1
of
1
Woman of Genius
Series: Brief Encounters
Brief Description
Immerse yourself in a brief encounter with Simone de Beauvoir, the pioneering feminist and existentialist thinker, in this pair of stories about two very different sisters and one disappointing man. Two sisters must find their way in a world designed to confine them. Marcelle is the...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2400
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Woman of Genius
$2400
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
Toys and Books for Pretend Play (Part 1)
From Hape to Melissa & Doug to Bluey, and a whole bunch more, there are...
New Reads to add to your TBR
Fiction and Non Fiction are both pulling some big punches this week with a number...
Talking all things Romantasy with John Campbell on RNZ!
The latest book in a viral series has had some New Zealanders queuing up at...
New Hero Alert! Meet Shannon - our new Warehouse Sidekick
Meet Shannon, one of our newest Warehouse Sidekicks! With a background in inwards goods and...
New Zealand Gothic and Some Wonderfully Atmospheric Novels from Aotearoa
We may be lacking in castles and moors, but we more than make up for...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Immerse yourself in a brief encounter with Simone de Beauvoir, the pioneering feminist and existentialist thinker, in this pair of stories about two very different sisters and one disappointing man.
Two sisters must find their way in a world designed to confine them.
Marcelle is the elder sister, a woman whose ambitions focus on becoming the companion of a 'man of genius'. Marguerite is the younger sister, a girl whose sanity depends on breaking free of the oppressive expectations of society. Both end up focusing their attentions on the same disappointing man.
Brief Encounters: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days.
Series: Brief Encounters
View all-
A Gentle Spirit & A Faint Heart
Experience a brief encounter with Fyodor Dostoevsky, titan of Russian literature, in these two searing novellas of love, despair, and the weight of the human soul. Two of Dostoevsky's most powerful novellas of obsession, cruelty, and the fragility of the heart. A pawnbroker paces beside his young wife's body, attempting to piece together the circumstances that led to her suicide....Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
An Undesirable Friend
Enjoy a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Natsume Soseki, Japan's greatest modern novelist, in this sly, comic tale of cats, humans, and the absurdities of friendship. From Japan's most famous, classic novelist comes a remarkable gem of wit, irony, and feline observation. A stray kitten, catapulted to literary fame, loudly observes the world of Meiji Japan in all its absurdity. But he's...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Parish Chronicle
Experience a brief encounter with HalldΓ³r Laxness, the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author, in this rich, rustic and charming novel. An intimate, magical novel about one enduring church in a rural Icelandic valleyβan ode to a quiet way of life now lost to time forever. The resting place of the legendary Viking warrior Egil Skallagrimsson's skull, Mosfell Church is a lonely,...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Ape and Essence
Relish a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Aldous Huxley, the visionary author, in his dystopian satire. Huxley's dystopian classic is a nightmare vision of the fate of humanity in a post-nuclear world. After a devastating global catastrophe, a group of scientists arrives in a ruined future shaped by fear, ritual, and violence. Humanity has survivedβbut at a terrible cost, and not in...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Souvenir of Japan
Embark on a brief encounter with Angela Carter, weird fiction's most influential pioneer, and her transformative stories of finding oneself in the face of another world. Five stories of desire and discovery set in 1970s Japan, from weird fiction's most influential pioneer - Angela Carter. An Englishwoman muses on her affair with a younger Japanese man. A spurned lover seeks...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Bartleby, The Scrivener
Enjoy a brief encounter with Herman Melville, the great, epic storyteller of Modern America, and his enduring tale of a man who takes refusing to conform to its extreme limits. Herman Melville's enduringly comic and affecting tale of a man who takes quiet quitting to its extreme. A new clerk in a Wall Street lawyer's office causes dismay and confusion...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Behind a Mask
Experience a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Louisa May Alcott, beloved chronicler of girlhood, in this surprisingly dark, subversive novella of deception and desire. This is Alcott as you have never seen her before β gothic, and gloriously unsettling. A young governess arrives at a grand country house and quickly wins the confidence of its family. Humble and modest, Jean Muir seems...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Bewitched
Experience a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Edith Wharton, grande dame of American letters, in these spectral tales of longing, loss, and the uncanny. Edith Wharton's ghost stories whisper of passion, exile, and the things we cannot forget. In an old Dorset house, a couple settle into a life of quiet comfort β until a presence makes itself felt. At a country...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Cain
Experience a brief encounter with JosΓ© Saramago, the Nobel Prize-winning author, in his provocative and philosophical retelling of the biblical story of Cain. Written in the last years of Saramago's life, Cain is a controversial and witty story of a wilful, authoritarian God. After killing his brother, Cain is condemned to wander the earth. As he moves through time, he...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age
A trail-blazing, transportive novella that contains all the energy, history and charm of one man's lifetime, this is Bohumil Hrabal's most unique masterpiece. This ebullient, gallivanting novella encapsulates the world vision of the Czech Republic's best-loved author in one tumbling, breathtaking sentence. An ageing man holds court, spinning a single, unbroken stream of stories about his lifeβloves won and lost,...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Distant Star
