Two Serious Ladies

‘My favourite book. I can’t think of a modern novel that seems more likely to become a classic’ TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

‘The book I give as a gift… It feels like giving someone an exotic fruit.’ SHEILA HETI

‘A modern legend … A very funny writer’ TRUMAN CAPOTE

‘I am going on a trip. Wait until I tell you about it. it’s terrible.’

Eccentric, impulsive New York heiress, Christina Goering meets the anxious but equally unpredictable Mrs Copperfield at a party. Two serious ladies, for whom nothing s natural and anything is possible, they follow their singular paths in search of salvation.

Mrs Copperfield visits Panama with her husband, whom she abandons for love of Pacifica, a local prostitute, and her brothel home. Miss Goering, for her part, seeks redemption by swapping her mansion for a squalid little house and relishing ever more extreme encounters with strangers. At the end, the two women meet again.

First published in 1943, TWO SERIOUS LADIES is a true one-off – daring and original, with deadpan humour and devastating insights.