Mary McCarthy: Novels 1963-1979

In the second volume of the definitive edition of her fiction, three novels by the witty and provocative writer who defined a generation, including the landmark classic The GroupA collection of three novels by the author whotransformed the scope and style of twentieth-century American literature-including the landmark classic The GroupIn Mary McCarthy’s most famous novel, The Group (1963), she depicts the lives ofeight Vassar College graduates during the 1930s as they grapple with sex, sexism,money, motherhood, and family. McCarthy’s final two novels-Birds of America(1971), a coming of age tale of 19-year-old Peter Levi, who travels to Europeduring the 1960s, and Cannibals and Missionaries (1979), a thriller about a groupof passengers taken hostage on an airplane by militant hijackers-are bothconcerned with the state of modern society, from the cross-currents of radicalsocial change to the psychology of terrorism. As a special feature, this secondvolume contains McCarthy’s 1979 essay “The Novels that Got Away,” on herunfinished fiction.LIBRARY OF AMERICAis an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.