The Debut (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Anita Brookner
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Work: Ironic romance
- Time of Work: The 1970’s
- Setting: London and Paris
- Principal Characters: Ruth Weiss, George Weiss, Helen Weiss, Mrs. Maggie Cutler, Anthea, Richard Hirst, Professor Duplessis
- Genres: Long fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Teaching or teachers, 1970’s, Love or romance, Literature, Paris, Emotions, College life, Women’s issues, Good and evil, London, Fate or fatalism, Loneliness, Isolation
- Locales: Paris, France, London, England
The Novel
All but ignored by her self-infatuated parents, whom she both fears and adores, Ruth Weiss spends her doleful childhood under the care of her stern and silent German grandmother. After the elder Mrs. Weiss’s death, Mrs. Maggie Cutler joins the household; her cheerfully careless and disorderly habits form a sharp contrast to the late grandmother’s somber ways. From this point onward, the household and its ostensibly adult inhabitants degenerate into dissolute slovenliness. Mrs. Cutler becomes the confidante of both parents but particularly of the rapidly aging and...
[The entire page is 2167 words long]
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