Published in 1979 (first published 1943)
234 pages
Jane Bowles has long had an underground reputation as one of the truly original writers of the twentieth century. Born in New York City in 1917, she lived in Tangier, Morocco, with her husband, Paul Bowles, from 1952 until her death in 1973. Though she wrote only one novel, one short play, and fewer than a dozen short stories over a roughly twenty-year span from the early 1940s to the mid-1960s, Jane Bowles has long been regarded by critics as one of the premier stylists of her generation.
What is this book about?
Eccentric, adventurous Christina Goering Meets the anxious but equally enterprising Mrs. Copperfield at a party.
Two serious ladies who want to live outside of themselves, they go in search of salvation: Mrs. Copperfield visits Panama with her husband, where she finds solace among the women who live and work in its brothels; while Miss Goering becomes involved with various men. At the end the two women meet again, each changed by her experience.
Mysterious, profound, anarchic and very funny, Two Serious Ladies is a daring, original work that defies analysis.
