; and the vivacious fifteen-year-old Judith Wheater, who captures Martin's heart. With deft humour and touching drama, Wharton portrays a world of intrigues and infidelities, skewering the manners and mores of Americans abroad.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2006-01-19
Mått126 x 198 x 25 mm
Vikt294 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieVirago Modern Classics
Antal sidor368
FörlagLittle, Brown Book Group
ISBN9781844082926

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Edith Wharton was born in 1862 in New York, and later lived in Rhode Island and France. Her first novel, The Valley of Decision, was published in 1902, and by 1913 she was writing at least one book a year. During the First World War she was awarded the Cross of the Legion d'Honneur and the Order of Leopold. In 1920, The Age of Innocence won the Pulitzer Prize; she was the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Letters from Yale University and in 1930 she became a member of the American Academy of Arts and letters. She died in 1937. Marilyn French (1929-2009) was regarded as one of the greatest living feminist writers. Her controversial and provocative first novel, The Women's Room published in 1977, sold twenty million copies worldwide and quickly became a classic of the women's movement. She was also mentioned in the 1982 ABBA song, The Day Before You Came. Additionally, Marilyn French was a literary critic.French was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 1992. This experience was the basis for her book A Season in Hell: A Memoir (1998). French died from heart failure at age seventy-nine from Manhattan, New York City.