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Classic Joy Fielding, featuring the emotional struggle between a loving wife and the proverbial ‘other woman.’
The young woman was stunning, and her words couldn't have been more clear: "Hello, I'm Nicole Clark. I'm going to marry your husband." Jill Plumley thinks she has the perfect marriage, but how can she keep her attractive husband away from the younger, sexier Nicole? The frightening thing is that Jill knows that David can be stolen away. She had done it herself when she lured David from his wife. She, Jill, had once been the other woman.
The young woman was stunning, and her words couldn't have been more clear: "Hello, I'm Nicole Clark. I'm going to marry your husband." Jill Plumley thinks she has the perfect marriage, but how can she keep her attractive husband away from the younger, sexier Nicole? The frightening thing is that Jill knows that David can be stolen away. She had done it herself when she lured David from his wife. She, Jill, had once been the other woman.
319 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
14 people are currently reading
862 people want to read
About the author
Joy Fielding
121 books2,186 followersJoy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.
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November 13, 2022
"Hello. I'm Nicole Clark. I'm going to marry your husband".
Joy Fielding-The Other Woman
This is a reread.
Imagine if you, happily married, in love..madly with your spouse. You are together at a party when a beautiful lady comes up to you and says the words above.
That is what happens to Jill Plumley in this incredible little book, that I love more then most people who probably read it. I have read tons of books and much romance and chick lit. I do not usually love these genres so I cannot really say why this particular book stayed with me but it did and I actually own a copy.
So Jill married David after stealing him away from his first wife, Elaine. So she knows it can be done. But, to Jill's credit she did not know he was married when they first me t. David tells her he is separated which is quite a hint as to his character because in reality he is not separated. By the time Jill finds this out, she is madly in love with him .
David is handsome and fun and charismatic and he likes women. Alot. And it doesn't hurt that Jill is getting older and Nicole is much younger and stunning. And Jill has residual feelings of guilt over having an affair with him herself. Guilt and self recrimination play a huge role in this story.
Obviously infidelity in books has been done so much but I liked this particular premise. At first I was quite frustrated by Jill. Oh. Stop reading my review if you have not read because now there will be:
SPOILERS:
Jill at first is very passive about the whole thing. David offers to speak to Nicole with Jill beside him and she says no. (WHY I do not know.) If that had been me I'd have said heck yeah baby!. But Jill feels in her own words "like a rat in a maze". David and Nicole work together so he has to see her. And as the book deepens, David is getting closer to Nicole. When one of the other lawyers at his law firm (where he and Nicole both work) is killed that only brings them closer.
Some reviewers and readers may not like Jill but I did. She is a fully fleshed out very real character, not without her own faults but very human and she tries her best. The guilt from stealing David has never left her and it does not help this his children and ex wife despise her.
She is however very much a passive observer of her own life. As mentioned, I was baffled as to why she continually rejects David's offer to speak to Nicole. And when Nicole and Jill have an altercation at the local gym, Jill does not even tell David about it.
To be clear..David's a jerk. Even if Jill had been more assertive it is likely that her and David's relationship would have crumbled. As Jill ultimately learns at the end, any bit of pressure on David and the mask crumbles. He comes across as not just needy and self absorbed but incredibly weak willed and indecisive.
Gradually Jill gains some esteem. She decides to go back into her old field of television production which she gave up when she married David. This book came out a long time ago and may seem dated to some but I feel the story works, even today.
There is a second story involving the above mentioned murdered lawyer and I really appreciated that story as it delves into domestic abuse and made for fantastic reading. And I felt for Beth too. I also thought she could have had her own book. I'd have liked to know what ultimately happened to her.
Jill eventually sends David packing as by now he is openly seeing Nicole and wants Jill to "wait for" him. If there is one thing I could have changed, it is that I really wanted David to be told off, Nicole to be told off and both of them to break up but that didn't happen and the story was great anyway. I did always hope she'd write a a part two of this one but she never did. Jill finds her way at the end though and that was incredibly satisfying.
Highly recommended for Women's fiction and chick lit lovers.
Joy Fielding-The Other Woman
This is a reread.
Imagine if you, happily married, in love..madly with your spouse. You are together at a party when a beautiful lady comes up to you and says the words above.
That is what happens to Jill Plumley in this incredible little book, that I love more then most people who probably read it. I have read tons of books and much romance and chick lit. I do not usually love these genres so I cannot really say why this particular book stayed with me but it did and I actually own a copy.
So Jill married David after stealing him away from his first wife, Elaine. So she knows it can be done. But, to Jill's credit she did not know he was married when they first me t. David tells her he is separated which is quite a hint as to his character because in reality he is not separated. By the time Jill finds this out, she is madly in love with him .
David is handsome and fun and charismatic and he likes women. Alot. And it doesn't hurt that Jill is getting older and Nicole is much younger and stunning. And Jill has residual feelings of guilt over having an affair with him herself. Guilt and self recrimination play a huge role in this story.
