''Lady Oracle'' is a novel by

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

that parodies Gothic romances and fairy tales. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1976.

Plot summary

The novel's

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, Joan Foster, is a romance novelist who has spent her life running away from difficult situations. The novel alternates between flashbacks from the past and scenes from the present. Through flashbacks, the reader sees her first as an overweight child whose mother constantly criticizes her, and later, hiding her career, her past as the mistress of a Polish count, and her affair with a

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist called The Royal Porcupine, from her

bipolar Bipolar may refer to: Astronomy * Bipolar nebula, a distinctive nebular formation * Bipolar outflow, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star Mathematics * Bipolar coordinates, a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system * Bipolar ...

husband Arthur. In the present, she has recently published a volume of feminist poetry which becomes a breakthrough success and is overwhelmed by the pressures of sudden fame. Joan panics after receiving a blackmail attempt from someone who has found out about her secrets. With the help of two acquaintances, she fakes her own death and then flees to Italy.

Awards

The novel was co-winner, with Margaret Gibson's short story collection ''The Butterfly Ward'', of the

City of Toronto Book Award The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city ...

in 1977. In 1978, it was the second prize winner, behind Robertson Davies' novel '' Fifth Business'', of the Periodical Distributors of Canada's award for the best fiction published in paperback."Davies wins book award". '' The Globe and Mail'', November 1, 1978.

References

{{Margaret Atwood 1976 Canadian novels Novels by Margaret Atwood Novels about bipolar disorder Novels about writers McClelland & Stewart books