by Carson McCullers

Frankie is a motherless 12-year-old growing up, with difficulty, in a town in Georgia in the 1930s. She is lonely, awkward, bored, and--like so many of Carson McCullers's characters--alienated from most of the people around her. When her brother returns from the service and announces he's getting married, Frankie hits on the desperate scheme of living with the couple after the wedding, in a childish attempt to belong to something, even if it's where she's not wanted. This desire blooms into a full-fledged fantasy that almost gets out of control, until Frankie is brought painfully back to earth--maybe a little wiser. The book earned praise for its perceptive and sympathetic view of the agonies of adolescence, and for its insight into the complexities of the lives of both blacks and whites in the American south. Originally conceived as a short story, it grew into a novel, and was published in 1946. Adapted for the stage by McCullers (at the suggestion of her friend Tennessee Williams), THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING ran for 14 months on Broadway and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1950.