The Idols of the Cave

A gripping narrative study of fear, passion, doubt, and betrayal, The Idols of the Cave is a testament to Frederic Prokosch's literary talent in laying bare the complex psyche of his characters. Published in 1946, the novel follows a young expat, Jonathan Ely, as he returns to New York in 1941 to find a society more entangled in its own conflicts than those of WWII. An idealist, Jonathan struggles to adjust to the artificial world of elite socialites and his growing passion for both a young ballerina named Lydia, and Delia, his cousin's young wife. A formidable mimic with a fine ear, Prokosch skillfully recreates the vivid scenes of New York high society, leading his protagonists on a wild, impassioned, almost carnivalesque dance from decadent restaurants to glamorous theaters in a melancholy search for a path forward amongst the din of looming destruction.

About the author:

Frederic Prokosch (1906-1989) was a novelist, poet, literary critic, and translator. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, to an immigrant family of intellectuals, Prokosch graduated from Haverford College in 1925 and received a Ph.D. in English in 1932 from Yale University. During World War II, he served as cultural attache of the American Legation in Stockholm. Prokosch's first novel, The Asiatics, was published to great acclaim in 1935. It was reissued in 1983 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, which simultaneously published his last book, Voices, a memoir that was praised for its portraits of some of the most outstanding twentieth-century authors and artists. In addition to translations from the Greek and German, Prokosch's other novels include The Seven Who Fled (winner of the Harper Prize, 1937), The Idols of the Cave (1946), The Missolonghi Manuscript (1968), The Wreck of the Cassandra (1966), The Dark Dancer (1964), The Seven Sisters (1962) and A Ballad of Love (1960).