Obviously infidelity in books has been done so much but I liked this particular premise. At first I was quite frustrated by Jill. Oh. Stop reading my review if you have not read because now there will be:
SPOILERS:
Jill at first is very passive about the whole thing. David offers to speak to Nicole with Jill beside him and she says no. (WHY I do not know.) If that had been me I'd have said heck yeah baby!. But Jill feels in her own words "like a rat in a maze". David and Nicole work together so he has to see her. And as the book deepens, David is getting closer to Nicole. When one of the other lawyers at his law firm (where he and Nicole both work) is killed that only brings them closer.
Some reviewers and readers may not like Jill but I did. She is a fully fleshed out very real character, not without her own faults but very human and she tries her best. The guilt from stealing David has never left her and it does not help this his children and ex wife despise her.
She is however very much a passive observer of her own life. As mentioned, I was baffled as to why she continually rejects David's offer to speak to Nicole. And when Nicole and Jill have an altercation at the local gym, Jill does not even tell David about it.
To be clear..David's a jerk. Even if Jill had been more assertive it is likely that her and David's relationship would have crumbled. As Jill ultimately learns at the end, any bit of pressure on David and the mask crumbles. He comes across as not just needy and self absorbed but incredibly weak willed and indecisive.
Gradually Jill gains some esteem. She decides to go back into her old field of television production which she gave up when she married David. This book came out a long time ago and may seem dated to some but I feel the story works, even today.
There is a second story involving the above mentioned murdered lawyer and I really appreciated that story as it delves into domestic abuse and made for fantastic reading. And I felt for Beth too. I also thought she could have had her own book. I'd have liked to know what ultimately happened to her.
Jill eventually sends David packing as by now he is openly seeing Nicole and wants Jill to "wait for" him. If there is one thing I could have changed, it is that I really wanted David to be told off, Nicole to be told off and both of them to break up but that didn't happen and the story was great anyway. I did always hope she'd write a a part two of this one but she never did. Jill finds her way at the end though and that was incredibly satisfying.
Highly recommended for Women's fiction and chick lit lovers.
March 24, 2016
I loved this book. I read it in 1983 when I was going through a painful divorce where there was another woman involved. The last line in the book saved me. Thanks, Joy.
September 19, 2019
Този път, четейки книгата, някак гледах на цялата история от друга перспектива. Ако преди бях по-склонна да съчувствам на героинята, сега повече ме ядоса и си мислех, че всеки получава обратно това , което сам е причинил, може би.
Винаги намирам нещо ново , което да ме заинтригува. Представа си нямам , как може хората да са толкова търпеливи, особено когато става дума и за физическа болка.
Предизвика отново всякакви разсъждения в мен.
"Живееш с хора,мислиш си, че ги познаваш, мислиш си, че знаеш всичко за тях и тогава откриваш, че нищичко не знаеш! Нищо!"
"Защо сме така готови да бъдем жертви?"
Сигурно докато дишам и гледам , ще търся отговорите на всички тези въпроси.
2016/
На това се казва поглъщане :) Не можах да спра до сутринта, докато не я прочетох.
И продължавам да мисля и размишлявам.
Как се нарича това :
Да си склоннна да чакаш мъжа си, докато мине страстта към любовницата му?
"Още една жена примирила се с някаква работа, само за да е близо до мъжа си и да подхранва егото му."
"Мъжът винаги търси онова , което е отнел."
И още, и още не мога да ги препиша.
Много въпроси произведе в главата ми.
Винаги намирам нещо ново , което да ме заинтригува. Представа си нямам , как може хората да са толкова търпеливи, особено когато става дума и за физическа болка.
Предизвика отново всякакви разсъждения в мен.
"Живееш с хора,мислиш си, че ги познаваш, мислиш си, че знаеш всичко за тях и тогава откриваш, че нищичко не знаеш! Нищо!"
"Защо сме така готови да бъдем жертви?"
Сигурно докато дишам и гледам , ще търся отговорите на всички тези въпроси.
2016/
На това се казва поглъщане :) Не можах да спра до сутринта, докато не я прочетох.
И продължавам да мисля и размишлявам.
Как се нарича това :
Да си склоннна да чакаш мъжа си, докато мине страстта към любовницата му?
"Още една жена примирила се с някаква работа, само за да е близо до мъжа си и да подхранва егото му."
"Мъжът винаги търси онова , което е отнел."
И още, и още не мога да ги препиша.
Много въпроси произведе в главата ми.
July 30, 2011
The Other Woman is a sort of "All About Eve" of relationships, and it's well written and mostly entertaining. Jill's husband, David, left his first wife for her arms. But when he begins drawing the affections of a younger, sexier woman, Jill must face the reality of that old adage: "What he does WITH you, he'll do TO you."
It's rather refreshing, to me at least, to read this old domestic fiction--there are no caller IDs, no cell phones, no Facebook accounts to contend with.
