Isabel's Bed [Paperback]

Elinor Lipman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

When Harriet Mahoney first sees it, Isabel Krug's bed is covered with sheared sheep and littered with celebrity biographies. Unpublished, fortyish, and recently jilted, Harriet has fled Manhattan for Isabel's loudly elegant Cape Cod retreat, where she will ghostwrite The Isabel Krug Story, based on the sexy blond's scandalous tabloid past. Unusually "talented" in the man department ("I give lessons"), Isabel revamps and inspires Harriet as they gear up to tell all, including the tangled history Isabel shares with her odd lodger, Costas. Life according to Isabel is a nonstop soap opera extravaganza, an experience to be swallowed whole -- and the attitude is catching....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Isabel's Bed gives us the intricate and deft plot, crisp dialogue and unexpected twists and turns we have come to expect in the comic novels of Elinor Lipman. Here we meet Harriet Mahoney, a would-be writer recently jilted by her bagel-vending boyfriend. Harriet is at loose ends until she agrees to ghostwrite a chesty blonde's version of her tabloid past. Isabel Krug is the woman with the past; Harriet sees in her story the literary future that has eluded her. In the course of this partnership, unexpected alliances are formed, and fulfillment is found where no one thought to search. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

When her live-in lover of 12 years tells her he's marrying someone else, Harriet Mahoney, a writer of unpublished stories "about love between quiet people" answers an ad for a ghostwriter. She moves from Manhattan to Cape Cod, into a lavish, ultramodern house on the dunes near Truro, where she will work on her novel about her parents' marriage while ghosting the story of the decidedly unquiet Isabel Krug, whose claim to fame is having been the other woman in a celebrated murder case. (Isabel, who was in bed with her rich lover when his wife shot him in the heart, became star witness in the much-publicized trial.) With her trademark, light comic touch Lipman (The Way Men Act) unfolds her narrative, revealing the gradual effect of Isabel's flamboyant lifestyle (her bed is covered in eggplant colored shearling) on Harriet's worldview, and on Harriet's career. The appealing supporting cast includes Isabel's eccentric artist husband, Costas, also in residence; Harriet's former lover, who owns a bagel deli in TriBeCa; and Isabel's handyman Pete, a native Cape Codder. The unexpected ending offers a just-right finish to this wry, warm story of about love and those who practice it. Literary Guild selection; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671015648
• ISBN-13: 978-0671015640
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elinor Lipman started writing fiction by night while working at a teachers' magazine by day. Her first book, INTO LOVE AND OUT AGAIN, was published in 1987; its centerpiece was seven connected stories, novella-length, which gave her the courage to try a novel. THEN SHE FOUND ME came out in 1990 (18 years later it was adapted into a feature film), followed by THE WAY MEN ACT, ISABEL'S BED, THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE, THE LADIES' MAN, THE DEARLY DEPARTED, THE PURSUIT OF ALICE THRIFT, MY LATEST GRIEVANCE and most recently, THE FAMILY MAN. Her honors include the New England Book Award and The Poetry Center's Fiction Prize. She divides her time between leafy western Massachusetts and New York City, and tries to write 500 words per day no matter the location. She and her husband have one son, who lives in Los Angeles and explains the movie business to his mother as needed. She knits, follows politics, cooks, and walks, but not enthusiastically.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really warmed to this book as I went on, October 18, 2001

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isabel's Bed (Paperback)

The blurbs on the cover of this book really put me off at first - someone on the front cover saying that 'by about page ten the reader has a grin on his face' and on the back something about her being the new Jane Austen - etc etc. While being none of those things to me though, I found a lot else in it which grew on me as the book progressed, and surprising to myself I found that I couldn't put it down - and reading to the finish I found it a fun, and infinitely satisfying read.

The heroine of the novel is Harriet Mahoney - 42, failed in a long term relationship, aspiring novellist and looking for a way to escape New York and her ex-partner for a while - wound-licking stuff. She applies for a position ghost-writing Isabel Krug's life story - the fact that she has no idea just who Isabel is, or how notorious her story is, is the subject of the book. Harriet goes to live with her at Cape Cod and in fact it is the growing relationship between these two women which was for me, the most interesting part of the book. As we learn more about Harriet we also have more of Isabel revealed. Its all done in context of the novel and some of it is quite startling. One thing I'll say for Elinor Lipman is she really knows how to tell a story without over-killing points - but she is also wonderful at providing great twists to the story at various points.

It really is an 'engaging' read, but it might take you more than 10 pages to get into. I certainly didn't find I was grinning for a week - but I found it a great read and I think itsworth perservering with if you aren't immediately grabbed by it.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Diappointed, November 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Isabel's Bed (Paperback)

Isabel's Bed looked like a great read & it's gotten great reviews, but in all honesty I was diappointed by it. The writing is great, I would give Elinor Lipman 4 *'s for her writing talent, but this story just never took off for me. Harriet Mahoney is a 40 something year old woman who finds herself alone after her live-in boyfriend of 12 years meets someone else. An aspiring writer, Harriet takes a job working for Isabel, living in her mansion & helping her to ghostwrite a novel about Isabel's scandalous life. Where this book fell short for me was in the character development-I never got to know or care too deeply about any of the characters. I will still give Lipman's other novels a try as she is a talented writer. This novel wasn't terrible, but I felt it was a little flat.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly-charged entertainment!, October 14, 1999

By 

belladena - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isabel's Bed (Paperback)

What a wonderful novel! This book had everything - romance, intrigue, friendship and revenge. Such a great combination. I really did love this book, a second for me by Elinor Lipman, and much better than the semi-drivel that was The Inn at Lake Devine. One thing bothered me about Isabel's Bed - the absence of you-know-who by the end of the book. The Itzy-Hare-Pete-Costas combination should have ended with a collective bang! Needless to state, I highly recommend this book! It's a light and fast read, packed with humour and realism.