Reeling from an abusive and destructive marriage, ex-model Katha reaches out to a young boy whose family has virtually abandoned him, and together they face a journey through family betrayal, loss, independence, and self-esteem

Like China: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

O'Connor, Varley

United States

William Morrow & Co.

In the tradition of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife comes an unforgettable novel based on the life of George Balanchine’s fifth wife, a star ballerina whose career was cut short after she contracted polio at age twenty-six. “We set our sights on each other almost from the beginning.” So begins The Master’s Muse, an exquisite, deeply affecting novel about the true love affair between two artistic legends: George Balanchine, the Russian émigré to America who is widely considered the Shakespeare of dance, and his wife and muse, Tanaquil Le Clercq. Copenhagen, 1956: Tanaquil Le Clercq, known as Tanny, is a gorgeous, talented, and spirited young ballerina whose dreams are coming true. She is married to the love of her life, George Balanchine— the famous mercurial director of New York City Ballet. She dances the best roles in his newest creations, has been featured in fashion magazines and television dramas, socializes with the country’s most renowned artists and intellectuals, and has become a star around the world. But one fateful evening, only hours after performing, Tanny falls suddenly and gravely ill; she awakens from a feverous sleep to find that she can no longer move her legs. Tanny is diagnosed with polio and Balanchine quits the ballet to devote himself to caring for his wife. He crafts exercises to help her regain her strength, deepening their partnership and love for each other. But in the ensuing years, after Tanny discovers she will never walk again, their relationship is challenged as she endeavors to create a new identity for herself and George returns to the company, choreographing ballets inspired by the ever-younger, more beautiful and talented dancers. Their marriage is put to the ultimate test as Tanny battles to redefine her dreams and George throws himself into his art. The Master’s Muse is an evocative imagining of the deep yet complicated love between a smart, beautiful woman and her charismatic, ambitious husband; it is the story of an extraordinary collaboration in art and in life.

The Master's Muse: A Novel

Scribner

An exquisite, unforgettable novel about the true love affair between two artistic legends: George Balanchine, the choreographer widely considered the Shakespeare of dance, and his wife and muse, Tanaquil Le Clercq. Copenhagen, 1956: Tanaquil Le Clercq, known as Tanny, is a gorgeous, talented, and spirited young ballerina whose dreams are coming true. She is married to the love of her life, George Balanchine—the famous mercurial director of New York City Ballet—and she has become a star around the world. But one fateful evening, only hours after performing, Tanny falls suddenly and gravely ill; she awakens from a feverous sleep to find that she can no longer move her legs. Tanny is diagnosed with polio and Balanchine devotes himself to caring for his wife. But after Tanny discovers she will never walk again, their relationship is challenged as Balanchine returns to the company, choreographing ballets inspired by the ever-younger, more beautiful and talented dancers. Their marriage is put to the ultimate test as Tanny battles to redefine her dreams.

When Robert, Patrick, and Irene met in New York, they were all determined to become actors, and it felt as if the city--indeed, the world--could be their oyster. Robert was the good-looking, ambitious one. Patrick was tall, ungainly, but naturally dramatic. And Irene, a former rodeo star out of Kansas, was the beautiful ingenue. They were young, talented, and passionate, and they soon became inseparable. But as it happens, their careers don't take off together. Patrick becomes too embroiled in dangerous love affairs to stay the course. Irene, sizing up the competition, decides to try and sleep her way to the top. And Robert finds himself suddenly becoming a soap opera star. As their lives change course, their friendships are tested, and the casualties start to mount: Patrick's career, Irene's loyalty, Robert's heart. Set against the backdrop of New York City in the late 1970s, A Company of Three takes us inside the complex, sometimes brutal world of actors, and the heart-rending choices that threaten to undo them. And with echoes of A Home at the End of the World, Varley O'Connor examines the true value of friendship, love, and the most unlikely forms of family.

A Company of Three

Algonquin Books

An account of the marriage between American ballet master George Balanchine and Tanaquil Le Clercq describes the sudden paralyzing illness that ended Tanny's dancing career, the rehabilitation that deepened their relationship and the ways in which Balanchine's return to ballet tested their marriage. (religious fiction).

The Master's Muse

Literary

Center Point

“An old-fashioned novel, in the best sense of that phrase, elegantly wrought, hardheaded, and tenderhearted.”—Michael Chabon on A Company of Three
“A first novel that soars.”—The New York Times on Like China
As America emerges from the Depression, the Hatherfords build a comfortable life just outside of New York City, in rural Bergen County, New Jersey. They are a glamorous couple: Vern is the charismatic owner of a successful Ford dealership, and his flamboyant wife Maeve is beautiful even in middle age. When their three-year-old son Scott falls prey to polio, and later, another son must go to war, their marriage slowly implodes. In the midst of it all, twelve-year-old Patsy steals swallows of whiskey and tries to make sense of the world around her, which includes an unusual intimacy between her brother Scott, and Julian, a young African American boy who lives among them.
Neither historical nor medical fiction, The Cure offers the pleasures of both in its richly complex portrayal of the lives and times of its characters. A beautifully written family saga about race, war, childhood illness, and romantic desire, The Cure has at its heart wounding and the struggle for hope.
 Varley O’Connor is the author of A Company of Three (Algonquin, 2003) and Like China (Morrow, 1991). She has taught writing at Hofstra University; Brooklyn College; University of California, Irvine; and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. She has been an actress for television, theater, and film and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The Cure

Bellevue Literary Press

Praise for the Previous Novels of Varley O’Connor
“Thoroughly researched and lively.” ―Vogue
“Elegantly wrought, hardheaded, and tenderhearted.” ―Michael Chabon
“Honesty and compassion inform every page, and there are passages so musical and full of grace they read like hymns. Reading groups should rejoice.” ―Sigrid Nunez
“[O’Connor] captures the dangerous intersection between private life and the forces of history . . . and gives the reader that rare pleasure of inhabiting another family life that feels at once entirely familiar and new.” ―Susan Richards Shreve
Twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob was the most famous of the Victorian fasting girls, who claimed to miraculously survive without food, serving as flashpoints between struggling religious, scientific, and political factions. In this novel based on Sarah’s life and premature death from what may be the first documented case of anorexia, an American journalist, recovering from her husband’s death in the Civil War, leaves her home and children behind to travel to Wales, where she investigates Sarah’s bizarre case by becoming the young girl’s friend and confidante. Unable to prevent the girl’s tragic decline while doctors, nurses, and a local priest keep watch, she documents the curious family dynamic, the trial that convicted Sarah’s parents, and an era’s hysterical need to both believe and destroy Sarah’s seemingly miraculous power.
Intense, dark, and utterly compelling, The Welsh Fasting Girl delves into the complexities of a true story to understand how a culture’s anxieties led to the murder of a child.
Varley O’Connor is the author of five novels, including The Welsh Fasting Girl, The Master’s Muse, and The Cure. She lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

The Welsh Fasting Girl

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Connor, Varley. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by O'Connor, Varley

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Connor, Varley. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Like China: A Novel

The Master's Muse: A Novel

The Master's Muse: A Novel

A Company of Three

The Master's Muse

The Cure

The Welsh Fasting Girl