Good Behaviour (Virago Modern Classics) [Paperback]

Molly Keane (Author), Marian Keyes (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006 | Series: Virago Modern Classics

Behind the gates of Temple Alice, the aristocratic Anglo-Irish St Charles family sinks into a state of decaying grace. To Aroon St Charles, the large and unlovely daughter of the house, the fierce forces of sex, money, jealousy, and love seem locked out by the ritual patterns of good behavior. But crumbling codes of conduct cannot hope to save the members of the St Charles family from their own unruly and inadmissible desires. This elegant and allusive novel, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, established Molly Keane as the natural successor to Jean Rhys.

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.

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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Virago UK (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844083241
• ISBN-13: 978-1844083244
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irish Humor, Irish Sorrow, October 3, 1997

By 

C. Macauley "cmacauley" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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, May 30, 2003

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., December 1, 2008

By 

David M. Giltinan (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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.