Adultery - by Louise DeSalvo (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Just after Louise DeSalvo gave birth to her first child, her husband confessed that he was having an affair. After surviving the crisis in her marriage, she began to read and write about adultery to explore the question of why people cheat. The result is this fun and compassionate book that draws upon the lives and works of literary figures such as Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf, and Henry Miller to offer a transforming understanding of infidelity and marriage.

Review Quotes

What does it matter if Louise DeSalvo is pious or promiscuous? She lays her hands on the reader. She seduces. I'm convinced-or is it healed? -Mirabella

"Tart and entertaining. . . . An intelligent and thought-provoking inquiry into why sexual infidelity will always fascinate us."-Publishers Weekly

"Face it: No matter how faithful you are, you've thought about infidelity. But after reading Adultery, you'll never think about it the same way again. In this absorbing exploration of marriage and autonomy, Louise DeSalvo exposes the secret to a successful partnership: valuing it, and valuing yourself."-Leora Tanenbaum, author of Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation

"DeSalvo's moving literary exploration is great preparation for her real work: resolving the betrayal in her own marriage."-Rebecca Miller, Library Journal

About the Author

Louise DeSalvo is the author of several books, including Virginia Woolf, Vertigo, and Writing as a Way of Healing. She is professor of English at Hunter College and divides her time between Teaneck, New Jersey, and Sag Harbor, New York.