One aspect of this book that bothered me were the very awkward transitions between past and present. And just once, I'd like to see a female main character who doesn't have or want a bayybee. Jill thinks she'll save her capsizing relationship by breeding (that never works, hun), and David flat out refuses to discuss the matter. This is of course presented as another example of David's dickishness, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the most intelligent and commendable thing he does in the whole story.
It's rather refreshing, to me at least, to read this old domestic fiction--there are no caller IDs, no cell phones, no Facebook accounts to contend with.
One aspect of this book that bothered me were the very awkward transitions between past and present. And just once, I'd like to see a female main character who doesn't have or want a bayybee. Jill thinks she'll save her capsizing relationship by breeding (that never works, hun), and David flat out refuses to discuss the matter. This is of course presented as another example of David's dickishness, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the most intelligent and commendable thing he does in the whole story.
November 23, 2013
I loved this book and have re read it several times over. I've just ordered the dvd too. Unlike some other reviewers, I never felt the slightest bit sorry for Jill, I felt pity for Elaine. Jill, after all, was getting her just desserts. She took David as a married lover with no thought to the hurt she was causing Elaine and the children and of course, David did the exact same, all over again. Jill lost her own identity throughout her marriage to David, and whilst I felt no pity for her, it was nice to see her come to her senses and claim her old life back. She was, after all, punching well above her weight, being only mildly attractive herself.
David was a selfish, arrogant pig and hopefully Nicole Clark will tire of him easily.
I've read this novel about 8 times now and never tire of it.
David was a selfish, arrogant pig and hopefully Nicole Clark will tire of him easily.
I've read this novel about 8 times now and never tire of it.
July 7, 2017
I was camping and found this book at a library book store sale for 10 cents. I picked it up and decided to read it.
It was a book about a woman named Jill who is the second wife to a rich and handsome attorney. He left his first wife Elaine, and their two kids together for his second wife Jill. Jill and her now husband are celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary at a party when Nicki Clark approaches her while she stands alone and states very boldly that she was going to marry Jill's husband. Nicki is new to the firm her husband works at.
From that moment on, Jill begins to notice the lies her husband tells, the working late, and when they argue how he leaves for the night. He is very bold and a total prick. He is very sure of himself to be a 45 year old attorney paying $7,500 a month in alimony and child support. Because of this outrageous amount, he is not much help when it comes to household bills. He is known for being a successful, handsome and rich man, but he lost his luster if you didn't know his situation, which Nicki Clark didn't. Truth is, Jill pays the bills since his money pays his ex wife and child support.
While Jill's husband's infidelity was one plot in the story, there were two other plots that focus on her husband's boss' wife Beth, who is Jill's friend, and how her husband was brutally murdered (little bit of mystery), and her husband's daughter and her anorexia condition due to the divorce.
Jill was a character I didn't like too much in the beginning. She was very weak, often times trying to avoid drama and fights with her cocky husband because she believed he was too good for her, and she believed she was really lucky to have him when really, she was too good for him. All of us women have known a man like him - so sure of himself, but completely not what he appears to be. I didn't start liking Jill until towards the end of the book when she pursued her job back in the journalism field (one her husband didn't approve of), and finally started speaking up for herself.
I could not put this book down. It was a great read! It was flawlessly written, and it made me think about karma and how you treat others. If you treat someone wrong and pursue a married man, then take this woman's husband, karma will come back around. Jill got her karma in this book - her husband cheats on her with a younger woman. She eventually accepted this truth, but decides to forgo the hurt and bitterness (similar to what Elaine has presently) and move forward without continuing on with her husband. She finally got a spine and decided to be happy instead of always worrying. And that was justice.
It was a book about a woman named Jill who is the second wife to a rich and handsome attorney. He left his first wife Elaine, and their two kids together for his second wife Jill. Jill and her now husband are celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary at a party when Nicki Clark approaches her while she stands alone and states very boldly that she was going to marry Jill's husband. Nicki is new to the firm her husband works at.
From that moment on, Jill begins to notice the lies her husband tells, the working late, and when they argue how he leaves for the night. He is very bold and a total prick. He is very sure of himself to be a 45 year old attorney paying $7,500 a month in alimony and child support. Because of this outrageous amount, he is not much help when it comes to household bills. He is known for being a successful, handsome and rich man, but he lost his luster if you didn't know his situation, which Nicki Clark didn't. Truth is, Jill pays the bills since his money pays his ex wife and child support.
While Jill's husband's infidelity was one plot in the story, there were two other plots that focus on her husband's boss' wife Beth, who is Jill's friend, and how her husband was brutally murdered (little bit of mystery), and her husband's daughter and her anorexia condition due to the divorce.
Jill was a character I didn't like too much in the beginning. She was very weak, often times trying to avoid drama and fights with her cocky husband because she believed he was too good for her, and she believed she was really lucky to have him when really, she was too good for him. All of us women have known a man like him - so sure of himself, but completely not what he appears to be. I didn't start liking Jill until towards the end of the book when she pursued her job back in the journalism field (one her husband didn't approve of), and finally started speaking up for herself.
