Mary McCarthy's "A Charmed Life" follows Martha Sinnott as she returns with her second husband to a New England artists' colony, a place she abruptly left seven years prior following her divorce from her first husband, Miles. Hoping for a fresh start, Martha soon discovers that the tight-knit, often self-delusional, community remains largely unchanged—including the pervasive presence of her charismatic yet destructive ex-husband. As Martha navigates the familiar social landscape and her unresolved past with Miles, the novel explores themes of intellectual pretension, marital complexities, and the elusive nature of happiness within a bohemian milieu. McCarthy's sharp wit and incisive observations expose the lies and self-deceptions that underpin the "charmed lives" of its characters.