The Price of Salt (Carol)
by Patricia Highsmith
Category: Fiction
Published: 1952
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pages: 276
ISBN: 978-0393325997
Awards: Adapted into the Oscar-nominated film "Carol" (2015)
About This Book
Originally published pseudonymously in 1952, this groundbreaking novel tells the story of Therese Belivet, a young photographer who falls in love with Carol Aird, an elegant woman in the midst of a divorce.
Carol's marriage to Harge represents a lavender marriage in which she tried to conform to heterosexual expectations while concealing her attraction to women. The novel explores her struggle to break free from this arrangement to live authentically.
Remarkable for its time, the novel offered a rare happy ending for a lesbian relationship and challenged the notion that queer people must remain in heterosexual marriages to be accepted by society.
Themes
Find This Book
Related Books
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Fictionby Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017)
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo finally decides to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. When she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself.
The Song of Achilles
Fictionby Madeline Miller (2011)
A reimagining of Homer's Iliad told from the perspective of Patroclus, who becomes the companion and lover of the legendary warrior Achilles. This Orange Prize-winning novel explores their romantic relationship from their initial meeting through the Trojan War.
Red, White & Royal Blue
Fictionby Casey McQuiston (2019)
A romantic comedy about Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States, who must fake a friendship with Prince Henry of Wales after a tabloid scandal.
The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
Fictionby Cat Sebastian (2021)
A historical romance set in 1750s England featuring a retired highwayman and a lord's son who must marry to secure his inheritance, despite being gay.