I could not put this book down. It was a great read! It was flawlessly written, and it made me think about karma and how you treat others. If you treat someone wrong and pursue a married man, then take this woman's husband, karma will come back around. Jill got her karma in this book - her husband cheats on her with a younger woman. She eventually accepted this truth, but decides to forgo the hurt and bitterness (similar to what Elaine has presently) and move forward without continuing on with her husband. She finally got a spine and decided to be happy instead of always worrying. And that was justice.
September 16, 2008
I have read this book like several times. Lifetime just recently did the movie. It's not only about infidelity but about her friend's own personal troubles, as well. There are two stories being told in this book and it is one of my favorites.
March 27, 2018
I can't give this book a rating....it is hard...no, impossible to respect either of the main characters. He is exactly what I hate in a man; arrogant, self-involved, smug, selfish...the list goes on. At the beginning, her need to be aware at all times of when he needed his ego to be stroked made me SO uncomfortable...There were times when I liked Jill but at the same time I had an utter lack of respect for her; her final decision in regard to her marriage...good...but getting there was rather painful. Watching her put up with his behaviour...ugh...but at the same time, Nicole was just the new version of Jill....if he cheats with you, he'll cheat on you...it was hard to have any sympathy for Jill for that reason. As for that utter pig, David, actually expecting Jill to let him have his affair for an unknown, unlimited amount of time...really? Could there actually be men like that living on this planet? Maybe it was because the book was written in 1983...a different mind-set at that time? I don't know...I do know that the book kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I think it was a very well written book, but disliking so many of the characters makes it hard to say I liked the book. Maybe the book was a 4 but the characters were a 1?
July 6, 2012
I read this book more than fifteen years ago and I still think of it now and again which is very unusual for me when it comes to books. The quote at the beginning hooked me in and still echoes through my mind sometimes. And after such a strong hook to start, the story didn't disappoint.
May 22, 2022
On the very first page my jaw dropped! The mistress comes right up to the cheated upon wife’s face and smiles. "I'm Nicole Clark. I'm going to marry your husband.” What the hell! However, I love how bold this chic is. But if it was me, it might have been a real housewife moment.
Joy Fielding’s “The Other Woman” was originally published in 1984. The Lifetime movie directed by Jason Priestly and starring Josie Bisset was just as great as the book. I actually saw the movie before I read the book and was hoping for the book not only to portray that fabulous, amazing twist that occurs within the first few minutes of the story, but ”the slap that occurs within the first few minutes of the story.” But that didn’t happen.
In Fielding’s book, lawyer David Plumley’s second wife, Jill Plumley, is approached at a law firm picnic by David’s younger and sexy coworker, Nicole Clark, who unconcernedly tells Jill that she is going to marry David. Jill fears she will lose him to Nicole because that’s exactly what she did four years earlier to his first wife. Not only that, Jill is getting older and Nicole is much younger and gorgeous.
The rest of the book involves the two women playing that cat and mouse game over a man they both know is a rat. Just like what Jill’s mother said, “if he’ll do it to one woman, he’ll do it to you.” Fielding definitely knows how to teach the lesson, what goes around comes around.
I have not read any other book like this between the ex-wife and the mistress. Fielding’s book is a very well-written chick lit with believable characters. I couldn’t put it down. A real page turner.
Some readers may not like Nicole, but I did. She is a mischievously real and daring character. I so love that confidence. You just don’t expect the mistress to confront the wife like that. But Jill did the exact same thing, she was also the other woman.
The only complaint I had was how could she stay with such a selfish, unfaithful man? And if there is one thing I could have changed, it is that I really wanted David and Nicole to have a good tongue-lashing, but that didn't happen. Nonetheless, the story was still great.
Highly recommended for Women's Fiction and Chick Lit lovers.
5 STARS all the way for tell it like it is storytelling!
Joy Fielding’s “The Other Woman” was originally published in 1984. The Lifetime movie directed by Jason Priestly and starring Josie Bisset was just as great as the book. I actually saw the movie before I read the book and was hoping for the book not only to portray that fabulous, amazing twist that occurs within the first few minutes of the story, but ”the slap that occurs within the first few minutes of the story.” But that didn’t happen.
In Fielding’s book, lawyer David Plumley’s second wife, Jill Plumley, is approached at a law firm picnic by David’s younger and sexy coworker, Nicole Clark, who unconcernedly tells Jill that she is going to marry David. Jill fears she will lose him to Nicole because that’s exactly what she did four years earlier to his first wife. Not only that, Jill is getting older and Nicole is much younger and gorgeous.
The rest of the book involves the two women playing that cat and mouse game over a man they both know is a rat. Just like what Jill’s mother said, “if he’ll do it to one woman, he’ll do it to you.” Fielding definitely knows how to teach the lesson, what goes around comes around.
I have not read any other book like this between the ex-wife and the mistress. Fielding’s book is a very well-written chick lit with believable characters. I couldn’t put it down. A real page turner.
