An attractive new cover look for Jean Rhys's five novels in Penguin Modern ClassicsRhys's first novel,
Quartet is a blistering account of a turbulent affair inspired by her own relationship with the author Ford Madox Ford'Not only does she deal with the most complex personalities, exploring the most intimate recesses of their psychology, but she does so with the directness and certitude of the fine artist' -
The New York Times[Quartet] belongs to the new tradition in prose, which shuns elaboration for sharpness and intensity of effect
Jean Rhys's first novel, a heartbreaking and disturbingly intimate portrayal of an isolated woman in Paris
Set in a superficially romantic, between-wars Paris, Quartet is a poignant tale of a lonely woman. Set against a background of winter-wet streets, Pernod in smoky cafes and cheap hotel rooms with mauve- flowered wallpaper, Marya tries to make something substantial of her life in order to withstand the unreality of her surroundings. Alone, her Polish husband in prison, she is taken up by an English couple who slowly overwhelm her with their passions.
