Literary Fiction · LightTwo American academics in London, each with a very different trip
Foreign Affairs
by Alison Lurie
Two American academics spend a term in London and each has an unexpected romance
Vinnie Miner, a middle-aged children's literature professor from Corinth University, travels to London to do research. On the flight she meets Chuck Mumpson, a talkative American who is working on his family history. Her younger colleague, Fred Turner, is also in London on sabbatical. His marriage is in trouble, and he pursues a relationship with the TV actress Lady Rosemary Radley.
More about this book
Who
Virginia "Vinnie" Miner, a professor; Chuck Mumpson, a talkative American; Fred Turner, a younger colleague; and Lady Rosemary Radley, a TV actress.
World
London and Corinth University, a fictional American campus.
What makes it different
It is a comic novel of manners about Americans abroad. It won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was nominated for the 1984 National Book Award.
Feel
Witty and sharp, easy to read and light on its feet.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- Foreign AffairsWikipedia