Some readers may not like Nicole, but I did. She is a mischievously real and daring character. I so love that confidence. You just don’t expect the mistress to confront the wife like that. But Jill did the exact same thing, she was also the other woman.
The only complaint I had was how could she stay with such a selfish, unfaithful man? And if there is one thing I could have changed, it is that I really wanted David and Nicole to have a good tongue-lashing, but that didn't happen. Nonetheless, the story was still great.
Highly recommended for Women's Fiction and Chick Lit lovers.
5 STARS all the way for tell it like it is storytelling!
August 21, 2020
“I guess that depends on what you think you won”. Those are the words that Jill Plumley uses to answer the question asked her by Nicole Clark in Joy Fielding’s backlist novel, “The Other Woman”. Originally published in 1984, Fielding examines what happens when “the other woman” marries her partner in an affair. Jill Plumley becomes the cheated-on wife to Nicole Clark’s “other woman”. And the cycle starts over again.
Most novels about love affairs have somewhat ambiguous endings. Just the same as in real life, where personal happiness comes with a price that sometimes is worth paying...and sometimes not. In the book, TV producer Jill Plumley is in the fourth year of her marriage to lawyer David Plumley. They’d fallen madly in love and David left his first wife and kids to marry Jill. But as British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith rather tartly noted when he promoted one of his mistresses to wife, it leaves a mistress position open to being filled.
In Fielding’s book, Jill is approached at a law firm picnic by associate Nicki Clark, who casually tells Jill that she, Nicki, is going to marry David. The rest of the book involves the cat and mouse game the two women play over the literal possession of David Plumley. Jill learns the hard way that her mother’s comment of “if he cheats with you, he’ll cheat on you.” Meanwhile, David goes back and forth between the two women, pleased as punch to be fought over by two such beautiful women.
“The Other Woman” is well-written chick lit with believable characters. In addition to the plot point about marriages and affairs, Joy Fielding also includes a wife’s murder of a supposedly well loved and respected partner in David’s law firm. I first read the book when it was originally published in the mid-1980s and then bought a used copy this week to reread.
Most novels about love affairs have somewhat ambiguous endings. Just the same as in real life, where personal happiness comes with a price that sometimes is worth paying...and sometimes not. In the book, TV producer Jill Plumley is in the fourth year of her marriage to lawyer David Plumley. They’d fallen madly in love and David left his first wife and kids to marry Jill. But as British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith rather tartly noted when he promoted one of his mistresses to wife, it leaves a mistress position open to being filled.
In Fielding’s book, Jill is approached at a law firm picnic by associate Nicki Clark, who casually tells Jill that she, Nicki, is going to marry David. The rest of the book involves the cat and mouse game the two women play over the literal possession of David Plumley. Jill learns the hard way that her mother’s comment of “if he cheats with you, he’ll cheat on you.” Meanwhile, David goes back and forth between the two women, pleased as punch to be fought over by two such beautiful women.
“The Other Woman” is well-written chick lit with believable characters. In addition to the plot point about marriages and affairs, Joy Fielding also includes a wife’s murder of a supposedly well loved and respected partner in David’s law firm. I first read the book when it was originally published in the mid-1980s and then bought a used copy this week to reread.
March 14, 2013
Read it again after 20 years. Book that you can read more than once. About relationships and abuse. One of the first book to address abuse in a marriage and its consequences.
March 10, 2021
Entretenido. Drama doméstico con una buena reflexión final. Sin embargo le falto algo, aún no sé qué
December 2, 2018
I absolutely LOVED this book and im so glad I bought it! I was hooked immediately and couldn’t put the book down. The characters drew me in as soon as each one was introduced. The Other Woman is a classic page-turner. Great character and story development. I read it non stop til i finished. I loved everything about the story and it earned 5 stars from me. I highly recommend!
June 4, 2020
*This review contains spoilers*
I love Joy Fielding's books for the intelligent writing, clever plots, and interesting and identifiable characters. This is my second reading of this particular book and I found it annoyed me more than it did on my first reading, many years ago. Jill is a bright, attractive, personable, interesting, mature woman with a great career, yet she becomes totally passive and is willing to give up everything - her job, her travels, her dreams of a family - in order to hold on to her new husband, the successful and amoral David. And no - Jill didn't "steal" him from his first wife. No one can break up a happy marriage and adults cannot be stolen unless they are in a state of bondage.
To make David happy, she takes a job she hates because David wants her home every evening like a good little wife - even though he's seldom there - and she spends way too much time worrying if she's thin enough, pretty enough, or interesting enough to keep the prize that is David. Even when she finds out he's cheating on her, she allows it to continue much longer than she should have, and is constantly apologizing to him! She's turned herself into a weak, pathetic doormat to keep a man who is not worth it.
