Mrs. Wilson's Affair
A Great Gatsby Retelling (A Novel)
A beautiful and brilliant retelling of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of an often forgotten, yet indispensable, female character—Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan's mistress.
It is 1922. Myrtle Wilson lives a lonely, desolate existence above her husband’s garage in the “valley of ashes” between New York and Long Island. All her dreams—and her marriage itself—are turning to dust until she crosses paths with Tom Buchanan on the subway. In one moment, Myrtle’s life is irrevocably changed. “You can’t live forever, you can’t live forever” becomes the mantra that galvanizes her decision to embark on a fateful affair with the wealthy stranger. She battles with herself and the forces that keep her boxed in, experimenting with what little power she has over the men in her life, her situation growing more dire in the frenetic days leading up to her death.
Paralleling the events of The Great Gatsby—and in key scenes even masterfully weaving in original dialogue—Mrs. Wilson’s Affair provides a poignant look at how isolation and unfulfilled desire can shape our destiny and will transform how you read Fitzgerald’s classic novel.
This poignant and gripping novel teems with raw, complex emotion. It is perfect for fans of classic retellings like Sandra Newman’s Julia, and Nghi Vo’s The Chosen and the Beautiful.
Allyson Reedy is a fiction writer, food journalist, and restaurant critic. Her work has been published in a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Denver Post, Bon Appétit, and 5280. She is the author of several cookbooks, including 50 Things to Bake Before You Die and The Phone Eats First. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her children, husband, and pug.
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