Jane Bowles

The only novel by avant-garde literary star Jane Bowles, the highly influential wife of legendary writer Paul Bowles, Two Serious Ladies is a modernist cult classic, mysterious, profound, anarchic, and funny, that follows two "respectable" women as they descend into debauchery—updated with an introduction by Claire Messud, bestselling author of The Emperor's Children and The Woman Upstairs. Christina Goering, eccentric and adventurous, and Frieda Copperfield, anxious but enterprising, are two serious ladies who want to live outside of themselves. Old friends, each will take a surprising path in search of salvation: during a visit to Panama, Mrs. Copperfield abandons her husband, finding solace in a relationship with a teenage prostitute; while Miss Goering, a wealthy spinster, pursues sainthood via sordid encounters with the basest of men. At the end the two women meet again, each radically altered by her experience.

A Novel

Two Serious Ladies

Originally published: New York: Ecco Press, 1978, in series: Neglected books of the twentieth century; v. 2.

The Collected Works of Jane Bowles

My Sister's Hand in Mine

Elizabeth Young

Original and bizarre, Jane Bowles's writing embodied her life and personality. Truman Capote called her a genius and although Bowles's creative output was small it was of a dazzlingly brilliant quality. These stories, her only major collection of short fi

Plain Pleasures

Paul Bowles

This is the definitive edition of Jane Bowles' stories, with a biographical note and photos. Jane Bowles wrote very little: just one perfect novel, Two Serious Ladies , a play, In the Summer House , and the dozen or so stories collected in this volume. But it was enough to establish a reputation as one of the twentieth century's most original fiction writers. From the title story where an American woman is led to a house in 'blue moslem town' by a veiled woman with porcupines in her basket, to Camp Cataract, a Colorado-based tour de force of middle-class claustrophobia and dread, Everything is Nice takes you into an edgy and exhilarating, tragicomic world.

Collected Stories, Sketches and Plays

Everything is Nice

"Two serious ladies who want to live outside of themselves, Christina Goering and Frieda Copperfield embark on separate quests of salvation. Mrs. Copperfield visits Panama with her husband, where she finds solace among the women who live and work in its brothels. Miss Goering becomes involved with various men. At the end the two women meet again, each transformed by her experience."--Publisher description

Duas damas bem comportadas

TWO SERIOUS LADIES, Miss Goering and Mrs. Copperfield, travel in search of freedom and adventure--and the experience of "going to pieces" in a foreign land.

Dos damas muy serias

Jane Bowles’s avant-garde study of women breaking free from the bonds of convention is itself a master class in liberation from the constraints of everyday thinking, form, and feeling. Two Serious Ladies is the only novel ever written by the legendary and underappreciated Jane Bowles. Long held as a visionary cult classic, this subversive, anarchic, and riotous novel follows two upper-class women as they strip themselves of propriety and descend into debauchery—and it now appears with a new introduction by Sheila Heti. Christina Goering and Frieda Copperfield each embark on their own voyage of discovery and emancipation. Mrs. Copperfield visits Panama with her husband, but finds herself descending into a shadowy and seedy demimonde of brothels and bars, while Miss Goering engages in increasingly sordid encounters with strange men. At the end, the two women meet again, each transformed by her experience—and the reader transformed by the devastating wit and strange clarity with which Bowles writes of society and women’s place in it.

Containing Two Serious Ladies, In the Summer House, Plain Pleasures with Other Stories and from the Journals

“The most important writer of prose fiction in modern American letters . . . Her work, her life: deep truth, observed without pretension, with humor and humanity. As artist and person, an angel.” —Tennessee Williams In these uncanny and insidious tales, Jane Bowles presents an incendiary and groundbreaking vision of the mad possibilities of literary modernism. From “Everything Is Nice,” where an American woman is led to a house in a “blue Moslem town” by a veiled woman with porcupines in her basket, to “Camp Cataract,” a tour de force of middle-class claustrophobia and dread set in Colorado, these stories are a bewildering, headlong plunge into the jagged, fever-dream world of Jane Bowles. And for the first time ever, this collection includes the excised sections of Bowles’s novel Two Serious Ladies (which was originally Three Serious Ladies).