And then we have a secondary plot, which is the wife of David's boss murdering her husband. We're supposed to feel sorry for a woman who married a man who began abusing her on their wedding night, yet decided to stay with him and tolerate all this horrific abuse for 28 years, and have two kids with this monster. When her husband just can't stand her anymore he beats her badly then informs her he's going to take a nap and will finish her off when he awakens. She has obvious physical signs of abuse. Does she call the police? No. Does she call her children? No. Does she even call a friend, like Jill, to come to pick her up? No. She takes a hammer and beats the husband to death in his bed and we're told this is self-defense. In this, we're expected to view a mature, capable, able-bodied woman of reasonable intelligence in the same category as we would some helpless child victim. Do women want to be seen as pitiful and helpless victims? I certainly don't and I think this bothered me more than anything else.
I love Joy Fielding's books for the intelligent writing, clever plots, and interesting and identifiable characters. This is my second reading of this particular book and I found it annoyed me more than it did on my first reading, many years ago. Jill is a bright, attractive, personable, interesting, mature woman with a great career, yet she becomes totally passive and is willing to give up everything - her job, her travels, her dreams of a family - in order to hold on to her new husband, the successful and amoral David. And no - Jill didn't "steal" him from his first wife. No one can break up a happy marriage and adults cannot be stolen unless they are in a state of bondage.
To make David happy, she takes a job she hates because David wants her home every evening like a good little wife - even though he's seldom there - and she spends way too much time worrying if she's thin enough, pretty enough, or interesting enough to keep the prize that is David. Even when she finds out he's cheating on her, she allows it to continue much longer than she should have, and is constantly apologizing to him! She's turned herself into a weak, pathetic doormat to keep a man who is not worth it.
And then we have a secondary plot, which is the wife of David's boss murdering her husband. We're supposed to feel sorry for a woman who married a man who began abusing her on their wedding night, yet decided to stay with him and tolerate all this horrific abuse for 28 years, and have two kids with this monster. When her husband just can't stand her anymore he beats her badly then informs her he's going to take a nap and will finish her off when he awakens. She has obvious physical signs of abuse. Does she call the police? No. Does she call her children? No. Does she even call a friend, like Jill, to come to pick her up? No. She takes a hammer and beats the husband to death in his bed and we're told this is self-defense. In this, we're expected to view a mature, capable, able-bodied woman of reasonable intelligence in the same category as we would some helpless child victim. Do women want to be seen as pitiful and helpless victims? I certainly don't and I think this bothered me more than anything else.
May 11, 2017
Here's a book that gives both sides of adultery; one who committed and the other who was cheated on. You can't really feel sorry for the present wife, Jill, because she cheated with her now husband, David, while he was still married to his first wife, when a young beautiful daring babe starts to make advances on David. You rather want to say "Well, what did you expect, missy?" She knows what Nicole, the chick, is planning as she also ventured through similar steps in her affair with the same man, but now than guy was hers! Jill confronts David; he of course denies everything just as he had with his first wife and Jill knows it. At every turn Nicole seems to be more of what Jill was only better. Jill becomes even more distraught...what is she to do! Finally, a discussion with David as what he wants from Jill, wants her not do, and what he is willing to do in return. Can you guess what he won't do and who becomes the victor and the conquered? Do you see David's problem? Should any of the trio get sympathy?
August 18, 2024
I will never forget this book and the summer that I read it.
Jill was a character that I didn't like in my first read of this book, she was too passive and I couldn't understand her.
But the memory of the book has always stayed with me.
Years later I read it again and better understood the message and the main character, her difficulty in facing what was always in front of her from the first page.
Jill was a character that I didn't like in my first read of this book, she was too passive and I couldn't understand her.
But the memory of the book has always stayed with me.
Years later I read it again and better understood the message and the main character, her difficulty in facing what was always in front of her from the first page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2025
I read an extract from this book in a magazaine before it hit the shelves. It was a few years down the track when I remembered it and eventually found the book. I really enjoyed it and it was my first Joy Fielding book. I could read it again.
keep-in-mind
August 4, 2016Added 8/3/16.
Recommended by GR member, Terry Stormon:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
See his comments at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Recommended by GR member, Terry Stormon:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
See his comments at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
May 22, 2025
This was more a mystery than a romance.
The heroine was also the other woman when she met and fell in love with the ML, that was already married with children but got a separation because he fell in love with the heroine. So the husband has got a precedent.
They’ve been married for six years, she had a promising career in the television but she left it because the husband wanted her to stay at home and have a more conventional job.
She accepted.
Then there’s another woman, a younger assistant that tells the heroine she’s going to marry her husband and when the heroine tells her husband, he laughs it off.
One of the ML friends is murdered.
It turns out it was his wife, and the man was an abuser and a wife beater. The ML refuses to believe it while the heroine believes the woman when she tells her story. So they fight.
The ML starts coming back home later and the heroine suspects he has an affair with ow.
In the end, he really was having an affair with ow.
The book is not unpleasant.
The heroine is real, not some fake, stereotypical woman.
She tries to fight for her husband. For her marriage. For a relationship with his kids that loath her because she’s the woman his father left them for.
