The Old Man and Me

InThe Dud Avocado, Elaine Dundy revealed the life of the young expatriate in Paris in all its hilarious and heartbreaking drama. WithThe Old Man and Me, written when Dundy was living in England in the early 1960s, she tackles the American girl in London, a bit older but certainly no wiser. Honey Flood (if that's her real name) arrives in London with only her quick wits and a scheme. To get what she wants, she'll have to seduce the city's brightest literary star, no matter how many would-be bohemians she has to charm, how many smoky jazz clubs she has to brave, or how many Lady Something-Somethings she has to humor. But with success within her reach, Honey finds that in making the Soho scene, she's made a big mistake.

Elaine Dundy (1921—2008) was born in New York City and lived in Paris and London. She was married for a time to theater critic Kenneth Tynan. She wrote plays, novels, and biographies, including Elvis and Gladys and Life Itself! Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, and Vogue, among other publications. Her novel The Dud Avocado was published by NYRB Classics in 2007.