Christina Stead was an Australian author regarded as one of the twentieth century’s master novelists. She spent much of her writing life abroad, with her varied residences often serving as the backdrop for her novels. Her works delve into the complexities of human relationships and character psychology with keen insight and a distinctive voice. Stead is celebrated for her sharp observations and her ability to craft profoundly human, if sometimes unsettling, characters, securing her place among the significant literary voices of her era.
The story follows Robert Grant, a charismatic yet unscrupulous businessman in New York, whose life takes a turn when he encounters Barbara Kent, a formidable woman who challenges his ways. As their relationship develops, Robert's questionable actions come to light, leading to a confrontation that tests his character and ambitions. The narrative explores themes of love, deception, and the consequences of a reckless lifestyle.
You can't help liking Letty Fox. She is the eponymous hero of this novel, and what a big, energetic, sprawling novel it is. Letty Fox, with brio and relish, describes her picaresque adventures in the New York and London of the 1930s and 1940s. She is surrounded by a family notable for its size, eccentricity and marital irregularities. Letty herself has many affairs but finds marriage elusive. Bizarre, satirical and imaginative, first published in 1947, this powerful portrayal of a woman who might have been independent but chose otherwise stands as one of Christina Stead's most impressive works. Christina Stead is much more than the author of "The Man Who Loved Children." To remind readers forcefully of this, Faber Finds is reissuing nine of her works: "The Beauties and Furies," "For Love Alone," "House of All Nations," "Letty Fox: Her Luck," "A Little Tea, A Little Chat," "Miss Herbert," "The People with Dogs," "The Puzzleheaded Girl" and "The Salzburg Tales."
The narrative features four interconnected novellas that explore themes of women's independence and resistance to societal norms. Honor Lawrence stands out as a compelling character who embodies this struggle, showcasing her determination to forge her own path. Through vivid storytelling, the author delves into the complexities of female empowerment and the challenges faced by women in their quest for autonomy.
Eleanor Herbert Brent is a beautiful English woman who believes in respectability and nurtures a desire to be a wife and mother in the 'dear old fashioned way'. But sexuality too forms her personality, and as a young graduate on the loose in London she explores it with every man she meets. She experiences everything: a restless, promiscuous youth, a wholesome suburban marriage, life on the fringes of literary London. Only one thing remains beyond her reach: the experience of real love; this and this only could transform Miss Herbert into the passionate woman she really is.
Set against the tumultuous backdrop of interwar Paris, the story unfolds a complex love triangle that explores themes of romance and rivalry. As political upheaval shapes the city, the narrative delves into the evolving roles of women, showcasing their burgeoning independence and the challenges they face. The characters navigate their passions and ambitions, reflecting the societal changes of the era.
With an Introduction by Randall Jarrell. Sam and Henny Pollit have too many children, too little money, and too much loathing for each other. As Sam uses the children's adoration to feed his own voracious ego, Henny watches in bleak despair, knowing the bitter reality that lies just below his mad visions. A chilling novel of family life, the relations between parents and children, husbands and wives, The Man Who Loved Children, is acknowledged as a contemporary classic.
Exploring the tumultuous dynamics of family life, the novel delves into the strained relationship between Sam and Henny Pollit, who grapple with financial struggles and mutual disdain. Sam's self-serving nature contrasts sharply with Henny's despair as they navigate the complexities of parenthood and marital discord. This contemporary classic offers a poignant examination of the emotional turmoil within a dysfunctional family, highlighting the impact of ego and disillusionment on both parents and their children.
An assortment of characters gather, at the close of WWII, at a hotel on Lake Geneva. In the claustrophobic atmosphere, their eccentricities and their desperation, jealousies and vindictiveness, are revealed
Par une brumeuse matinée de 1934, Elvira Western quitte son confort londonien et son mari pour rejoindre à Paris son jeune amant, Oliver Fenton, un étudiant anglais exalté. Mais, rapidement, l'escapade se transforme en journées languides dans les cafés de Saint-Germain-des-Prés en compagnie de journalistes débauchés, de bourgeois extravagants et d'une danseuse de cabaret désargentée. De flûtes de champagne en apéritifs, de déconvenues amoureuses en rencontres nocturnes surréelles, Elvira doute de son choix, jusqu'à regretter sa vie avec Paul, son époux, qui tente de la reconquérir. Ce drame romantique avant-gardiste dépeint, dans le Paris fantasmagorique et électrique de l'entre-deux-guerres, les passions paradoxales d'une femme trop intelligente, espiègle et inconstante pour aimer les hommes.
