Foreign Affairs

Alison Lurie · 1926–2020 · USA

Why it matters

A prim, unglamorous Cornell professor and a brash Oklahoma engineer, thrown together in London on separate research trips, both stumble into romances neither expected. Lurie's Pulitzer winner is comedy of manners at its most socially exacting, vanity and loneliness observed with equal precision.

At a glance

Straightforward, witty prose and conventional structure make for an easy, pleasurable read.