The Great Divorce

Divorce literal and metaphorical is the subject of Valerie Martin's magnificent new novel. As in the internationally acclaimed Mary Reilly, her retelling of the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Great Divorce charts the territories of division - between humanity and nature and within the human psyche. Pulling together two distinct worlds - contemporary New Orleans and its antebellum counterpart - Valerie Martin explores the lives of three intriguing women, each possessed with mind and will, each struggling to remain whole as divisive forces threaten. At the novel's center is Ellen…