Mad in Pursuit

Violette Leduc stunned the literary world with La Batarde, an account of the turbulent Paris of World War II - where she struggled to survive, to create an identity, and to find a voice.In her second remarkable book of memoirs, Mad in Pursuit, the war is finally over. A new generation of writers has appeared in Paris, and every day they can be seen writing at marble-topped tables in the Cafe de Flore. Already in her thirties, and entirely unknown, Leduc burns with hero-worship and an obsession to become a known writer herself. Then she finds a mentor in none other than Simone de Beauvoir, and is pulled into the center of the literary community - "a beehive gone mad." In the no-holds-barred style that made her a legend, Leduc paints a vibrant picture of the brilliant minds around her - and the dark passions and insecurities that drove her to become a writer.