Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)

Elements of Style

A Novel

A Novel

A Novel

By Wendy Wasserstein

By Wendy Wasserstein

By Wendy Wasserstein

By Wendy Wasserstein

By Wendy Wasserstein
Read by Kathe Mazur

By Wendy Wasserstein
Read by Kathe Mazur

By Wendy Wasserstein
Read by Cynthia Nixon

By Wendy Wasserstein
Read by Cynthia Nixon

Best Seller
Paperback $14.95

May 08, 2007 | ISBN 9781400076871

Ebook $4.99

Apr 18, 2006 | ISBN 9780307265548

Audiobook Download $20.00

Apr 18, 2006 | 598 Minutes

Audiobook Download $14.98

Apr 18, 2006 | 363 Minutes

All Formats
+
    Elements of Style by Wendy Wasserstein
    Paperback $14.95
    May 08, 2007 | ISBN 9781400076871

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (3) +
    Paperback
    –
    • Paperback $14.95

      May 08, 2007 | ISBN 9781400076871

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +
    • Ebook

      Apr 18, 2006 | ISBN 9780307265548

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Audio (2)
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About Elements of Style

    Elements of Style, the Pulitzer Prize—winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein’s first novel, is a scathing comedy about New York’s high society facing the post—9/11 world. Francesca Weissman, an Upper East Side pediatrician rated number one by Manhattan magazine, floats on the fringes of the upper strata of privilege and aspiration. Through her bemused eyes we meet the thoroughbred socialite Samantha Acton; relentless social climber Judy Tremont; Barry Santorini, an Oscar-winning moviemaker accustomed to having his way; his supermarket heiress wife, Clarice; and more, tossed together in a frothy stew of outrageous conspicuous consumption and adulterous affairs that play out on Page Six. But when Wasserstein’s madcap tour of the social lives and mores of twenty-first-century Manhattan veers into tragedy, we finally see the true cost of her characters’ choices, and the beating heart of this dazzling novel.

    About Elements of Style

    Elements of Style, the Pulitzer Prize—winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein’s first novel, is a scathing comedy about New York’s high society facing the post—9/11 world. Francesca Weissman, an Upper East Side pediatrician rated number one by Manhattan magazine, floats on the fringes of the upper strata of privilege and aspiration. Through her bemused eyes we meet the thoroughbred socialite Samantha Acton; relentless social climber Judy Tremont; Barry Santorini, an Oscar-winning moviemaker accustomed to having his way; his supermarket heiress wife, Clarice; and more, tossed together in a frothy stew of outrageous conspicuous consumption and adulterous affairs that play out on Page Six. But when Wasserstein’s madcap tour of the social lives and mores of twenty-first-century Manhattan veers into tragedy, we finally see the true cost of her characters’ choices, and the beating heart of this dazzling novel.

    About Elements of Style

    From the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author of the essay collection Shiksa Goddess (“Utterly delicious”—Judith Thurman), a dazzling debut novel, a comedy about New York’s urban gentry living in a post-9/11 world—the arbiters of fashion and the doyennes of charity balls; about the rich and the nouveau rich(er), the glamorous and the desperate to be.

    We meet Francesca Weissman, the Upper East Side pediatrician rated number one by Manhattan magazine, who takes us into the upper strata of privilege and aspiration (she’s originally from Queens with a father in hosiery; life on the fringes of glittering New York is fine with her) . . . Samantha Acton, thoroughbred descendant of the Van Rensselaers and the Carnegies, who defines the social order in the great tradition of Mrs. Astor and Babe Paley . . . Judy Tremont from Modesto, California, daughter of a cop—her life’s work, her obsession, is New York society and its richest families . . . Barry Santorini, Republican, moviemaker, winner of twelve Oscars, and his wife, the Italian supermarket heiress and former media rep for Giorgio Armani . . . and many more.

    As Elements of Style opens out, we see a madcap mosaic of the social lives and mores of twenty-first century Manhattan—of romance, work, family, and friendship. Satiric, fierce, touching—and deliciously Wasserstein.

    “Pure Wendy! She effortlessly makes the leap from stage to page with a novel that is loving, compassionate, flat-out funny. Wendy loved the word ‘scintillating,’ which is the best way to describe her stunning Elements of Style.”
    —John Guare

    “Wasserstein gets the trappings and tribulations (of friendship and of romance) right, making her depiction of the rich and fab trying to connect with one another witty and entertaining.”
    —Publishers Weekly

    “Bold, nimble, and funny to its fingertips, Elements of Style is a delight, a triumph. A book that no self-respecting New Yorker should be without. Those cursed with the hell of multiple residences will self-evidently need several copies—and spares, for houseguests.”
    —Flora Fraser

    About Elements of Style

    From the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author of the essay collection Shiksa Goddess (“Utterly delicious”—Judith Thurman), a dazzling debut novel, a comedy about New York’s urban gentry living in a post-9/11 world—the arbiters of fashion and the doyennes of charity balls; about the rich and the nouveau rich(er), the glamorous and the desperate to be.

