Regina Barreca

Nick Lansing and Susy Branch agree to marry and spend a year or so living off their wealthy friends, but if either should find someone else who can advance them socially, they're free to dissolve the marriage.

Barreca ponders life's questions and many others by giving women a hilarious antidote for the toxic "musts" they've been fed over the centuries, mulling over everything from the horror of chin hairs to why the "glass ceiling" is better described as a thick layer of men and telling women to stop believing the lies and conquer the world.

"The Portrait of a Lady is regarded by many as Henry James's finest work, and a lucid tragedy exploring the distance between money and happiness. When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy Aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. Then...

Dutiful Newland Archer, an eligible young man from New York high society, is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a suitable match from a good family, when May's cousin, the beautiful and exotic Countess Ellen Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of perceived scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence. Her worldliness, disregard for society's...