May Sarton

Set in the academic world of Harvard and Cambridge, this acclaimed novel dramatizes the plight of the embattled American liberal in the 1950s. Its central character is Edward Cavan, a brilliant English professor, who commits suicide. His death sets off a shock wave among Cavan's friends--and changes things for some of them forever.

After her lover of thirty years dies, a Boston woman opens a bookstore for her neighborhood, an endeavor that forces her to confront her past while she rebuilds her future
Over the course of their thirty-year relationship, Vicky and Harriet fell into a predictable cadence: Vicky took the lead while Harriet was content to follow. When Vicky dies, Harriet is lost and in search of an identity that was subsumed by that of her partner for three...

May Sarton confronts the pleasures and compromises of old age in this deeply moving memoir completed a few months before she died In this poignant and fearless account, Sarton chronicles the struggles of life at eighty-two. She juxtaposes the quotidian details of life-battling a leaky roof, sharing an afternoon nap with her cat, the joy of buying a new mattress-with lyrical musings about work, celebrity, devoted friends, and the limitations wrought...

To their close friend Philip, Poppy and Reed Whitelaw's marriage appears stable and happy. Their ritual Sunday tennis matches and dinners are a highlight of his week, and the Whitelaws' repartee is an object of wonder and admiration. But beneath the surface, the marriage has slowly been unraveling for years. An artist, Poppy feels the weight of time, calculating that she has twenty good years left for her work and little remaining tolerance for her...

May Sarton charts her second act in Maine in this graceful elegy about life, love, work, and growing older When May Sarton uprooted her life after fifteen years in the refurbished New Hampshire house with the garden she tended so lovingly, she relied solely on instinct. And something told her it was time to move on. Accompanied by her wild cat, Bramble, and Tamas, a Shetland shepherd puppy-the first dog she ever owned-Sarton embarked on the next chapter...

A Harvard grad student falls in love with an older woman in this beautifully written novel set in Paris Francis Chabrier is a 26-year-old graduate student still looking for direction when his mother dies. The reverberations of her sudden demise are deeply felt within her family circle and in the lives of her friends. Francis's stepfather, Alan, is devastated-but Francis only feels angry and adrift. Everyone expects him to marry his childhood friend...

As she battles debilitating illnesses, May Sarton looks back on her life, cherishes new and old friendships, and finds hope in the brave new world of old age "I always imagined a journal that would take me through my seventy-ninth year," May Sarton writes, "the doors opening out from old age to unknown efforts and surprises." Instead of musing calmly on the philosophical implications of aging, the writer found herself spending most of her energy battling...

May Sarton's sharp exploration of how men and women love-and how they clash-as shown through one tempestuous relationship Ned Fraser has never seen himself as a husband. His distinguished job at a Boston bank has kept him satisfied while a string of failed love affairs has concerned him little. But no woman has ever affected him the way Anna Lindstrom does. A concert singer of immense charm and beauty, Anna is possessed of a vibrant presence that...

Spending their first winter away from the city, an aging married couple finds renewed friendship and love in the New Hampshire hills Christina and Cornelius Chapman have spent their summers in Willard for years, shunning the city's hottest months in favor of New Hampshire's rocky, rolling hills. In Willard, Christina looks forward to spending time with Ellen, enjoying forest walks and the easy conversation that come with longstanding friendship. But...