Enjoy a brief encounter with Roberto BolaΓ±o, the 21st century's first, great classic author, and his novella Distant Starβa dark, haunting, yet delightfully magical story of two poets outplaying one another in a sinister endgame of cat-and-mouse. A dazzling, daring tale of poets at the end of the world, Distant Star is Roberto BolaΓ±o's miniature dystopian masterpiece. Alberto Ruiz-Tagle was...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Down by the Riverside
Relish a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Richard Wright, trailblazing voice of African American literature, in this devastating story of survival, love and betrayal during a Southern flood. A flood brings not only rising waters but the full force of a brutal, racist world. With the Mississippi flooding, a Black farmer struggles to get his pregnant wife to safety. In the chaos,...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781529985733
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 July 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage Classics
Contributors:
- Translated by Lauren Elkin
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 12.0mm
Width: 131.0mm
Height: 208.0mm
Weight: 112g
Pages: 144
About the Author
Simone de Beauvoir was born in Paris in 1908. In 1929 she became the youngest person ever to obtain the agregation in philosophy at the Sorbonne, placing second to Jean-Paul Sartre. She taught at the lycees at Marseille and Rouen from 1931-1937, and in Paris from 1938-1943. After the war, she emerged as one of the leaders of the existentialist movement, working with Sartre on Les Temps Mordernes. The author of several books including The Mandarins (1957) which was awarded the Prix Goncourt, de Beauvoir was one of the most influential thinkers of her generation. She died in 1986.
Also by Simone de Beauvoir
View all-
The Second Sex
The Second Sex, authored by the influential French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, is a pivotal text in understanding the foundations and development of feminist thought. Originally published in 1949, this profound work explores the cultural, social, and psychological dimensions of women's oppression. In this expansive volume, de Beauvoir meticulously examines the historical subjugation of women, unveiling how this subjugation is...Paperback$3200Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
What Is Existentialism?
What Is Existentialism? by Simone de Beauvoir provides a profound exploration into the philosophical realm of existentialism, encouraging readers to examine the nature of existence and human freedom. Through meticulous essays and thought-provoking discourse, de Beauvoir delves into the intricacies of how we perceive and interact with the world. The book challenges readers to consider the inherent meaninglessness of life...Paperback$1999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Second Sex
Required reading for anyone who believes in the equality of the sexes. A long-awaited, highly acclaimed new translation of Simone de Beauvoir's landmark work. One is not born, but rather becomes, woman First published in Paris in 1949, The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir was a groundbreaking, risquΓ© book that became a runaway success. Selling 20,000 copies in its...Paperback$3600Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
America Day by Day
Intimate, warm, and compulsively readable, this is Simone de Beauvoir's captivating account of her road trip across America in 1947. In 1947, Simone de Beauvoir took a road trip across America. She travelled from coast to coast, from New York to Hollywood, taking in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Washington DC. She rode a pony through the Grand Canyon, listened...Paperback$3500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Prime of Life
The second volume in Simone de Beauvoir's celebrated autobiography, The Prime of Life, recalls her formative years in Paris when she began to emerge as a public figure. First published in 1960, The Prime of Life offers an intimate, captivating picture of Simone de Beauvoir in her twenties, thirties, and forties. Beginning as a recent graduate from the Sorbonne teaching...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Inseparables
This recently rediscovered novel from the author of The Second Sex is the compulsive story of two close friends growing up and falling apart. The lost novel from the author of The Second Sex When Andree joins her school, Sylvie is immediately fascinated. Andree is small for her age but walks with the confidence of an adult. The girls become...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter
In her memoirs, Simone de Beauvoir created a remarkable portrait of a twentieth-century woman's struggle for independence. A superb autobiography by one of the great literary figures of the twentieth century, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter offers an intimate picture of growing up in a bourgeois French family. Beauvoir writes about rebelling as an adolescent against the conventional expectations of...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Misunderstanding in Moscow
Previously unpublished in the UK, this is Simone de Beauvoir's captivating novel about long-term relationships, getting older and how to live a good life. A captivating novella about long-term relationships, getting older and how to live a good life, by the great Simone de Beauvoir. Misunderstanding in Moscow follows Nicole and Andre, a retired French couple, who take a summer...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Inseparables
VINTAGE CLASSICS FRENCH SERIES - beautiful flapped paperback editions showcasing the bestselling, most acclaimed French writers of the twentieth century. The Inseparables is the lost novel from the author of The Second Sex. When Andree joins her school, Sylvie is immediately fascinated. Andree is small for her age, but walks with the confidence of an adult. The girls become close....Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Image of Her
