The Last Resort
Subtitle: a novel
By: Alison Lurie.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Henry Holt
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 336
Subjects: Older men -- Fiction; Suicidal behavior -- Fiction; Married people -- Fiction; Friendship -- Fiction; Key West (Fla.) -- Fiction
Genres: Fiction.
Description: Like a loyal Victorian wife, Jenny has devoted her life to her much older husband, the famous writer and naturalist Wilkie Walker, bringing up their children and researching and editing his best-selling books. But this year, as winter approaches, Wilkie is increasingly depressed and withdrawn. At her wits' end, Jenny persuades him to visit Key West - the Last Resort.

But Key West is not called the Last Resort for nothing. Lives can turn upside down here, and even short-term visitors can have experiences they never imagined. Within weeks of their arrival, Jenny not only has a part-time job but is becoming involved with assorted local characters, including Gerry, an ex-beatnik poet, and Lee, the dramatically attractive manager of a women-only guest house.

Wilkie, meanwhile, is planning his own "accidental" death by drowning - a task that turns out to be more difficult than he thought - and trying to avoid the attentions of a breathless young female fan.