The Collected Novels Volume One: Chamber Music and The Ladies

By: Doris Grumbach

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Synopsis: Two compelling works of fiction from a feminist literary icon hailed as &“Virginia Woolf without the evasive prettifying&” (The New York Times).Chamber Music: Caroline Maclaren, the widow of a prominent composer, is finally going to tell her own life story. Taking pen to paper, she relives her sheltered youth, her chilly marriage to a brilliant man, and the melancholy solitude she experienced until she found loving companionship with her ill husband&’s caretaker, Anna. This masterful tale of passion late in life is widely considered Grumbach&’s finest work. The Ladies: In 1778, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby left Ireland to live together in Wales as a married couple. Well-born and highly educated, the Ladies of Llangollen—as they came to be known—defied social convention, spending half a century in a devoted relationship. In this fictionalized account, Grumbach breathes vivid life into this fascinating story that is &“a true classic on that rarest of relationships, companions of the heart&” (San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle). A truly groundbreaking talent whose writing &“depicts lesbianism as a positive, life-giving force in women&’s lives,&” Doris Grumbach&’s words continue to move the hearts and minds of a new generation of readers (Ann Cothran).