Lady of the Snakes - by Rachel Pastan (Paperback)

About the Book

Jane Levitsky is a bright light in the field of 19th-century Russian literature. Seizing her ticket to academic superstardom, she sets in motion a chain of events that will come perilously close to unraveling both her marriage and her career.

Book Synopsis

Jane Levitsky is a bright light in the field of nineteenth-century Russian literature, making her name as an expert on the novels of Grigory Karkov and the diaries of his wife, the long-suffering Masha Karkova. Jane is also wife to sweet, reasonable Billy and mother to lovable (if demanding) Maisie, roles she's finding surprisingly challenging to juggle along with her ambitions. But when Jane uncovers evidence that Masha may have been more than muse and helpmeet to her famous husband, she seizes her ticket to academic superstardom. Little does she know that she has set in motion a chain of events that will come perilously close to unraveling both her marriage and her career. Lady of the Snakes will be instantly familiar--and instantly unforgettable--to anyone who has ever felt torn between two worlds.

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR LADY OF THE SNAKES

"Rachel Pastan is a writer of immense intelligence and charm, and the delightful Lady of the Snakes beautifully showcases her talent."--Hilma Wolitzer, author of Summer Reading and Hearts
"Both a clever academic novel and a cunning literary detective story, Lady of the Snakes is perhaps most remarkable in its unflinching and compassionate portrait of its heroine, a young woman struggling to manage the competing demands of marriage, motherhood and career. This is a marvelous, fearless book." Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen s Pier and Songs Without Words
"With wry humor and refreshing candor, Rachel Pastan depicts the triumphs and travails of a working mother; an academic whose scholarly research reveals with startling clarity just how far women have come and how far we've still to go. Lady of the Snakes is a smart, witty, and gutsy novel." -- Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of An Almost Perfect Moment and Hester Among the Ruins"

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR LADY OF THE SNAKES "A literary mystery crossed with a funny feminist commentary on marriage. Think A. S. Byatt linking arms in sisterhood with chick-lit champs Susan Isaacs and Jennifer Weiner. I was hooked from the opening scene."--Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "Pastan's writing is fluid and frank, and her characters are luminescent."--Washington Post Book World --