by Fay Weldon
First published 1992
Eleanor Darcy sits across from two journalists, her husband Julian behind bars for nearly destroying Britain's financial system. The Prime Minister once listened to Julian's economic theories, but Eleanor was the one whispering ideas in her husband's ear. Now she grants exclusive interviews to Hugo Vansitart and Valerie Jones, though the reporters seem more interested in each other than in capturing her story. Hugo searches for practical truth in Eleanor's words while Valerie seeks the deeper feminine struggle. Eleanor reveals her complete reimagining of society, from child-rearing and education to economics and religion. Her vision includes startling proposals about abortion, racial integration, and religious fundamentalism. Most provocatively, she offers a fresh perspective on relations between men and women. As the interviews progress, Eleanor emerges not just as the woman behind a disgraced economist, but as a thinker with concrete plans to rebuild civilization from scratch.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Britain
Period: contemporary
240 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books