New York, 1952. Four young women have come to the city: to find love, to build their careers and to savour the indefinable optimism of the times. Caroline is the college graduate, determined to escape the typing pool and become an editor. April is the beautiful country girl with a penchant for disastrous romances. Aspiring actress Gregg is tangled in a dangerous love affair with a playwright; and divorcée Barbara writes about lipsticks by day and cares alone for her daughter by night. The Best of Everything, Rona Jaffe's frank, scandalous 1958 novel, follows them as they negotiate office romances; workplace politics, broken engagements, tiny apartments, lecherous bosses, heartbreak and lasting friendship. --back cover