Reading Groups

Good Girls Gone Bad: Contemporary Novels of Morally Questionable Women with Hilary Davidson

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4 Sessions Wednesdays, 6:00 pm EDT - 7:30 pm EDT January 28 to April 22, 2026

Online via Zoom

This reading group is now sold out. Please email [email protected] to join the waitlist—and become a member for early access to future programming.

Price:
$180 Without Books | $242.06 With Books

The ‘With Books’ option includes the title required for this group at a 10% discount from our Bookstore.

Meeting Dates:
1/28, 2/25, 3/25, 4/22
Online via Zoom

The maiden has long been one of the most popular archetypes in fiction. Plots involving manipulative men and their attempts to corrupt the innocence of ingénues are a mainstay of novels going back to Samuel Richardson’s 18th-century Clarissa. But some of the most intriguing novels of the past decade feature female characters who are morally ambiguous. They may appear innocent at first, but when presented with a deliciously dark opportunity, they’re ready to take a chance, no matter the price.

While there are many twentieth-century novels featuring morally questionable men, this reading group focuses on novels about morally ambiguous young women, all published in the last decade. The level of criminality on display may vary, but the common themes of ambition and aspiration are always present.

Reading List:

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

What to read in advance of the first meeting: Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

What to expect from this reading group: A conversational format that invites participants to share their views and ask questions, supported by background material and guiding questions.

Pricing inclusive of sales tax if applicable. Please note: All virtual classes are recorded. Please click here for information about our recording policy.

Led by

Hilary Davidson

Hilary Davidson

Hilary Davidson is an award-winning novelist and journalist. She is the author of two mystery series, one featuring amateur sleuth Lily Moore (The Damage Done, The Next One to Fall, and Evil in All Its Disguises), and the other featuring police detective Sheryn Sterling (One Small Sacrifice and Don’t Look Down). Hilary is also the author of two standalone novels (Her Last Breath and Blood Always Tells), a short-story collection (The Black Widow Club), and some fifty short stories, which have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Thuglit, Mystery Scene, Beat to a Pulp, and other publications. Her fiction has won two Anthony Awards and a Derringer Award and has been translated into French, German, Hungarian, Polish, and Russian. Her eighth novel, Every Lie I Told, will be published by Blackstone in June 2026.

As a journalist, she is the author of eighteen nonfiction books and has published work in a wide range of venues including American Archaeology, CNN, Discover, Frommer’s, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Reader’s Digest. Originally from Toronto, she has lived in New York City since October 2001.

About this series

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