Lady Oracle
Novel by Margaret Atwood
978-0-7710-0838-2Lady Oracle is a novel by Margaret Atwood that parodies Gothic romances and fairy tales.[1] It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1976.
Plot summary
The novel's protagonist, Joan Foster, is a romance novelist who has spent her life running away from difficult situations. The novel alternates between flashbacks from the past and scenes from the present. Through flashbacks, the reader sees her first as an overweight child whose mother constantly criticizes her, and later, hiding her career, her past as the mistress of a Polish count, and her affair with a performance artist called The Royal Porcupine, from her bipolar husband Arthur.[2]
In the present, she has recently published a volume of feminist poetry which becomes a breakthrough success and is overwhelmed by the pressures of sudden fame. Joan panics after receiving a blackmail attempt from someone who has found out about her secrets. With the help of two acquaintances, she fakes her own death and then flees to Italy.[3]
Awards
The novel was co-winner, with Margaret Gibson's short story collection The Butterfly Ward, of the City of Toronto Book Award in 1977.[4] In 1978, it was the second prize winner, behind Robertson Davies' novel Fifth Business, of the Periodical Distributors of Canada's award for the best fiction published in paperback.[5]
References
- ^ Arnold E. and Cathy N. Davidson, "MARGARET ATWOOD'S LADY ORACLE: THE ARTIST AS ESCAPIST AND SEER". Studies in Canadian Literature, Volume 03, Number 2 (1978).
- ^ "Read it for its gracefulness, for its good story, for its help in your fantasy life". The Globe and Mail, September 4, 1976.
- ^ "A contrary critic takes a crack at Lady Oracle: The Globe reviewer loved Atwood's latest novel. So did others. But what of the view from abroad? We asked a noted British critic." The Globe and Mail, October 9, 1976.
- ^ "Archeologist, nurse, hockey player among winners of merit awards". The Globe and Mail, March 5, 1977.
- ^ "Davies wins book award". The Globe and Mail, November 1, 1978.
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Works by Margaret Atwood
- The Edible Woman (1969)
- Surfacing (1972)
- Lady Oracle (1976)
- Life Before Man (1979)
- Bodily Harm (1981)
- The Handmaid's Tale (1985)
- Cat's Eye (1988)
- The Robber Bride (1993)
- Alias Grace (1996)
- The Blind Assassin (2000)
- Oryx and Crake (2003)
- The Penelopiad (2005)
- The Year of the Flood (2009)
- MaddAddam (2013)
- The Heart Goes Last (2015)
- Hag-Seed (2016)
- The Testaments (2019)
collections
- Dancing Girls (1977)
- Murder in the Dark (1983)
- Bluebeard's Egg (1983)
- Wilderness Tips (1991)
- Good Bones (1992)
- Good Bones and Simple Murders (1994)
- The Labrador Fiasco (1996)
- The Tent (2006)
- Moral Disorder (2006)
- Stone Mattress (2014)
- Old Babes in the Wood (2023)
- "Rape Fantasies" (1977)
- "The Resplendent Quetzal" (1977)
- "Happy Endings" (1983)
- "Unearthing Suite" (1983)
- "Freeforall" (1986)
collections
- Double Persephone (1961)
- The Circle Game (1964)
- Expeditions (1965)
- Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein (1966)
- The Animals in That Country (1968)
- The Journals of Susanna Moodie (1970)
- Procedures for Underground (1970)
- Power Politics (1971)
- You Are Happy (1974)
- Two-Headed Poems (1978)
- True Stories (1981)
- Interlunar (1984)
- Morning in the Burned House (1995)
- The Door (2007)
- Dearly (2020)
- Survival (1972)
- Negotiating with the Dead (2002)
- Writing with Intent (2005)
- Payback (2008)
- Burning Questions (2022)
- Heaven on Earth (1987)
