Good Behaviour: A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick – Booker Prize Gems
Originally published in 1981, and the first of her novels not to be put out under a pseudonym, Good Behaviour tells a story of Anglo-Irish society in the early twentieth century, from the point of view of the daughter of the St. Charles Family. This sparklingly witty black comedy of manners establishes Keane’s position as an exquisite satirist and connoisseur of human nature.
FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH MARCH 2025
Synopsis
We kept our heads above the morass, stifled screaming despairs only by the exercise of Good Behaviour.
Behind the gates of Temple Alice, the aristocratic St Charles family is sinking into a state of decaying grace. Aroon, the unlovely daughter of the house, silently longs for affection - which she receives neither from her icy mother nor her hunting-obsessed father. The fierce forces of sex, money, jealousy and love seem stifled by the rules of good behaviour. But no crumbling codes of conduct can save the members of the St Charles family from their own dark secrets and repressed cruelties . . .
Introduced by Maggie O'Farrell
'Molly Keane is a mistress of wicked comedy' VOGUE
'Dark, complex, engaging . . . a wonderful tour de force' MARIAN KEYES
'I have read and re-read Molly Keane more, I think, than any other writer. Nobody else can touch her as a satirist, tragedian and dissector of human behaviour' MAGGIE O'FARRELL
'I really wish I had written this book...You read it with mounting horror and hilarity' HILARY MANTEL
Publisher information
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9780349019604
- Number of pages: 304
- Dimensions: 198 x 126 x 24 mm
- Weight: 240g
- Languages: English
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