The second novel by the great American novelist now the subject of a major new film Genius starring Jude Law Colin Firth Dominic West and Nicole Kidman It is 1920 and Eugene Gant leaves the American South for Harvard New York and Europe determined to make his way as a writer On the boat home he meets Esther Jack the woman who is to dominate his life Autobiographical vital and passionate Wolfes second novel blazes with energy and life Wolfes first novel Look Homeward Angel is also now available in Penguin Classics Together the two novels tell the story of Eugene Gant Wolfes fictional alterego as he grows up in a dysfunctional family in the American South and discovers his true vocation as a writer This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Kostova author of The Historian