Before the War

Description

A novel of love, death and aristocracy in twenties London. Consider Vivien in November 1922. She is twenty-four, and a spinster. She wears fashionably droopy clothes, but she is plain and - worse - intelligent. Fortunately, Vivien is rich, so she can bribe a man to marry her. What nobody knows is that Vivien is pregnant, and will die in childbirth in just a few months...

Weldon's work includes more than twenty novels, five collections of short stories, several children's books, nonfiction books, magazine articles, and a number of plays written for television, radio, and the stage. She was awarded a CBE in 2001.

'If I had to recommend just one name to the uninformed young woman who curls her lip at the word "feminist" today, I would tell her to read Fay Weldon. Not only for Weldon's vision of gender justice, but for her take-no-prisoners approach to fiction. Her plots move swiftly; her gaze is unsettlingly direct; her sentences can draw blood' The Hindu. 'Weldon, still at the top of her powers, serves up elegant prose that is witty, ironic - and emotionally distanced' North & South magazine. 'Lively ... wry social satire' New York Times. 'Looking down at her cast from amused heights, Weldon punctures their pretensions and double standards with piquant observations, keeps a detached eye on the power politics of their relationships, but also caricatures them' Guardian. 'A daredevil combination of farce and satire... shades of Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh, P. G. Wodehouse and John Fowles' TLS. 'A cool, sparkling, delicious book ... This is one of those rare works of fiction that will make seasoned novelists gasp ... while also offering the reader a breeze of a story' The Australian. 'The quirky, singular writing style takes some getting used to, but this triumphs in the end with its unique characters and playfully ironic voice' The Irish Sun. 'Wise and witty ... filled with sharp observations' The Times. 'A romp of a read full of Weldon wit and wisdom, as well as sumptuous period detail' Daily Mail.