In praise of older women - Stephen Vizinczey

Stephen Vizinczey's remarkable, acclaimed worldwide bestseller In Praise of Older Women is published in Penguin Modern Classics.

'I am not an expert on sex, but I was a good student of the women I loved, and I'll try to recall those happy and unhappy experiences which, I believe, made a man out of me,' writes the narrator of this novel. Originally published by the author himself in 1965, In Praise of Older Women became an international bestseller and renowned classic, and its title is now part of the language.

Stephen Vizinczey (b.1933) is a poet, playwright and novelist, best known for his novels In Praise of Older Women (1965) and An Innocent Millionaire (1983). Born in Hungary, he was only two years old when his father was assassinated by the Nazis, and later also lost his uncle to the communists. Having studied under George Lukacs at the University of Budapest, he graduated from the city's Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in 1956. He took part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and later emigrated to Canada, speaking only fifty words of English. He learned the language while writing scripts for the National Film Board of Canada; subsequently, he founded and edited a literary-political magazine, Exchange, and joined CBC/Radio Canada as a writer and producer. In 1966 he moved to London where he still lives.

If you enjoyed In Praise of Older Women, you might like Anas Nin's Delta of Venus, also available in Penguin Classics.

'A tender and beautiful book'
Michael Frayn

'You cannot put down: witty, moving and it's all about sex. Truly original'
Margaret Drabble, author of The Needle's Eye

'A masterpiece ... dazzling ... like all great novels, it shows the truth about life'
Pierre Lepape, Le Monde