Stories

Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles is a daring and unconventional novel that explores the lives of two eccentric women seeking meaning and liberation in a world defined by societal norms and expectations. With her sharp wit and singular voice, Bowles crafts a story that is as enigmatic as it is compelling. The narrative follows the parallel yet divergent journeys of Christina Goering, a wealthy recluse with a penchant for self-imposed challenges, and Frieda Copperfield, a restless woman who seeks freedom and adventure during a trip to Panama. As their lives unfold, both women make increasingly bold and unpredictable choices, defying convention and embracing experiences that lead them into uncharted emotional and existential territory. Through encounters with an array of colorful characters—ranging from lovers and friends to strangers who challenge their perspectives—Goering and Copperfield grapple with themes of desire, identity, and the pursuit of authenticity. Their stories are laced with humor, melancholy, and a sense of the absurd, reflecting Bowles's keen understanding of human complexity. Richly atmospheric and boldly introspective, Two Serious Ladies is a celebration of individuality and a critique of the societal pressures that constrain it. Bowles's unique prose style and offbeat sensibilities make the novel a cult classic, resonating with readers who appreciate stories of self-discovery told with wit, poignancy, and a touch of surrealism. Perfect for fans of literary fiction and character-driven narratives, Two Serious Ladies remains a timeless exploration of the human condition, offering a provocative and unforgettable reading experience.

Jane Bowles has for many years had an underground reputation as one of the truly original writers of the twentieth century. The collection in My Sister's Hand in Mine of expertly crafted short fiction will fully acquaint all students and scholars with the author Tennessee Williams called "the most important writer of prose fiction in modern American letters."

For her centenary (February 22, 2017), the most complete edition ever published of the brilliant modernist writings and evocative letters of an LGBT pioneer. Though Jane Bowles published only one novel, one play, and a handful of stories, her genius for spare prose and vivid dialogue had an outsized influence on her contemporaries. Tennessee Williams called her "the most important writer of prose fiction in modern American letters"; for John Ashbery she was "one of the finest modern writers of fiction in any language." Now, on the occasion of her centenary, Library of America presents the most complete edition ever published of Bowles's incomparable fiction, along with an extensive selection of her frank, vivid, and funny letters. Two Serious Ladies (1943), based partly on her honeymoon in Mexico with her husband, the writer and composer Paul Bowles, follows two bourgeois American women in Panama as they jettison sexual and cultural norms in search of happiness: Christina Goering, a wealthy spinster who becomes a high-class prostitute; and newlywed Frieda Copperfield, who finds love and comfort in the arms of a young Panamanian girl. In The Summer House (1954), a play about two mothers, one selfish and ruthless, despising her dreamy daughter, the other gentle, dominated by her strong-minded daughter, was performed on Broadway in 1953 and reflects Bowles's complicated relationship with her own mother. The volume also includes five short stories, two song lyrics, a puppet play, and the nonfiction sketch "East Side: North Africa." (Paul Bowles's rewrite of "East Side: North Africa," published in 1966, under Jane's name, as the short story "Everything Is Nice," is also included as an appendix), as well as fragments from two abandoned novels, a section of Two Serious Ladies cut from an earlier draft, four abandoned stories, one unfinished play, and one autobiographical fragment. Rounding out the volume are 133 letters, including candid portraits of such friends and acquaintances as John Ashbery, William Burroughs, Ira Gershwin, Allen Ginsberg, Carson McCullers, Sylvia Plath, Paul Robeson, Susan Sontag, Gertrude Stein, Gore Vidal, Eudora Welty, and Tennessee Williams. The letters are introduced with headnotes by editor Millicent Dillon, plus 10 pages of photographs have been reproduced from the original edition of the letters. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is 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.

Two Serious Ladies / In the Summer House / stories & other writings / letters

Jane Bowles: Collected Writings (LOA #288)

WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY CHRIS POWER 'The most important writer of prose fiction in modern American letters' Tennessee Williams 'A modern legend' Truman Capote 'Bowles is a master of the unforgettable phrase that no one else could have written' William S. Burroughs 'A dizzyingly original stylist' New York Times "It's the truth," the women said from their mattress "Everything is nice". Alva, a widow, states a preference for plain ordinary pleasures - only to get drunk and flirtatious, and pass out in a strange bed when she is asked out for the evening. Sadie, a spinster, goes to a holiday resort complete with pine groves, marshmallows and respectable clientele - to bring her nervous sister home, but instead comes to an eerie end herself. Mary, a little girl, spends her days in a clay pit leading an imaginary army of hard-muscled men. But hen a strange boy invades her headquarters, Mary abandons her soldiers to follow him home. Disturbing, unforgettable, totally unique - Jane Bowles' short stories explore the hidden lives of women that only appear ordinary. A W&N Essential

A play about dominating mothers manipulating their daughters.

Jane Bowles

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