The War of the Roses

Soon to be a major film starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, Warren Adler's iconic story of a crumbling marriage--and an era's defining portrait of macabre divorce.

"Terrifying, black-humored, black-hearted and bristling." --Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

The Roses are the perfect couple. While Jonathan is a successful lawyer at a prestigious firm, Barbara's gourmet catering business is wowing the Washington DC elite one pâté at a time. Along with their two angelic children, a mansion in the best neighborhood, and their joint hobby of visiting auction houses, the Roses seem to be the paragon of the American family.

But when Jonathan has a health scare, their idyllic family life is quickly shattered, and the Roses' loveless union revealed. It's clear that divorce is the only way forward, but neither husband nor wife is willing to give up their share of the life they've built. So begins a fierce domestic battle, as they each give in to their most selfish, even violent, impulses in the name of sustaining the illusion. After all, the line between suburban bliss and guerilla warfare has always been thin . . .

Originally published in 1981, The War of the Roses is the novel that first told the tale of modern divorce in all its materialistic and cutthroat glory. Darkly funny, twisty, and an emblem of its time, it's a must-read classic for fans of domestic fiction.