The Classics Club Spin landed on number 9 thus delivering me a novel I have been intending to read for several years.
Quartet ,published in 1929, was the first novel written by Jean Rhys, one of four books thought to be highly autobiographical.
It’s set in Paris where Mayra and her husband Stephan live a hand-to-mouth existence supported by occasional sales of artworks.
When Stephan is imprisoned for theft, Marya is left penniless and alone. A seemingly nice and rather well-to-do couple take pity on her but their offer of help doesn’t turn out to be quite as kind as it seems. Marya is quickly drawn into a scandalous affair that cannot possibly end in happiness.
Apparently Jean Rhys was herself abandoned in Paris by a husband jailed for embezzling his employer. She was taken under the wing of Ford Madox Ford and Stella Bowen which turned out to be providential, Ford becoming her mentor and helping her become a published author.
I’ve read only one Jean Rhys novel to date — Wide Sargasso Sea which is a prequel to Jane Eyre. I suspect Quartet is going to be less experimental in style but will have similar themes around dominance and dependence in a relationship.
It’s going to be perfect for the Paris in July reading event organised by WordsandPeace.
We're all friends here. Come and join the conversation