Middle Aged Women in Fiction

The author of "The War of the Roses" and "Random Hearts" delivers a brilliant, bittersweet, and darkly humorous story that pulls readers into one woman's quest to lose herself and gain a fortune.

Margaret Atwood's "The Robber Bride is inspired by "The Robber Bridegroom," a wonderfully grisly tale from the Brothers Grimm in which an evil groom lures three maidens into his lair and devours them, one by one. But in her version, Atwood brilliantly recasts the monster as Zenia, a villainess of demonic proportions, and sets her loose in the lives of three friends, Tony,
Charis, and Roz. All three "have lost men, spirit, money, and time to their old college acquaintance, Zenia. At various times, and in various emotional disguises, Zenia has insinuated her way into their lives and practically demolished them.
To Tony, who almost lost her husband and jeopardized her academic career, Zenia is 'a lurking enemy commando.' To Roz, who did lose her husband and almost her magazine, Zenia is 'a cold and treacherous bitch.' To Charis, who

From the author of "Storyville" and "Bed and Breakfast" comes a funny, heartfelt, and poignant novel about the surprising power of a group of small-town women when the local lingerie factory closes its doors.

Myra Lipinsky, a 51-year-old visiting nurse, has been content to be a self-appointed spinster--until a man she adored in high school is struck by an incurable illness and returns to New England to spend what time he has left. From the author of "Open House" comes a wry and beautifully distilled portrait of a union that transcends life's most unexpected and challenging circumstances.

Successful businesswoman and owner of six elegant inns all over the world, Meredith Stratton suddenly begins to suffer from a strange illness that has no physical cause. Through hours and hours of soul-searching, Meredith tries to peel back the layers of her most careful creation--herself. What she discovers is the key not only to her past but to her future happiness and fulfillment as a woman. National ads/media.

Full of humor, clever insight, and a whimsical sense of the absurd, "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman" is an irresistible and finely-written fantasy for anyone who ever wondered what a certain age would look like from beyond the looking-glass--and who will find it ripe with promise that the best days are yet to come.

Another delightful romp into life, love, marriage and infidelity is penned bythe author of "Mrs. Fytton's Country Life."

Ready to Fall is a laugh-out-loud look at marriage and mid-life, written in e-mail format. Weary of devoting herself entirely to her self-absorbed family, with no one focusing on her, Beth Riordan takes to her computer and pursues forbidden love via cyberspace. Best-selling author Elizabeth Berg (Until the Real Thing Comes Along, What We Keep) praises its popular appeal -- "intelligence, humor, poignancy, true originality" -- and judges it "ready to soar". Women everywhere will empathize, or at least chuckle in recognition. It reminds us of Bridge Works' discovery of Patty Jane's House of Curl, Lorna Landvik's runaway-success first novel.

Architect Jane Larsen indulges in her passion to design houses. A divorced mother of teen daughters, Jane isn't interested in finding Mr. Right. Still, she feels her life is starting to feel empty. She decides to look up an old boyfriend--the love of her life and the man who first inspired her interest in architecture. Jane soon discovers her middle-ages are not dark at all.

The drama, the symbolism, and poignant simplicity of the imagined scene in which Gabriel announced Christ's coming to the Virgin Mary has proved irresistible to artists over the centuries. Presented here, in a chronological sequence, are over 100 of the finest representations of this encounter. Each depicting the same subject, yet all wonderfully and subtly different, these images are an inexhaustible source of pleasure and inspiration.

Divorced three times and recently widowed by her fourth husband, Hannie Bennet is an unapologetic professional wife, marrying for financial security instead of love. When she meets Ned Renvyle, writer and world traveler, Hannie believes she's found a suitable new mate. But what at first seemed to Hannie like a convenient union quickly becomes a personal prison.

A novel of profound and humane realism, The Marriage of Anna Maye Potts tells the story of a thirty-six-year-old Philadelphia woman whose quiet, working-class life is suddenly shaken by the death of her widowed father and by her younger sister's takeover of the family home.

Forced out of the house she has lived in for years, Anna Maye Potts proves to be a person of mettle and integrity, but only gradually does she come to realize her own strength. At the chocolate factory that employs her, she draws closer to a longtime co-worker named Louie, a man twenty years her senior. Louie has his own problems: alcoholism, a wife dying of cancer, a retarded daughter, and a penchant for adultery. His wife's death leaves him anguished and baffled. Sharing his feelings with Anna, he asks her out, and they begin to contemplate a life together.

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A gorgeously written novel bearing all the marks of a classic love story, "The Last Summer" takes readers back to Cape Cod, 1968, and chronicles a summer's affair between a privileged young man and an older woman.

A woman's quest for a husband takes on a certain urgency in this biting and masterful social satire by the author of "A Cannibal in Manhattan."

As the summer begins, Kate Brown -- attractive, intelligent, forty five, happily enough married, with a house in the London suburbs and three grown children -- has no reason to expect anything will change. But when the summer ends, the woman she was -- living behind a protective camouflage of feminine charm and caring -- no longer exists. This novel. Doris Lessing's brilliant excursion into the terrifying stretch of time between youth and old age, is her journey: from London to Turkey to Spain, from husband to lover to madness: on the road to a frightening new independence and a confrontation with self that lets her, finally, come truly of age.

Emma Price is a topnotch investigator with the Capital Defender's Office, assigned to the case of an accused murderer facing death row--unless Emma can find mitigating circumstances. Meanwhile, she's juggling her role as the newly single mother of a toddler and a troubled teenager.

New cover art and packaging bring a fresh look to this acclaimed series. Olivia is confident and not afraid to speak her mind. But then she develops a crush on Lou Hochstetter. Olivia's new friend Morgan thinks Lou is a total nerd. Suddenly, Olivia can't seem to speak up for herself. What are friends for, anyway?