Laura Lippman, And When She Was Good

David C. Dougherty (Loyola University Maryland)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication Aug 2012

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Crime and Detective
Novel

Resources

After completing ten “Tess Monaghan” mysteries and six stand-alone novels, Laura Lippman revisited a character she had previously featured in two short works by publishing And When She Was Good (2012). Again, Heloise Lewis is sympathetically portrayed as a soccer mom and suburban madam. The three variations, while differing in minor details, pose questions of public morality, success, prosperity, secrecy, and the relationship between two possible women’s roles, marriage and prostitution. Heloise has fashioned a good life for herself, her son, her employees, and her clients, though not without cost. Other women, she believes, have made comparable bargains within the institution of marriage. As Heloise catches her friend’s e…

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2377 words

Citation: Dougherty, David C.. "And When She Was Good". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 May 2015 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35592, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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