The Company She Keeps * Mary McCarthy

Told across six interlinked episodes, this sharp, semi-autobiographical debut novel follows a witty young intellectual navigating love, divorce, radical politics, and self-discovery in 1930s New York City.

The Story. Written by acclaimed American novelist, critic, and political activist Mary McCarthy captures the vibrant, tumultuous literary circles of pre-war Manhattan. Centered on Margaret Sargent, a spirited Vassar graduate searching for honesty and personal identity, the book unfolds through six vivid, non-linear portraits, including an extramarital affair, a job at a shady art gallery, an unexpected train encounter with a married businessman, a tense dinner party, and a candid session with a psychoanalyst. Written with McCarthy's signature wit and unflinching candor, the novel offers an intimate, perceptive look at a young woman testing her independence against social expectations.

Perfect For. Classic literature readers, book clubs, and fans of sharp, character-driven 20th-century social satire alongside Mary McCarthy's The Group, Dawn Powell's Turn, Magic Wheel, Dorothy Parker's stories, or Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays.

First published 1942; this edition 1981 by Avon Books.

Fiction / Classics / 20th-Century American Literature / Literary Satire & Social Critique / Interlinked Stories & Episodic Novels / New York Intellectual & Bohemian Fiction / Feminist Classics