The Snow Ball

by Brigid Brophy

On This Page

Description

London, New Year's Eve. Snow falls on a Georgian mansion, vibrating with the festivities of an eighteenth-century themed masquerade ball within. Middle-aged divorcee Anna stands alone, mourning her youth until the clock chimes midnight and a mysterious masked figure kisses her on the mouth. Thus begins a heady dance of seduction charged by other clandestine romances swirling around them, whipping the ball into an erotic frenzy of operatic proportions until the night climaxes, revealing show more unease beneath the glitter. show less

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

4 reviews
What a fun, odd, and specifically atmospheric novel—I can't think of anything else like it I've read. It all takes place during one New Year's Eve costume party in England in the early 1960s, I think, with the guests dressed as 18th-century figures—many out of Don Giovanni, which makes me wish I were more up on my opera, but it's not necessary to enjoy the slightly plotless action: a one-night stand, a deflowering, a death, a pompous professorial lecture, and a bunch of missed connections with masks on that make the whole thing quite delicious.
This book is actually funny.

Members

Recently Added By

Lists

Backlisted
109 works; 9 members
Backlisted Podcast
65 works; 3 members
Books Read in 2018
4,360 works; 110 members
Top Five Books of 2025
950 works; 302 members

Author Information

Picture of author.
23+ Works 1,034 Members

Work Relationships

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Snow Ball
Original publication date
1964
Related movies
The Wednesday Play: The Snow Ball (1966 | TV | IMDb)
First words
The double doors at the end of the ballroom were thrust open.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She let herself in, thinking about death.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
DDC/MDS
823.914Literature & rhetoricEnglish & Old English literaturesEnglish fiction1900-1901-19991945-1999
LCC
PR6052 .R583 .S6Language and LiteratureEnglishEnglish Literature1961-2000
BISAC

Statistics

Members
125
Popularity
260,073
Reviews
3
Rating
½ (3.65)
Languages
English, French
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
9
ASINs
3