The Education of Mrs. Bemis

By John Sedgwick

Book Overview

A dead body floating by a pier. An elderly woman curled up on a bed in a department store. A psychiatrist searching for her own identity. These are the pieces of the puzzle that, in John Sedgwick's masterful novel of psychological suspense, begin to come into focus when Madeline Bemis is referred to the treatment of Dr. Alice Matthews at Montrose Psychiatric Hospital. Mrs. Bemis's treatment gradually peels back the layers of a disturbing past whose shameful secrets and hidden sorrows stem from the war years of the 1940s--and reveals an unexpected link to the floating corpse. Mrs. Bemis's awakening sparks an intimacy between the two women that goes beyond an ordinary doctor/patient relationship--but also makes it clear that Mrs. Bemis's recovery, and perhaps even her safety, depends on quickly coming to terms with her secret history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060512598
• ISBN13: 9780060512590
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 6 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 1 and higher

Customer Reviews

A very satisfying read

A haunting book, especially parts that are set back in time, when Madeline (Mrs.) Bemis was young during WW II. Gives a wonderful sense of how constraining it must have been in that era, especially for a girl coming from a "good" family. I also like the contemporary relationship between Mrs. Bemis and her therapist, forty years (more?) younger, who's got problems of her own.