 1984 first edition |
|
| Author | Alison Lurie |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | August 1984 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 291 pp (hardback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-394-54076-X (hardback edition) |
Foreign Affairs is a novel by Alison Lurie. It concerns itself with American academics in England.
Contents |
Plot summary
Unmarried, fifty-four year-old Virginia Miner (Vinnie), a professor at Corinth who specializes in children's literature, is off to London for another research trip. Her work has been trashed by a Professor L. Zimmern of Columbia and she is hoping to produce an important new book about playground rhymes that will restore her reputation and confidence. The author makes a strong point of telling us that Vinnie is not conventionally beautiful — perhaps even considered ugly — but that she gets her fair share of lewd propositions nevertheless. A 'pro' at long flights, her serenity is ruffled by her seatmate, a garrulous married man, Chuck Mumpson, of Tulsa who wishes to chat. She puts him off with difficulty. But the smoking and drinking Chuck is persistent. He could use help with a research trip of his own to trace his family history. Vinnie slowly becomes involved with his project, and then with him. Meanwhile, her young colleague, Fred Turner, has left his wife, Roo, at home for his own sabbatical; they have quarreled. Soon, he consoles himself with the affections of Lady Rosemary Hadley. Quite by accident and with the encouragement of Chuck, Vinnie becomes an emissary for Fred's estranged wife in an improbable midnight walk on Hampstead Heath. Just as she begins to think Chuck's affections have cooled, because of his silence of several days duration, she is visited by his daughter who describes his sudden death while climbing the stairs of a small town hall. When her publisher patronizes his memory, she realizes with surprise that he loved her and she loved him. She returns to her life in Corinth, solitary and unloved, but altered for having loved and been loved.
Characters in "Foreign Affairs"
- Virginia Miner (Vinnie) – professor at Corinth
- Fred Turner – Miner's young colleague
- Chuck Mumpson – who she meets on a plane
Awards and nominations
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1985, and was made into a made-for-TV movie.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
In 1993, Foreign Affairs was made into a TV movie written by Chris Bryant.
External links
| Preceded by Ironweed by William Kennedy |
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1985 |
Succeeded by Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry |
