First published 1992
At the height of her literary fame, Mary McCarthy looks back on her early years as an up-and-coming writer in 1930s New York. Grappling with the pressures of critical acclaim, she must reconcile her intellectual ambitions with the challenges of forging her own path. As her circle of influential friends and lovers expands, McCarthy's bold voice and unconventional choices push the boundaries of propriety. Yet beneath the glittering social whirl, she remains haunted by a childhood marked by loss and a burning desire to understand herself. Tracing the origins of her most renowned works, these "intellectual memoirs" offer an intimate glimpse into the making of a literary legend.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, autobiography, memoir, biography-memoir, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unconventional-choices, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Homes and Haunts, New York, New York (N.Y.), New York (State)
Period: 20th Century
114 pages · Hardcover · Harcourt Brace Jovanovich