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{{Short description|Novel by Mary McCarthy}}
{{About|the Mary McCarthy novel||Charmed Life (disambiguation){{!}}Charmed Life}}
{{notability|Books|date=October 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| name = A Charmed Life
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Mary McCarthy - A Charmed Life.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = [[Mary McCarthy (author)|Mary McCarthy]]
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| publisher = [[Harcourt Trade Publishers|Harcourt]]
| pub_date = 1955
| english_pub_date =
| media_type = Print ([[hardback]])
| pages = 313 pp
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
'''''A Charmed Life''''' is a 1955 novel written by the [[United States|American]] novelist [[Mary McCarthy (author)|Mary McCarthy]].

==Setting==
''A Charmed Life'' takes place in the small [[New England]] town of New Leeds (presumably on [[Cape Cod]]), where "everyone is artistic, but no one is an artist."<ref>{{Cite book|last1=McCarthy|first1=Mary|title=A charmed life|publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich|year=1995|isbn=0-15-616774-3|edition=1st Harvest/HBJ|location=San Diego|oclc=25281250}}</ref>

==Characters==
* '''Martha Sinnott:''' Martha was once married to Miles Murphy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Meyers|first1=Jeffrey|date=2009|title=Racine in Mary McCarthy's A Charmed Life|url=https://media.proquest.com/media/pq/classic/doc/2022271481/fmt/pi/rep/NONE?cit%3Aauth=Meyers%2C+Jeffrey&cit%3Atitle=Racine+in+Mary+McCarthy%27s+A+Charmed+Life&cit%3Apub=Style&cit%3Avol=43&cit%3Aiss=4&cit%3Apg=461&cit%3Adate=Winter+2009&ic=true&cit%3Aprod=ProQuest&_a=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%2FyAgD6AgFOggMDV2Vi&_s=DPhNGhg1ZIqGyv18wPjnSRGwp70%3D|journal=Style|volume=43|issue=4|pages=461–471|via=ProQuest}}</ref> He threw her out of the house during a feud one night, so she went to her neighbor's, the home of John Sinnott. She fell in love with and married him. She is working on a play.
* '''John Sinnott:''' John is sensitive and loving. He marries Martha after she divorces Miles, and is supportive of Martha's writing career.
* '''Jane Coe:''' Jane is a real estate agent in New Leeds. She comes from a wealthy family.
* '''Warren Coe:''' Warren is an artist. It is a town joke that he is constantly trying to incorporate the '[[Spacetime|4th dimension]]' (time) into his paintings. The Coes are considered the only normal couple in New Leeds.
* '''Miles Murphy:''' Miles is a pompous and self-important character. He is the most obvious villain . Despite his wickedness, which most everyone recognizes, he is also admired for his intellect. It is said that he once studied under [[Carl Jung]].
* '''Helen Murphy:''' Helen is Miles' [[trophy wife]]. She comes from a wealthy [[Greeks|Greek]] family.
* '''Dolly Lamb:''' Dolly is Martha's cousin and confidante; a new resident in New Leeds.

==Plot==
The story begins with the simple trials and tribulations of everyday life experienced by John and Martha Sinnott. Their background stories are gradually introduced, especially during their picnic with the Coes in the beginning. One night when John is away, Martha and Miles drunkenly have sex at Martha's house after a party at the Coes'. Martha becomes pregnant, and rather than having a baby whose paternity is ambiguous, she decides to have an abortion. Warren lends Martha the money to have an abortion. The story ends with Martha dying in a car accident on her way home from the Coes' house, with the money for the abortion and the address of the clinic in her pocketbook.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.affidavit.art/articles/a-charmed-life|title=A Charmed Life {{!}} Affidavit {{!}} Chris Kraus|website=Affidavit|language=en|access-date=2020-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|language=en|jstor=10.5325/style.43.4.461|last1=Meyers|first1=Jeffrey|title=Racine in Mary McCarthy's ''A Charmed Life''|journal=Style|year=2009|volume=43|issue=4|pages=461–471}}</ref>

== Author ==
[[Mary McCarthy (author)|Mary McCarthy]] (born June 21, 1912, [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Wash]]., [[United States|U.S.]]—died Oct. 25, 1989, [[New York City|New York, N.Y.]]) was an essayist, author, and critic known for writing on political, moral, and intellectual dilemmas through the use of humor and acerbity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-McCarthy|title=Mary McCarthy - American novelist and critic|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-03-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/mary-mccarthy/|title=Mary McCarthy|website=The New York Review of Books|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-30}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/00/03/26/specials/mccarthy-charmed.html|title=The Coveted Escape|website=movies2.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-04-17}}

==External links==
* [https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/03/26/specials/mccarthy-charmed.html The Coveted Escape], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 6, 1955

{{Mary McCarthy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charmed Life}}
[[Category:1955 American novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Mary McCarthy]]
[[Category:Novels set on Cape Cod and the Islands]]

A Charmed Life - Revision history

imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: /* top */ add {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}