Mary McCarthy's debut collection of short stories caused a sensation in 1942 and is no less vibrant today

Guardian

McCarthy may be best known for <i>The Group </i>but her debut novel made nearly as much of a splash when [first] published in 1942 . . . A j<b>agged diamond of a book</b>, the multifaceted parts giving a glimpse of a brilliant but fractured whole

Observer

McCarthy <b>exposes the complex psychological workings </b>of a brilliant, tortured and manipulative mind . . . Could have been written today. Timeless, brilliant and frighteningly insightful

Daily Mail

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A consummate piece of work

- Norman Mailer,

Clever, witty, polished

New York Times

BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE GROUP

'A jagged diamond of a book' OBSERVER

'A woman of intellect and style' CELIA MCGEE, NEW YORK TIMES

'Timeless, brilliant and frighteningly insightful' DAILY MAIL

Told through six interlinked stories, this is a dazzling, fractured portrait of 1930s New York, and of the witty, bohemian heroine at the novel's heart. Through her encounters and experiences - with men, with radical politics, with psychoanalysis - we follow Margaret Sargent as she negotiates a fraught relationship between love and independence in a time of coming war.

Based loosely on the author's own life, The Company She Keeps caused an instant sensation, and won Mary McCarthy immediate acclaim for its bold insight, sly wit and virtuoso style.

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Published in 1942, Mary McCarthy's first novel creates a fascinating portrait of a 1930s New York social circle.

Told through six interlinked stories, this is a dazzling portrait of 1930s New York, and of the witty, bohemian heroine at the novel's heart. Through her encounters and experiences - with men, with radical politics, with psychoanalysis - we follow Margaret Sargent as she negotiates a fraught relationship between love and independence in a time of coming war.

Based loosely on the author's own life, The Company She Keeps caused an instant sensation, and won Mary McCarthy immediate acclaim for its bold insight, sly wit and virtuoso style.

'A woman of intellect and style' NEW YORK TIMES

'Timeless, brilliant and frighteningly insightful' DAILY MAIL

Read more

Product details

ISBN
9780349018072
Published
2024
Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group; Virago Press Ltd
Weight
200 gr
Height
198 mm
Width
126 mm
Thickness
10 mm
Age
00, G, 01
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Number of pages
256

Introduction by

Biographical note

Mary McCarthy (1912-1989) was born in Seattle, Washington. She was a short-story writer, bestselling novelist, essayist and an art critic. She was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and won the National Medal for Literature and the Edward MacDowell Medal in 1984. Her debut novel, The Company She Keeps (1942), initiated her ascent to the most celebrated writers of her generation; the publication of her autobiography Memories of a Catholic Girlhood in 1957 bolstered this reputation. McCarthy wrote more than twenty-four books, including the now-classic novel The Group (1963). This was the New York Times Best Seller for two years.