The Cost of Living
Published on 19. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-4059-8876-6 (ISBN)
Description
Rediscover the brilliance of The Cost of Living in the Mermaid Collection - classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers. Pre-order this gorgeous edition now.
A witty and characterful novel about the aftermath of a party thrown by singletons Marianne, a freelance typist in her mid-thirties and twenty-six year old Alexandra, a freelance portrait painter, who live in the same apartment building and have decided it's time to meet some men . . .
With a foreword by Jane Fallon
'You're always so cynical. It doesn't do. It makes men feel inferior.'
'Quite a few of them are . . .'
Idealistic Alexandra is throwing a party to meet a more glamorous crowd. Marianne, more sardonic, worries it'll be the usual sort.
The party is in Alexandra's attic flat. Marianne will contribute a few bottles of red optimistically labelled Bordeaux. Can it be judged a success? There's Donald the bus conductor with high-brow dreams, nervous bespectacled Bernhardt and Marius the ghostwriter. Not to mention a brace of Peters. It's left to sexy, young Pisa and riotous, middle-aged Mummy (neither invited) to steal the show.
Yet, after the party both Marianne and Alexandra find themselves caught in unexpected - sometimes far from romantic - relationships. Meeting people, it turns out, has the most peculiar consequences.
Is that really the cost of living?
Praise for Kathleen Farrell:
'Genuine wit, an acute feminine intelligence and a natural distinction of style' Spectator
'A distinctive voice, and she provided her readers with subtle pleasures' Guardian
A witty and characterful novel about the aftermath of a party thrown by singletons Marianne, a freelance typist in her mid-thirties and twenty-six year old Alexandra, a freelance portrait painter, who live in the same apartment building and have decided it's time to meet some men . . .
With a foreword by Jane Fallon
'You're always so cynical. It doesn't do. It makes men feel inferior.'
'Quite a few of them are . . .'
Idealistic Alexandra is throwing a party to meet a more glamorous crowd. Marianne, more sardonic, worries it'll be the usual sort.
The party is in Alexandra's attic flat. Marianne will contribute a few bottles of red optimistically labelled Bordeaux. Can it be judged a success? There's Donald the bus conductor with high-brow dreams, nervous bespectacled Bernhardt and Marius the ghostwriter. Not to mention a brace of Peters. It's left to sexy, young Pisa and riotous, middle-aged Mummy (neither invited) to steal the show.
Yet, after the party both Marianne and Alexandra find themselves caught in unexpected - sometimes far from romantic - relationships. Meeting people, it turns out, has the most peculiar consequences.
Is that really the cost of living?
Praise for Kathleen Farrell:
'Genuine wit, an acute feminine intelligence and a natural distinction of style' Spectator
'A distinctive voice, and she provided her readers with subtle pleasures' Guardian
Reviews / Votes
While writers like Barbara Pym and Jean Rhys have been rediscovered, others, like Farrell, remain lost in the shadows of literature. A distinctive voice, and she provided her readers with subtle pleasures * Guardian * An original and forceful writer * Sunday Times * Real talent. She strikes a cunning balance between lightness and brightness and sensitivity and hidden depths. Her dialogue is very good indeed, packed with character * New Statesman *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
194 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4059-8876-6 (9781405988766)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Kathleen Farrell
The Cost of Living
A Witty and Bold Tale of Women's Lives in Mid-Century London. Introduced by Jane Fallon
E-Book
03/2026
Penguin Books Ltd
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Kathleen Farrell was born in 1912 into a well-off London family, which meant she never had to worry about money. During the Second World War she served as assistant to the secretary-general of the Labour Party, and after the war's end, she founded a literary agency. In 1942 she wrote a ghost story with autobiographical elements, but it was in the 1950s that she embarked on a series of novels entertainingly skewering contemporary life and mores. Physically tiny, Farrell nevertheless was determined and outgoing, having a wide circle of literary friends, acquaintances and even one enemy (she belonged to 'The Lady Novelists' Anti-Elizabeth League', whose members were united in their disdain for fellow novelist Elizabeth Taylor). She died in 1999.