<div>Suzanne Blume has known success and disappointment in equal measure. A respected lawyer who survived two marriages and put two children through college, she now faces the disquieting prospect of her wayward older daughter moving back home. But more troubling still is the news that her mother, a woman of legendary independence who has never truly accepted her daughter nor approved of her choices, has been felled by age and illness. And, for the first time in her life, she needs Suzanne's help.Intertwining the lives of three generations of contemporary women, master storyteller Marge Piercy plunges into the deepest, most elemental basics of life -- love, aging, illness, and death -- and emerges with a brave, compassionate exploration of the volatile ground between mothers and daughters.</div>

Three Women

<div>Marge Piercy, a writer who is highly praised as both a poet and a novelist, turns her gaze inward as she shares her thoughts on life and explores her development as a woman and writer. She pays tribute to the one loving constant that has offered her comfort and meaning even as the faces and events in her life have changed -- her beloved cats.With searing honesty, Piercy tells of her strained childhood growing up in a religiously split, working-class family in Detroit. She examines her myriad friendships and relationships, including two painful early marriages, and reveals their effects on her creativity and career. More than a reminiscence of things past, however, Sleeping With Cats is also a celebration of the present and the future, as Piercy shares her views on aging, creativity, and finding a lasting and improbable love with a man fourteen years younger than herself.A chronicle of the turbulent and exciting journey of one artist's life, Sleeping With Cats is a deeply intimate, unforgettable story.</div>

Sleeping with Cats

<div>“A resonant tale of public and private lives during a time of staggering societal shifts. . . . This is a big American story. . . . deeply felt.” —Boston Globe Post–Civil War New York City is the battleground of the American dream. In this era of free love, emerging rights of women, and brutal sexual repression, Freydeh, a spirited young Jewish immigrant, toils at different jobs to earn passage to America for her family. Learning that her younger sister is adrift somewhere in the city, she begins a determined search that carries her from tenement to brothel to prison—as her story interweaves with those of some of the epoch's most notorious figures: Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Susan B. Anthony; sexual freedom activist Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president; and Anthony Comstock, founder of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, whose censorship laws are still on the books. In the tradition of her bestselling World War II epic Gone to Soldiers, Marge Piercy once again re-creates a turbulent period in American history and explores changing attitudes in a land of sacrifice, suffering, promise, and reward. “Piercy powerfully dramatizes the early feminists’ zeal and the high stakes of the gender wars it set in motion, and offers a wealth of period detail.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “In this mesmerizing, sexy, and forthright historical novel, [Piercy] portrays heroic women determined to control every aspect of their lives, from birth control to finances. . . . spectacularly engrossing and truly moving.” —Booklist “Fascinating and all too relevant. . . . Piercy has a gift or conjuring the texture of an historical era.” —Washington Post</div>

Sex Wars

<div>An &ldquo;extraordinary&rdquo; novel of the intertwined lives of three troubled women, by the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of Gone to Soldiers (San Francisco Chronicle). When her best friend&rsquo;s death rattles her sense of complacency, college professor Leila Landsman decides she&rsquo;s finally had enough of her cheating husband. Leila throws herself into her work and encounters Becky Burgess, a local woman who climbed her way out of poverty but whose success is completely halted when she becomes the prime suspect in her husband&rsquo;s murder. Meanwhile, Leila&rsquo;s housekeeper, Mary Burke, is no stranger to failed marriage. Abandoned by her husband for a younger woman, and unable to support herself on her own income alone, Mary now secretly sleeps in her clients&rsquo; houses, hiding her homelessness to remain employed and survive. Flawed but resourceful, frightened yet determined, these three women must draw on an inner strength they never knew existed to make it without the men they&rsquo;ve come to depend on. Although their situations differ, Leila, Becky, and Mary have all reached their tipping points&mdash;and each is about to be pushed to the brink&mdash;in this gripping and relatable story of the dangers of dependence and the liberating power of self-reliance.</div>

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The Longings of Women

<div>For three Cape Cod residents, the influx of summer visitors is no more than a minor nuisance&mdash;until it brings a man who threatens the balance of their delicate relationship For more than a decade, Dinah, Susan, and Susan&rsquo;s husband, Willie&mdash;artists and neighbors in a small Cape Cod town&mdash;have enjoyed an unconventional, but deeply satisfying, three-way relationship. When the annual summer crowd flocks to the Cape, Dinah misses her quiet afternoons composing music in the woods, and Willie, a sculptor, puts aside his own work to do carpentry jobs on lavish vacation homes. Susan, though, envies the glamorous lives of the summer residents. And one visitor, Tyrone Burdock, a wealthy and seductive financier, offers her an enticing glimpse into his world that may jolt the foundation of her m&eacute;nage &agrave; trois. The clash between moneyed newcomers and the soulful artists who live on the Cape year-round shakes the threesome&rsquo;s external world and the bonds holding them together as they see their bohemian enclave becoming a bourgeois retreat. Bestselling author Marge Piercy skillfully navigates this unique landscape with vivid details and an eye for emotional complexity, bringing these singular characters to life as their relationship undergoes profound changes that will resonate long after the summer people have left. </div>

