The Group - Softcover

Mary McCarthy (1912-1989), long a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, was a novelist, short story writer, memoirist, social and art critic, and essayist. Her most enduring writings include Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, The Group, and The Stones of Florence, all available as Harvest paperbacks.

"A witty, moving, instructive and wise novel¾a gem of American social history as well as very good fiction." -- The Nation

"An admirable piece of fiction and the best book [Mary McCarthy] has written." -- Saturday Review

"Juicy, shocking, witty, and almost continually brilliant." -- Cosmopolitan

Mary McCarthy's The Group is a sharply-pointed satire of upper-class New England society which follows the post-college lives of eight Vassar graduates, class of '33. Helena was registered for Vassar at birth; Pokey forged her mother's signature on her college application in defiance of the family tradition of "being dim-witted and vain of it." Out in the "real" world, Dottie loses her virginity to a "bad sort" but discovers that she enjoys sex, while Kay subsumes her own talent to the artistic "genius" of her egocentric and philandering husband. Libby writes book reviews that are almost as long as the original material and Polly works as a nurse, while Priss is forced by her pediatrician-husband to go against "tradition" and her inclinations and breastfeed her baby, as proof of his theories. Elinor "Lakey" Eastlake, the sleek, rich leader of the group, travels about Europe and ultimately returns, full of surprises. Adopting the non-stop, generally well-intentioned, but hopelessly narrow-minded voice that typifies the worst of the group, Mary McCarthy filets Ivy League society, socialism, 1930s child-rearing practices, sexual double-standards, psychoanalysis, and men in general. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister