Candid, sharp, and entertaining essays from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Memories of a Catholic Girlhood and a “delightfully polished writer” (The Atlantic Monthly).   Whether penning criticism, memoir, or fiction, the New York Times–bestselling author of The Group invariably wrote with “an icily honest eye and a glacial wit” (The New York Times). Gathered here are two memorable collections: theatrical critiques and opinion pieces.  Mary Mc Carthy’s Theatre Chronicles, 1937–1962: Mc Carthy weighs in on Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Henrik Ibsen, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller with candor, penetrating insight, and wit.  On the Contrary: Articles of Belief, 1946–1961: Mc Carthy expresses her frank, unflinching, often contrarian point of view in these provocative essays addressing everything from fashion to fiction, the human condition, religion, sex, Arthur Miller’s testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt, Charles Dickens, and Gandhi.