Paula Fox
Introduction by Andrea Barrett
The Widow's Children
A Novel
"Chekhovian. . . . Every line of Fox's story, every gesture of her characters, is alive and surprising."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times
On the eve of their trip to Africa, Laura Maldonada Clapper and her husband, Desmond, sit in a New York City hotel room, drinking scotch-and-sodas and awaiting the arrival of three friends: Clara Hansen, Laura's timid, brow-beaten daughter from a previous marriage; Carlos, Laura's flamboyant and charming brother; and Peter Rice, a melancholy editor whom Laura hasn't seen for over a year. But what begins as a bon voyage party soon parlays into a bitter, claustrophobic clash of family resentment. From the hotel room to the tony restaurant to which the five embark, Laura presides over the escalating innuendo and hostility with imperial cruelty, for she is hiding the knowledge that her mother, the family matriarch, has died of a heart attack that morning.
A novel as intense as it is unerringly observed, The Widow's Children is another revelation of the storyteller's art from the incomparable Paula Fox.
"It is the most elegant exploration I have read of the chaos of modern life. . . . There is something marvelously honorable in Fox's work."—Edith Milton, The Nation
"A splendid novel. . . . A work of marvelous design and subtle synchronization."—Kirkus Reviews
Paula Fox is the author of many well-known books for children and five adult novels, among them Desperate Characters, The Widow's Children, and Poor George.
Her memoir, Borrowed Finery, will be published in Fall 2001 from Henry Holt. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Also Available:
Desperate Characters
Poor George
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