A compelling novel about the requirement to be perfect, without losing sight of yourself β by the greatest feminist of the twentieth century, Simone de Beauvoir. The Image of Her follows Laurence, a woman who appears to live an ideal life. Her weekends are spent in the country, weekdays in Paris, encapsulating all the trappings of 1960s French bourgeoisie. She...Hardback$3500Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Blood of Others
Potent and vividly emotional, Simone de Beauvoir's captivating novel questions freedom and individual responsibility in the face of brutality. 'These carefree faces, on which we allowed our smiles to spread, were for others the mask of tragedy.' Jean Blomart, patriot leader against the German forces of occupation, waits throughout an endless night for his wounded lover, Hélène, to die. Told...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Second Sex (Vintage Feminism Short Edition)
Read Simone de Beauvoir's classic work of second wave feminism, in an abridged, digestible form. Vintage Feminism β classic feminist texts in short form. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY NATALIE HAYNES When this book was first published in 1949, it was to outrage and scandal. Never before had the case for female liberty been so forcefully and successfully argued. De Beauvoir's...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from General Fiction
View all-
Yesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE β Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE β Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE β Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS β Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale β Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromβ¦His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance β...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
17% offThe Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseA Court of Splintered Harmony
Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.What was broken will be remade.Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories,...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseThreshing Day
The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing DayΒ contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-color illustrations by artist Joe Requeza.Β Β Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing and In the...Hardback$6999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." βUSA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...Set$9999Elsewhere:$12495Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Assassinβs Apprentice
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in the rich and immersive world of the Six Duchies. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom teetering on the brink of civil war, this gripping tale introduces readers to FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard whose existence threatens the stability of the crown. When the crown prince's secret...Paperback$1900Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseChain Reaction
Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The worldβs bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! βShe knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .β Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Things We Never Say
Internationally bestselling and prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout's new novel tells the story of a chance incident in a man's lifeβa poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, and free will in a capsizing world. Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a...Hardback$3200Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
A Court of Wings and Ruin
The third instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. In A Court of Wings and Ruin, the gripping third book of the ACOTAR series, Feyre Archeron faces the ultimate battle for her world. Having returned to the Spring Court, she is determined to gather...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
A Court of Mist and Fury
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas continues Feyre Archeron's epic journey in the world of the High Fae. Having survived the brutal trials under the Mountain, Feyre returns to the Spring Court. Though she now possesses the immortal powers of the High Fae, the traumatic experiences have left scars on her human heart. Haunted by the...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 160,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Fiction about Fathers
Here are some incredible stories that explore various angles of fatherhood and father figures in the most poignant and wonderful ways. Featuring...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
What to read now you've watched The Odyssey
Contemporary fiction, classical non-fiction, feminist retellings, and inspired stories that would make for an interesting read now that you're obsessed with The...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Kevin's listGeneral Fiction
The Odyssey & Trojan War Classics (and Retellings)
Long before Christopher Nolan turned it into a blockbuster in the summer of 2026, The Odyssey was the original epic. After a...View the list -
![Tsubaki Stationery Store]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Have You Tried ... Healing Fiction
Healing Fiction is a relatively new genre still finding it's place, and yet people are reaching for it without realizing, desperate for...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Favourite Picks for Winter Reading
These are the books that Lizzy loves to read in Winter, or that feel like Winter. A combination of fiction, some non-fiction,...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersβ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Seasonal Reads - 10 Books for Autumn
If you haven't tried seasonal reading, Lizzy thinks you should. It's a way to romanticizing the current season rather than trying to...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
General Fiction
The 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Winners
Celebrate all the winners of the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Explore the powerful fiction of Ingrid Horrocks' 'All Her Lives',...View the list
