First published 1985
Chip Benedict stands at the pinnacle of New York society. Wealthy, accomplished, and admired, he possesses every advantage that privilege can provide. Yet beneath his polished exterior lies a consuming guilt that shapes his every action. This hidden torment compels him to pursue excellence relentlessly, to follow social conventions without question, and to champion moral causes with fierce dedication. Benedict believes himself righteous, but his moral crusading masks a deeper hypocrisy that he cannot recognize. As he navigates the rarefied world of Manhattan's elite, Benedict's drive to atone for his secret shame creates the very contradictions that define him. Auchincloss crafts a portrait of a man trapped by his own success, where wealth and status become both shield and prison. The guilt that haunts Benedict transforms him into a figure of tragic irony, desperately seeking redemption through the very system that enables his self-deception.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, moral-ambiguity, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Manhattan, New York
Period: 20th-Century
278 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt