The Florence King Reader

King's politically incorrect humor and social satire does not appeal to everyone, but for devotees, this eclectic anthology of essays, fiction and criticism will be a delight. Included is an excerpt from With Charity Toward None (1992), King's celebration of misanthropy, as well as a sampling of her sardonic book reviews and columns originally published in the National Review. Although she describes herself as a Southerner and feminist, King parodies Dixieland in a selection from her memoir, Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady, and executes a hilarious send-up of the women's movement in When Sisterhood Was in Flower, an abridged version of her only novel published with her real name. Other pieces humorously skewer Episcopalians, American husbands, gay Southern men and Bill Clinton. Early in her career, King wrote genre fiction under pseudonyms and includes here a portion of a ``trash historical,'' The Barbarian Princess. (Jan.)