Dennis Orphen writes a novel about his friend Effie, the former wife of a famous, Hemingway-like novelist, Andrew Callingham. Orphen's betrayal is not the only one, nor the worst one, in this hilarious satire of the New York literary scene. Powell takes revenge here on all publishers, and her buffoonish MacTweed is a comic invention worthy of Dickens. Powell's famous wit was never sharper than here, but Turn, Magic Wheel is also one of the most poignant and heart-wrenching of her novels.