Cover of The Mountain Lion

The Mountain Lion

by Jean Stafford · 1972

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Coming of age in pre-World War II California and Colorado brings tragedy to Molly and Ralph Fawcett in Jean Stafford's classic semi-autobiographical novel, first published in 1947. Torn between their mother's world of genteel respectability and their grandfather's and uncle's world of cowboy masculinity, neither Molly nor Ralph can find an acceptable adult role to aspire to. As events move to their swift and inevitable conclusion, Stafford uncovers and indicts the social forces that require boys to sacrifice the feminine in order to become men and doom intelligent girls who aren't pretty.

Genre
coming of agecoming of ageMore like thisLess of thisliterary fictionliterary fictionMore like thisLess of thishistorical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of thiswesternwesternMore like thisLess of this
Themes
womenwomenMore like thisLess of this
Setting
ColoradoColoradoMore like thisLess of thisAmerican WestAmerican WestMore like thisLess of thisUSAUSAMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 231 pages

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