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These six brilliantly written episodes, brought together in Mary McCarthy's first novel, create a fascinating portrait of a 1930s New York social circle. Based loosely on the author's own life, the book follows a young bohemian woman, Margaret Sargent, through her experiences and lost loves in a time of coming war. On publication in 1942, its bold insight, sly wit and virtuoso style won Mary McCarthy immediate recogntion as one of the most accomplished, versatile and penetrating writers in America.

"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 The Group but her debut novel made nearly as much of a splash when [first] published in 1942 . . . A jagged diamond of a book, the multifaceted parts giving a glimpse of a brilliant but fractured whole" - Observer

"McCarthy exposes the complex psychological workings of a brilliant, tortured and manipulative mind . . . Could have been written today. Timeless, brilliant and frighteningly insightful" - Daily Mail

"Clever, witty, polished" - New York Times