She tries to accommodate his endless requests, until she even begs him to leave ow and stay with her, but he won’t.
He expected her to wait until he explored things with ow.
In the end the heroine realizes how much she has given up for a man who’s not worth it, until she became something she didn’t recognize.
The ML is a selfish, spoiled, whiny, needy man who’s also unable to stay faithful and with a small puny ego that requires a lot of approval from the woman who’s with him.
In the end she dumps his sorry ass and what she says to ow when she tells her she’s won her husband is something I really loved.
Because honest. What did ow win?
A man who only sees his needs and never sees his partner. She won’t have kids because he doesn’t want them.
She won’t be able to have a career because he comes first.
She won’t have a relationship with his kids because his ex wife is a bitch and the ML always agrees with her to avoid any fight.
And she will have to watch her back constantly because he is fickle and his attention has a very short span.
He’s a lawyer, but he’s not even rich because he gives his ex a lot of money.
And he’s definitely older.
So, well, good riddance.
We sees that the heroine realizes that as other women who were abused, those even physically, she also complied with her husband when he abused her emotionally and psychologically not leaving him and not reclaiming back her freedom to be herself.
This is a good lesson on how women should never forget who they are and what they are worth for any man at all.
There’s no hero and no man for this heroine in this book, but it feels like she will find a better man who’s more worthy of her, now that she has gained her confidence back. The heroine is a bit hurt, but it’s more a process where she realizes that she won’t ever be happy with him anymore, even if there won’t be a ow.
I’m glad she didn’t take him back and she realized that the only right thing to do was to leave his sorry ass. Let ow take him and enjoy what he has to offer. Ha!
The heroine was also the other woman when she met and fell in love with the ML, that was already married with children but got a separation because he fell in love with the heroine. So the husband has got a precedent.
They’ve been married for six years, she had a promising career in the television but she left it because the husband wanted her to stay at home and have a more conventional job.
She accepted.
Then there’s another woman, a younger assistant that tells the heroine she’s going to marry her husband and when the heroine tells her husband, he laughs it off.
One of the ML friends is murdered.
It turns out it was his wife, and the man was an abuser and a wife beater. The ML refuses to believe it while the heroine believes the woman when she tells her story. So they fight.
The ML starts coming back home later and the heroine suspects he has an affair with ow.
In the end, he really was having an affair with ow.
The book is not unpleasant.
The heroine is real, not some fake, stereotypical woman.
She tries to fight for her husband. For her marriage. For a relationship with his kids that loath her because she’s the woman his father left them for.
She tries to accommodate his endless requests, until she even begs him to leave ow and stay with her, but he won’t.
He expected her to wait until he explored things with ow.
In the end the heroine realizes how much she has given up for a man who’s not worth it, until she became something she didn’t recognize.
The ML is a selfish, spoiled, whiny, needy man who’s also unable to stay faithful and with a small puny ego that requires a lot of approval from the woman who’s with him.
In the end she dumps his sorry ass and what she says to ow when she tells her she’s won her husband is something I really loved.
Because honest. What did ow win?
A man who only sees his needs and never sees his partner. She won’t have kids because he doesn’t want them.
She won’t be able to have a career because he comes first.
She won’t have a relationship with his kids because his ex wife is a bitch and the ML always agrees with her to avoid any fight.
And she will have to watch her back constantly because he is fickle and his attention has a very short span.
He’s a lawyer, but he’s not even rich because he gives his ex a lot of money.
And he’s definitely older.
So, well, good riddance.
We sees that the heroine realizes that as other women who were abused, those even physically, she also complied with her husband when he abused her emotionally and psychologically not leaving him and not reclaiming back her freedom to be herself.
This is a good lesson on how women should never forget who they are and what they are worth for any man at all.
There’s no hero and no man for this heroine in this book, but it feels like she will find a better man who’s more worthy of her, now that she has gained her confidence back. The heroine is a bit hurt, but it’s more a process where she realizes that she won’t ever be happy with him anymore, even if there won’t be a ow.
I’m glad she didn’t take him back and she realized that the only right thing to do was to leave his sorry ass. Let ow take him and enjoy what he has to offer. Ha!
July 11, 2024
I was hooked from the first page. good read I tell you.
Initially i was irritated by Jill. The need to constantly massage her husband’s ego & please him was so cringe💀
I couldn’t understand why she was so smitten with her husband like a little girl with a new crush. Why did he have that much power over her? He had an effect on her I absolutely despised. It took long to feel bad for her bc if he cheats with you, he’ll cheat on you. Why did she think she was special? :(. What do you expect from a man who left his wife for you so easily?
