This engaging and accessible book examines the world of seven contemporary, popular American women writers and their individual use of wit as a subtle and effective strategy to engage, or "control", the reader. A chapter is devoted to each of the seven writers - Lisa Alther, Rita Mae Brown, Nora Ephron, Shirley Jackson, Alison Lurier, Grace Paley, and Anne Tyler - and discusses their writings and their use of wit in the context of their lives. An opening chapter frames wit and control in psychological realities, and a concluding chapter summarizes the power of wit. A bibliography of the writers' works is also included, making this an ideal introduction and companion to these writers and their works.