Summer People

<div>Two unforgettable women see their lives change in unimaginable ways in this captivating novel spanning the explosion of feminism in the 1960s Growing up, Beth always dreamed of her wedding day. But a few months into her marriage to Jim, whose affection she once clung to desperately, she realizes she didn&rsquo;t anticipate life beyond the altar. Jim spends his nights out drinking with his buddies and criticizes every meal Beth cooks, and the only solution her family suggests is to have a baby&mdash;which she knows would trap her in this miserable life forever. So she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Boston. There she meets Miriam, an ambitious computer science PhD candidate who nonetheless gives up her career for an unfulfilling marriage. Alongside a cast of intellectuals, budding feminists, and political activists, Beth and Miriam find themselves rapidly evolving as they are swept up in the tumultuous social upheaval of the sixties. Experimenting with relationships and sexuality, and taking a stand for women&rsquo;s rights and against the Vietnam War, they learn to trust their instincts and lean on each other. Small Changes is a glimmering example of bestselling author Marge Piercy&rsquo;s knack for capturing the authentic struggles and desires of contemporary women with clarity and compassion. </div>

Small Changes

<div>A New York Times Notable Book: A woman learns the truth about her husband&rsquo;s deceptions in this &ldquo;superb&rdquo; novel by the bestselling author of Gone to Soldiers (Boston Herald). After a cross-country tour promoting her latest cookbook, Daria Walker is ready to return to her beautiful home in an affluent Boston suburb and her beloved husband, Ross, a prominent attorney whose rough-hewn good looks have never stopped charming her. But when she arrives, he blindsides her by announcing he wants a divorce. Surprised and devastated, Daria suspects he may be having an affair, but the reality is far worse and will tear apart the illusion of her perfectly happy family. When a boy dies tragically and a scandal erupts involving a mercenary slumlord, Daria is outraged along with the rest of the city. But when she learns that Ross may have a connection to the case, she sets out on a journey to discover the truth&mdash;a quest that will cast a shadow over the comfortable life she once enjoyed. From the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of Woman on the Edge of Time, Fly Away Home is the story of a woman forced to question her values, her relationships, and herself&mdash;&ldquo;a tale of love, betrayal, and revenge set against a backdrop of sterile suburbs, confrontational politics [and] the evils of gentrification&rdquo; (The New York Times). </div>

Fly Away Home

<div>Passions flare in a most unlikely love triangle between three remarkable characters facing arduous life challenges in this engrossing novel by bestselling author Marge Piercy Heartbroken after her girlfriend leaves her for another woman, Leslie, a history grad student, follows her thesis advisor from Grand Rapids to Detroit for a fresh start. There she befriends seventeen-year-old Honor, who sparks a familiar passion within her. Feeling that she can&rsquo;t act on her desire, she sleeps with Honor&rsquo;s older friend, Bernard, a gay former street hustler who resents his past and, to make matters more complicated, also lusts for Honor. As the three grapple with issues of sexuality and identity, author Marge Piercy manages to be both intimately attuned to her characters&rsquo; emotions and aware of their role in a larger social and economic context. Leslie, Honor, and Bernard struggle financially in a city that doesn&rsquo;t offer many opportunities, and they discover that expressing their sexuality and finding love may be privileges they cannot afford. &ldquo;A novel as ambiguous and fascinating as life itself.&rdquo; &mdash;The New York Times &ldquo;Piercy goes over her subjects with a fine-tooth comb and provides food for thought about some of our directions, feelings and values.&rdquo; &mdash;Publishers Weekly</div>

The High Cost of Living

<div>This sweeping New York Times bestseller is &ldquo;the most thorough and most captivating, most engrossing novel ever written about World War II&rdquo; (Los Angeles Times). Epic in scope, Marge Piercy&rsquo;s sweeping novel encompasses the wide range of people and places marked by the Second World War. Each of her ten narrators has a unique and compelling story that powerfully depicts his or her personality, desires, and fears. Special attention is given to the women of the war effort, like Bernice, who rebels against her domineering father to become a fighter pilot, and Naomi, a Parisian Jew sent to live with relatives in Detroit, whose twin sister, Jacqueline&mdash;still in France&mdash;joins the resistance against Nazi rule. The horrors of the concentration camps; the heroism of soldiers on the beaches of Okinawa, the skies above London, and the seas of the Mediterranean; the brilliance of code breakers; and the resilience of families waiting for the return of sons, brothers, and fathers are all conveyed through powerful, poignant prose that resonates beyond the page. Gone to Soldiers is a testament to the ordinary people, with their flaws and inner strife, who rose to defend liberty during the most extraordinary times.</div>

