Book of Common Prayer, A

Book of Common Prayer, A, novel by Joan Didion, published in 1977.

Grace Strasser‐Mendana, a 60‐year‐old American woman, formerly an anthropologist, is a longtime resident of the equatorial country Boca Grande, and widow of a member of its leading political family. She is fascinated by Charlotte Douglas, a 40‐year‐old Californian, who has turned up in Boca Grande, traveling aimlessly and alone. She recently suffered a nervous breakdown because Marin, the daughter she and her second husband Lloyd had hoped to raise as a teenager playing tennis at the local country club, instead fled underground when she was found to be a member of a radical group that had bombed a San Francisco office building and hijacked a plane. Charlotte has an affair with Grace's son Gerardo, who is planning a coup to seize the government. When the revolution breaks out Charlotte refuses to flee Boca Grande with Grace and Gerardo, and she is soon killed by a soldier for no reason.