The Price of Salt

Therese Belivet wants more than the department-store job that pays her bills. An aspiring stage designer, she finds her routine overturned when Carol Aird arrives to buy a Christmas present for her daughter. Carol seems to offer entry into a different life, yet her own marriage leaves her constrained and unhappy. As their connection deepens, admiration becomes a desire neither woman can treat as harmless. The possibilities of a shared future come up against the expectations surrounding them and the lives they already lead. First published in 1952 and also known as Carol, this novel centres on the emotional pull between two women and the difficult choices that accompany their growing attachment.