Walking in the Shade

"The life she describes is heroic...yet astonishingly full, with political work, writing, friendships, lovers and travel."— San Francisco Chronicle

The second volume of Doris Lessing's extraordinary autobiography covers the years 1949-62, from her arrival in war-weary London with her son, Peter, and the manuscript for her first novel, The Grass is Singing, under her arm to the publication of her most famous work of fiction, The Golden Notebook. She describes how communism dominated the intellectual life of the 1950s and how she, like nearly all communists, became disillusioned with extreme and rhetorical politics and left communism behind. Evoking the bohemian days of a young writer and single mother, Lessing speaks openly about her writing process, her friends and lovers, her involvement in the theater, and her political activities. Walking in the Shade is an invaluable social history as well as Doris Lessing's Sentimental Education.

Lessing’s account of a writer finding her voice amidst the political turmoil of the Cold War reveals:

• Communism in Britain: A firsthand account of communism’s grip on the intellectual life of the 1950s and the painful, clear-eyed decision to leave the Party behind.
• 1950s Social History: A return to a war-damaged, unpainted London, evoking the bohemian days of artists, thinkers, and exiles navigating a city on the cusp of profound change.
• The Life of a Writer: Candid reflections on her writing process, from arriving in England with the manuscript for The Grass is Singing to the publication of her groundbreaking novel, The Golden Notebook.
• A Woman’s Independence: The frank and unsentimental story of a young single mother balancing her son, her lovers, her friendships, and her political convictions while forging a new life for herself.