Showing Thank Heaven Fasting by E. M. Delafield

One of the readers' favorite novel from the beloved writer E.M.Delafield, better known for her "Provincial Lady" series, Thank Heaven Fasting gives us a perceptive look at the coming out of a debutante and her increasingly desperate search for a husband.

"She could never, looking backwards, remember a time when she had not known that a woman's failure or success in life depended entirely upon whether or not she succeeded in getting a husband" writes Delafield, in one of those lines full of wit and social critique.

The novel is sympathetic to the heroine, Monica, and to her mother (and does the relationship between them beautifully), giving a fairly scathing look at the society Monica has to deal with.