The Present and the Past

"Ivy Compton-Burnett is one of the most original, artful, and elegant writers of our century." Hilary Mantel When Cassius Clare and his first wife divorced, he insisted upon retaining custody of their two sons; he then remarried and fathered three more children. Now the first Mrs. Clare has returned after nine years' absence, begging to be allowed to visit the children. Cassius takes a malicious pleasure in granting her request, certain that she and the second Mrs. Clare will provide him with an amusing sideshow. Instead, the two women strike up a warm friendship that leaves him out in the cold and contemplating an attention-getting suicide attempt. Compton-Burnett was known as a writer's writer: Joyce Carol Oates called her work "Aeschylus and Sophocles funnily reinvented by Oscar Wilde"; John Waters described her books as "dark, hilarious, evil little novels"; and V. S. Pritchett, in 1955, noted she was "the most original novelist now writing in English." Discover for yourself why Compton-Burnett is treasured by such a wide range of authors. "Precise, poised, studied, epigrammatic artistry." Kirkus "Anyone who picks up a Compton-Burnett finds it very hard not to put it down." Ivy Compton-Burnett "A rich story, told with far deeper insight and a bolder, more sure-footed appreciation of subtleties, than I think any of Compton-Burnet's contemporaries could achieve." The Spectator (U.K.)