Behind the gates of Temple Alice, the aristocratic Anglo-Irish St Charles family sinks into a state of decaying grace. To Aroon, large and unlovely daughter of the house, sex, money, jealousy and love seemed locked out by the rituals of good behaviour. But codes of conduct cannot hope to save them.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Keane's 1981 novel also features a self-destructive family. Behind their fa ade of aristocratic morals and good bahavior, the Anglo-Irish St. Charles family are a clan of jealous, greedy, sex-obsessed brutes. A bit of a soap opera, this should be popular.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
* ' Molly Keane's Good Behaviour is a remarkable novel, beautifully written, brilliant in its original idea and every page a pleasure to read. Good Behaviour is a tour de force P.D. JAMES *'Dark, complex, engaging ... A wonderful tour de force' MARIAN KEYES 'A masterpiece ... Molly Keane is a mistress of wicked comedy' MALCOLM BRADBURY, VOGUE *'The very best of Anglo-Irish writing' CLARE BOYLAN * 'An extraordinary tour de force' VOGUE * 'A masterpiece' BOOKSELLER * 'A fine novel, wickedly alive' VICTORIA GLENDINNING, SUNDAY TIMES * 'Enchanting' EDNA O'BRIEN, OBSERVER
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Irish Humor, Irish Sorrow,
By
This review is from: Good Behaviour (Mass Market Paperback)
An aristocratic family living in poverty in a huge, crumbling mansion...A fat woman terribly disappointed in love...How could this story be funny? Only through the wit and skill of a great undiscovered writer like Molly Keane--how truly sad that this book is Hard To Find. She creates Ireland in the 30's for us in tones so rich and vivid that you'll never want it to end.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jazz Age Jane Austen,
By disheveledprofessor (the home of the Blue Angels) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Good Behavior (Paperback)
...In "Good Behavior", Keane has captured this world, depicting with sharply witty and bitter accuracy the passe rituals, the claims of class superiority, the tyranny of families disguised under the label of love. Yet she maintains the poignancy of the human need for acceptance and love.I am looking forward to reading her other novels. And I've heard that there is a BBC production of "Good Behavior", so I'll be watching for it as well.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging account of bad behavior in the manor house.,
By
This review is from: Good Behaviour (Virago Modern Classics) (Paperback)
Molly Keane sticks to her chosen niche in this book, the story of an Anglo-Irish family whose members are dedicated to mutual assured destruction, even as they slide into genteel poverty. Nobody in the St Charles household would dream of treating the dogs or horses badly; servants and local tradesmen don't fare so well. But the brunt of their vituperation is saved for one another, with each family member nursing a store of petty grievances, both real and imaginary. Our guide for this particular version of hell is the unlovely, delusional daughter of the house, Aroon. Neglected by her philandering father, despised by her icy mother, used by her charming brother, she pines for love and approval. Her transformation to bitter, vengeful, old maid is inevitable and heartbreaking to watch.Nobody captures the claustrophobic world of the decaying Anglo-Irish aristocracy better than Molly Keane. While parts of "Good Behaviour" are very funny indeed, it is considerably darker and more complex than the rest of her books, all of which cover similar ground. The writing is exceptional; Keane nails the idiosyncrasies of her characters vividly, with wit and affection. An engaging, if ultimately depressing, account of a not so well-behaved family.
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