    We meet Francesca Weissman, the Upper East Side pediatrician rated number one by Manhattan magazine, who takes us into the upper strata of privilege and aspiration (she’s originally from Queens with a father in hosiery; life on the fringes of glittering New York is fine with her) . . . Samantha Acton, thoroughbred descendant of the Van Rensselaers and the Carnegies, who defines the social order in the great tradition of Mrs. Astor and Babe Paley . . . Judy Tremont from Modesto, California, daughter of a cop—her life’s work, her obsession, is New York society and its richest families . . . Barry Santorini, Republican, moviemaker, winner of twelve Oscars, and his wife, the Italian supermarket heiress and former media rep for Giorgio Armani . . . and many more.

    As Elements of Style opens out, we see a madcap mosaic of the social lives and mores of twenty-first century Manhattan—of romance, work, family, and friendship. Satiric, fierce, touching—and deliciously Wasserstein.

    “Pure Wendy! She effortlessly makes the leap from stage to page with a novel that is loving, compassionate, flat-out funny. Wendy loved the word ‘scintillating,’ which is the best way to describe her stunning Elements of Style.”
    —John Guare

    “Wasserstein gets the trappings and tribulations (of friendship and of romance) right, making her depiction of the rich and fab trying to connect with one another witty and entertaining.”
    —Publishers Weekly

    “Bold, nimble, and funny to its fingertips, Elements of Style is a delight, a triumph. A book that no self-respecting New Yorker should be without. Those cursed with the hell of multiple residences will self-evidently need several copies—and spares, for houseguests.”
    —Flora Fraser

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by Wendy Wasserstein

    Shiksa Goddess
    Bachelor Girls
    The Heidi Chronicles
    See all books by Wendy Wasserstein

    Also by Wendy Wasserstein

    Shiksa Goddess
    Bachelor Girls
    The Heidi Chronicles
    See all books by Wendy Wasserstein

    Also by Wendy Wasserstein

    Shiksa Goddess
    Bachelor Girls
    The Heidi Chronicles
    See all books by Wendy Wasserstein

    Also by Wendy Wasserstein

    Shiksa Goddess
    Bachelor Girls
    The Heidi Chronicles
    See all books by Wendy Wasserstein

    About Wendy Wasserstein

    Wendy Wasserstein is the author of the plays Uncommon Women and Others, Isn’t It Romantic, The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter, and The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and of the books, Bachelor Girls and Shiksa Goddess. She was admired… More about Wendy Wasserstein

    About Wendy Wasserstein

    Wendy Wasserstein is the author of the plays Uncommon Women and Others, Isn’t It Romantic, The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter, and The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and of the books, Bachelor Girls and Shiksa Goddess. She was admired… More about Wendy Wasserstein

    About Wendy Wasserstein

    Wendy Wasserstein is the author of the plays Uncommon Women and Others, Isn’t It Romantic, The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter, and The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and of the books, Bachelor Girls and Shiksa Goddess. She was admired… More about Wendy Wasserstein

    About Wendy Wasserstein

    Wendy Wasserstein is the author of the plays Uncommon Women and Others, Isn’t It Romantic, The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter, and The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and of the books, Bachelor Girls and Shiksa Goddess. She was admired… More about Wendy Wasserstein

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction | Women’s Fiction

    Paperback | $14.95
    Published by Vintage
    May 08, 2007 | 336 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9781400076871

    Category: Literary Fiction | Women’s Fiction

    Ebook | $4.99
    Published by Vintage
    Apr 18, 2006 | 320 Pages | ISBN 9780307265548

    Category: Literary Fiction | Women’s Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $20.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Apr 18, 2006 | 598 Minutes | ISBN 9781415929926

    Category: Literary Fiction | Women’s Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $14.98
    Published by Random House Audio
    Apr 18, 2006 | 363 Minutes | ISBN 9780739333679

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Praise

    "Chick-lit with a chill and a pedigree. . . . A blithe, funny feat of escapism and a sobering reminder of the inescapable." —The New York Times“Wasserstein had the rare ability to be sardonic and compassionate at once." —The New Yorker"A modern-day Jane Austen." —Chicago Sun-Times“Wasserstein’s smart, funny sensibility bubbles up on almost every page.” —The Miami Herald

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates about Wendy Wasserstein
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking “SIGN UP”, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Raise kids who love to read

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

     An online magazine for today’s home cook

    An online magazine for today’s home cook