The Devil in the Junior League
by Linda Francis Lee

List Price: $12.95
Pages: 341
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0312354975
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

The Junior League of Willow Creek, Texas, is tres exclusive. Undesirables need not apply. Fredericka Mercedes Hildebrand Ware (Frede to her friends) is a member beyond reproach...until her life begins to unravel. When her husband betrays her, steals her money, and runs off to places unknown, it's something Frede would rather keep under wraps. The last thing she needs is to become fodder for the JLWC gossip mill. And to make matters worse, there's only one person in town who stands a chance at helping her get revenge: Howard Grout, a tasteless, gold-chain-wearing lawyer who has bought his way into Frede's tony neighborhood. But htere's a price: She has to get his tacky, four-inch-stiletto-and-pink-spandex-wearing wife Nikki into the Junior League.

Linda Francis Lee has written an hysterical novel about the creme de la creme of Texas society, the lengths to which one woman goes to bring her cheating husband to justice, and how taking on what seems like a "Mission Impossible" can change you in ways you could never have imagined.

top of the page

1. On paper, Frede and Nikki are complete opposites. But beneath the surface, each has a bone-deep self-confidence. Give examples of this.

2. Why, in a day and age when women have made such progress, are there still so many women who lack self-confidence?

3. Is it possible to want to be accepted into a group or clique and not seem needy?

4. Can you ever really fit into a group that you weren’t born into?

5. What are some of the ways women shoot themselves in the foot with their friendships? With their careers?

6. How would Frede advise someone dating an “inappropriate” man? Conversely, what would Nikki say? What would you say?

7. Why does Nikki think it’s so important to join the Junior League? Why does her husband Howard think it’s important?

8. No matter where you are from, we all have learned “the rules” of our worlds, the secret handshakes of life that prove we belong to our world. What are some of “the rules” from the world you are from?

9. Why does Sawyer hide the fact that he has money? Does that make him more or less admirable?

10. Who, really, is the “devil” in the Junior League?

11. How would Frede and Nikki answer these questions?
a. What is your favorite perfume?
b. What is your favorite designer?
c. What is the best car to be seen in?
d. What is your favorite book?
e. What is your favorite piece of jewelry?
f. What is your dream vacation?

top of the page

“The Devil in the Junior League does for rich, desperate housewives what Bridget Jones' Diary did for British single girls: shows us their everyday lives and loves in hilarious detail. Fresh and funny, original and outrageous, this novel is fabulous from start to finish.”

—Kristin Hannah, author of Magic Hour

“I giggled out loud at this wickedly funny peek into the back-stabbing socialite-eat-socialite world of the rich and catty.”

—Karen Quinn, author of The Ivy Chronicles

“I couldn't put it down. Frede Ware is as charming and wicked as she is real and lovable."

—Laura Hopper, producer