The Spa Decameron

Ten women indulge themselves—and divulge their secrets—in this witty novel: "Immensely entertaining...The entire gamut of the female experience is covered."— The Times (UK) In the lull between Christmas and New Year's, ten high-achieving ladies are gathered at the expensive Castle Spa in Cumbria, England, seeking to rejuvenate themselves with Botox, aromatherapy, and all-around pampering. They lounge around in the Jacuzzi, sipping champagne and telling each other the stories of their lives—from a trophy wife's spell in a Greek prison to a brain surgeon's experience with twins and mistaken identity to a stepmother's reverse-Cinderella story. From a Booker Prize nominee whose work has been acclaimed for "extraordinary wit and insight" ( The Baltimore Sun ), The Spa is a darkly funny sketch of a group of women who, despite facing prejudice, imprisonment, domestic catastrophes, and romantic debacles, have risen to the top of their respective worlds. "Eminently readable."— Financial Times Fay Weldon's latest novel, The Spa, is full of all the biting humor and glittering prose that made her name. Always sharp tongued and occasionally libidinous, it offers a glimpse of the despairs and dalliances of a set of high-powered women who have burned paths through'and sometimes been burned by'their worlds and the men in them. It is the week between Christmas and New Year's, and ten high-achieving ladies are gathered at the expensive Castle Spa, seeking to rejuvenate themselves with Botox, aromatherapy, and all-around pampering. They lounge around in the Jacuzzi, sipping champagne, and telling each other the stories of their lives. The Trophy Wife recounts her spell in a Greek prison; the Brain Surgeon tells of twins and mistaken identity; the Judge describes a sex change that allowed him to judge the pleasures of the bedroom from both male and female perspectives; and the Stepmother remembers her unforgettable story, a reversal of Cinderella's, with the stepmother fated to play the victim. The Spa is a darkly funny sketch of a group of women who, despite prejudice, imprisonment, domestic catastrophes and romantic debacles, have risen to the top of their respective worlds Ein paar Powerfrauen verbringen Weihnachten in einem eleganten Wellnessbad. Bei Kaviar und Champagner erzählen sie einander im Whirlpool ihre Lebensgeschichten: Eine Verschwörungstheoretikerin, eine transsexuelle Richterin, eine Expfarrersfrau, die von einem Poltergeist verfolgt wird, eine Psychoanalytikerin, die ihren Ehemann vergiftet hat, eine Manikürespezialistin, die von einem Scheich entführt wurde. Und Phoebe, eine Schriftstellerin in den besten Jahren. Sie ist hier, weil ihr Mann erst das Haus unbewohnbar gemacht hat und dann ans andere Ende der Welt zu seiner kranken Mutter eilen musste - oder hat er anderes vor? Die Damen packen schräge Geschichten voller Ehrgeiz, Eifersucht, Intrigen, Mord und Totschlag aus.