THE COUNTESS

First and foremost The Countess is a book of humor. Yet it reflects a style and wit long since missing in today's dark world. While a fictional character, the Countess is drawn from the women we have known and been fascinated by for decades. Flamboyant women, who lived large and uninhibited. The Barbara Hutton's, Helena Rubinstein's and Tallulah Bankhead's come easily to mind. Outrageous and outspoken, the Countess utilizes Dorothy Parker-esque wit and innuendo to skewer her foes and reward the reader with sly chuckles and laugh-out-loud joy. There could be no Auntie Mame without the grand scale and jubilant spirit of the Countess. Read The Countess and succumb to her spell.

Hugh A. Harter is an internationally known scholar of Spanish and French literature, whose bilingual editions of major poetical works, Shadow of Paradise and The Diary of a Newlywed Poet by Nobel Laureate Vicete Aleixandre and Juan Ramon Jimenez are widely recognized as masterful. He has translated seven novels from the French. The books he authored include Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, Tangier and All That, and more recently, Return to Patton's France, 1944's Odyssey Retraced. He has co-authored various other books.Harter has BA. and PhD. degrees from Ohio State University, an MA. from Mexico City College and a Doctor of Letters degree from Alma College. Harter has been on the faculty of some of the nation's finest colleges and universities and has been the recipient of significant awards and honors in the USA and abroad. He was director of the Instituto Internacional in Madrid and of university programs in both Spain and France. He is listed in Who's Who in America.Harter and his wife Frances have traveled extensively in Europe, the Americas, and North Africa. After years of residence in New York City, they are now living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.