“[
Quartet
’s] abiding power arises from [Jean Rhys’s] ability to convey the complex vectors of desire and repulsion that move between the characters, distorted by the intractable demands of convention, even in this supposedly liberal bohemian society.” —from the introduction by Claire Messud
, Jean Rhys’s first novel, launched her literary career in the late 1920s, and today remains an incisive, sinister tale of love and obsession.
After her husband, Stephan, is arrested, Marya finds herself destitute in Paris. With nowhere else to turn, she accepts the hospitality of an English couple living on the fringes of the artistic world. Yet as Marya is drawn inexorably into their universe, she becomes entangled in a bizarre sexual and psychological relationship that frightens even as it fascinates her—and as the date of Stephan’s release from prison draws near, Marya’s new life splits apart at the seams.