Three powerful novels from the feminist scholar who wrote one of the bestselling books of the late twentieth century, The Women's Room. Through the eyes of Stacey (née Anastasia), a divorced feminist New York photographer, we get to know her mother, Bella, a remarkable woman, wife, and mother. The daughter of Polish immigrants, Bella, who renamed herself Belle, clawed her way out of poverty and settled into a middle-class existence. Shifting perspectives between the two women, the reader is drawn into Belle's life during the lean years of the Depression, and into Stacey's recollections of her youthful marriage, a lesbian affair, and her tempestuous relationship with her own daughter, Arden. One of Marilyn French's most ambitious works, Her Mother's Daughter explores the complex, indestructible bond between daughters and mothers. In Our Father, as distinguished presidential adviser Stephen Upton lies mortally ill in a Massachusetts hospital, four women gather at his lavish mansion. Half sisters Elizabeth, Mary, Alex, and Ronnie have painful and poignant memories of their childhoods--and their dying father. Born to different mothers, the sisters haven't seen one another in years. As Upton hovers between life and death, his daughters begin to open up about the man they both love and hate. As they share their stories, they discover the terrible secret that binds them all together. Moving and eloquent, Our Father is a testament to the power of female relationships. In The Bleeding Heart, Dolores Durer, a divorced professor and mother of two adult children, has sworn off love after a series of disastrous affairs. Meanwhile, electronics executive Victor Morrissey is in England to open a branch office. He has four children and is unhappily married. When Victor and Dolores meet--on a train--their connection is instant and passionate. In this New York Times-bestselling novel about love and marriage, two Americans abroad embark on an affair that will have consequences in both their lives.
