The Education of Mrs. Bemis: A Novel
by John Sedgwick
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Description
A dead body floating by a pier. An elderly woman curled up on a bed in a department store. A psychiatrist searching for her own identity. These are the pieces of the puzzle that, in John Sedgwick's masterful novel of psychological suspense, begin to come into focus when Madeline Bemis is referred to the treatment of Dr. Alice Matthews at Montrose Psychiatric Hospital. Mrs. Bemis's treatment gradually peels back the layers of a disturbing past whose shameful secrets and hidden sorrows stem show more from the war years of the 1940s--and reveals an unexpected link to the floating corpse. Mrs. Bemis's awakening sparks an intimacy between the two women that goes beyond an ordinary doctor/patient relationship--but also makes it clear that Mrs. Bemis's recovery, and perhaps even her safety, depends on quickly coming to terms with her secret history. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Mrs. Bemis was completely predictable, but very enjoyable to read. No surprises, but very lovingly crafted characters that I cared about and worried over during the book. It's labeled a psychological thriller, but it isn't. It lacks tautness. But it more than makes up for it with excellent character studies of Madeline and Alice. Very well done and a nice, gentle, nostalgic read. Warm humanity and frailty radiates from the book and I just felt better about life and circumstances by reading it.
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Author Information
23+ Works 874 Members
John Sedgwick is the bestselling author of Blood Moon: An American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation and twelve other books: four works of literary nonfiction, two novels, a family memoir, and five collaborations. He has also written extensively for The Atlantic, GQ, Newsweek, Esquire, and Vanity Fair. He is married to the CNN show more analyst and Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohar and lives in Brooklyn, New York. show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2002
- People/Characters
- Dr. Alice Matthews; Madeline Bemis; Ronald Bemis; Detective Frank LeBeau
- First words
- "Want to?" The college boy from the party set his beer bottle down on the deck of the boathouse and undid the buttons of his shirt. "There's nobody around."
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Mrs. Bemis took a seat on the marble bench, and Alice joined her, sitting close enough that their shoulders touched as they looked out together at the rippling waters of the long, narrow pool.
- Blurbers
- Conroy, Pat
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PS3569 .E3164 .E38 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 87
- Popularity
- 366,493
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.27)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 3