Gone to Soldiers

<div>A washed-up minor league pitcher gets more than he bargained for when his affair with an older woman draws him into a tangled web of deceit and scandal When Cape Cod high school star pitcher David Greene left home, everyone in his small beach town rallied behind his dream of making it in the pros. No one expected the local legend to return broke a few years later, with an undistinguished minor league record and a painful divorce behind him. As he tries to rebuild his life, David begins an affair with Judith Silver&mdash;one that her much older, terminally ill husband, Gordon, condones on the condition that David run for a seat on the town&rsquo;s board of selectman against Gordon&rsquo;s political rival. Set in a lushly drawn seaside resort town, this thrilling novel pushes its complicated and fascinating characters to extremes of emotion. Driven by passion and a lust for power, David, Judith, and Gordon are all guilty of seduction and manipulation that will result in irrevocable consequences. As David&rsquo;s romantic and political involvements escalate at a fever pitch, a forceful storm rolls in off the ocean, leading up to a tumultuous climax. </div>

Storm Tide

<div>This novel by a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author follows three &ldquo;bold, courageous, and entertaining&rdquo; women through the tumult of the French Revolution (Booklist). For Claire Lacombe and Pauline Leon, two poor women of eighteenth-century France, the lofty ideals of the coming revolution could not seem more abstract. But when Claire sees the gaping disparity between the poverty she has known and the lavish lives of aristocrats as her theater group performs in their homes, and Pauline witnesses the execution of local bread riot leaders, both are driven to join the uprising. They, along with upper-class women like Madame Manon Roland, who ghostwrites speeches for her politician husband and runs a Parisian salon where revolutionaries gather, will play critical roles in the French people&rsquo;s bloody battle for liberty and equality. Based on a true story, author Marge Piercy&rsquo;s thrilling and scrupulously researched account shines with emotional depth and strikingly animated action. By interweaving their tales with the exploits of men whose names have become synonymous with the revolution, like Robespierre and Danton, Piercy reveals how the contributions of these courageous women may be lesser known, but no less important. Rich in detail and broad in scope, City of Darkness, City of Light is a riveting portrayal of an extraordinary era and the women who helped shape an important chapter in history.</div>

City of Darkness, City of Light

<div>When their neighborhood is marked for urban renewal, four tenacious city dwellers band together in the face of a wealthy and powerful institution A local university plans to bulldoze and replace parts of a predominantly African American Chicago slum with student housing. But for those who live there, the affordable if run-down homes are havens for creativity and self-exploration, and a setting for developing meaningful relationships. Among the residents are Anna, a teacher; her lover, Rowley, a soul singer; and their friends, documentary filmmaker Leon and the beautiful yet mysterious Caroline. The university may have more money and political clout, but these determined young people aren&rsquo;t willing to let the wrecking ball tear through their world without a fight. Their relationships are strained and their convictions are tested as secrets are uncovered and they battle with a changing economic climate that jeopardizes their very way of life. The city has turned its back on them, and they have nothing left to lose. Bestselling author Marge Piercy combines social commentary and her talent for depicting characters&rsquo; emotions with unflinching precision in this novel that has as much to say about the consequences of gentrification as it does about the vulnerabilities of the human heart. </div>

Going Down Fast

<div>Literary works honoring the role of women and quilting in history—from Harriet Beecher Stowe, Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Walker, Sharyn McCrumb, and others. This collection of stories, plays, poems, and songs featuring the making of quilts—written from 1845 to the present, mainly by American women—documents women’s literary history. Featuring the work of Bobbie Ann Mason, Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Walker, Sharyn McCrumb, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Marge Piercy, Adrienne Rich, and many others, Quilt Stories is a colorful literary album of stories, poems, and plays that celebrate quilting as a pattern in women’s history. These stories—grouped under the themes of memory, courtship, struggle, mystery, and wisdom—reflect the importance of quilting in the lives of American women, not only as a practical craft and a creative outlet, but also as an integral part of the social community. “The 28 works included in Quilt Stories restore to women a part of their history and their sense of community, an important service in a present time in which quilting has perhaps become a more private and individual art, though it still serves widely as a medium for social exchange and cooperative endeavor.” —Appalachian Quarterly “Macheski has pieced together a variety of literary fabrics into a unique design which represents women’s struggle for identity in a masculine world.” —Benton, Arkansas Courier “Each writing shares a glimpse of what quilting means to those people who practice the art and how it helps us to see, remember, learn, know and express our feelings.” —Quilt World “An innovative approach to writing the history of women.” —Northwest Ohio Quarterly</div>

Marge Piercy
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Books By Marge Piercy (13 Books)