But as the story progressed I began feeling bad for her, we’re human & we do stupid things (that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t/shouldn’t bear the consequence of her actions). I was frustrated it took her that long to pick herself up. When David said he couldn’t give up Nicole (after she herself gave up her career & her want for kids & her self esteem & her whole life) & asked her to wait, I WAS SHOCKED BY THE AUDACITY!! & then she was considering “waiting it out”? OH I WAS FUMING. girl. what exactly makes you want this man this bad? all he does is cause you restlessness & embarrass you in front of friends! But she did pick herself up eventually so I guess that’s all that matters. When Nicki said “I win” & she replied “I guess that depends on just what you think you've won," I loved it. & that was a disappointing statement from Nicki ngl. girl it’s just a man…. a man that always looks twice. Shameless🤣
I really disliked David. So much. What a grade A jerk. He lies, cheats, is self-absorbed, is condescending, manipulates. literally everything you don’t want in a husband. I wish there was a 2nd part where he pays for all of this somehow wth
Initially i was irritated by Jill. The need to constantly massage her husband’s ego & please him was so cringe💀
I couldn’t understand why she was so smitten with her husband like a little girl with a new crush. Why did he have that much power over her? He had an effect on her I absolutely despised. It took long to feel bad for her bc if he cheats with you, he’ll cheat on you. Why did she think she was special? :(. What do you expect from a man who left his wife for you so easily?
But as the story progressed I began feeling bad for her, we’re human & we do stupid things (that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t/shouldn’t bear the consequence of her actions). I was frustrated it took her that long to pick herself up. When David said he couldn’t give up Nicole (after she herself gave up her career & her want for kids & her self esteem & her whole life) & asked her to wait, I WAS SHOCKED BY THE AUDACITY!! & then she was considering “waiting it out”? OH I WAS FUMING. girl. what exactly makes you want this man this bad? all he does is cause you restlessness & embarrass you in front of friends! But she did pick herself up eventually so I guess that’s all that matters. When Nicki said “I win” & she replied “I guess that depends on just what you think you've won," I loved it. & that was a disappointing statement from Nicki ngl. girl it’s just a man…. a man that always looks twice. Shameless🤣
I really disliked David. So much. What a grade A jerk. He lies, cheats, is self-absorbed, is condescending, manipulates. literally everything you don’t want in a husband. I wish there was a 2nd part where he pays for all of this somehow wth
August 23, 2023
This is a reread of a book I first read in the 90’s (though it was published in the early 80’s).
Something about it feels very of it’s time to me, though honestly things haven’t changed all that much in regards to how women lose themselves in relationships.
The title The Other Woman is clever as honestly it could apply to either Jill or Nicole.
Jill has married David, helping to break up his marriage to Elaine and after several reasonably happy years (albeit with Jill making some extreme sacrifices to make her marriage work), attractive young Nicole is on the scene and openly declares that she intends to marry David.
This is a densely written book that really explores relationships. Even that of Jill’s friend Beth.
Both Jill and Nicole are or have clearly been villains in this story, but it lets David off the hook to think that way. David is a spoiled, selfish man who has traded on his beautiful looks and the lengths women will go to to keep him.
Reading Jill’s journey was frustrating at times, but ultimately I appreciated the themes of women’s friendships, history repeating, exploring personal boundaries and the overall final choices Jill made.
Something about it feels very of it’s time to me, though honestly things haven’t changed all that much in regards to how women lose themselves in relationships.
The title The Other Woman is clever as honestly it could apply to either Jill or Nicole.
Jill has married David, helping to break up his marriage to Elaine and after several reasonably happy years (albeit with Jill making some extreme sacrifices to make her marriage work), attractive young Nicole is on the scene and openly declares that she intends to marry David.
This is a densely written book that really explores relationships. Even that of Jill’s friend Beth.
Both Jill and Nicole are or have clearly been villains in this story, but it lets David off the hook to think that way. David is a spoiled, selfish man who has traded on his beautiful looks and the lengths women will go to to keep him.
Reading Jill’s journey was frustrating at times, but ultimately I appreciated the themes of women’s friendships, history repeating, exploring personal boundaries and the overall final choices Jill made.
March 10, 2024
This is one of the author's earlier books and while to me it did not reach the level of her later books, it was well written and covered an interesting case of marriage betrayal, from the perspective of the different parties involved. In this high-tech world where we are lost without our smartphones and other multi media systems, it's refreshing to read about the "historical" times when we were still using plain telephones to remotely communicate with each other. The fact that I found the couple to be rather weak characters, was not exactly negative, on the contrary, it spiced up the story and kept me interested and curious about how it was going to end. I preferred the side part about Al and Beth about domestic abuse, though, would have liked to know how this ultimately evolved and believe it would have made a better story if the book was telling their story.
My actual rating: 3.4 *
My actual rating: 3.4 *
September 21, 2024
Joy Fieldings Bücher überzeugen mich immer mehr.
Ihre Schreibweise ist einfach so packend und alle ihre Bücher behandeln so interessante Themen.
Bei „Ich will ihren Mann“ war ich anfangs skeptisch ob das Buch mir gefällt, weil es sich um ein anderes Thema dreht als die ersten beiden Bücher die ich von ihr gelesen habe, aber während dem Lesen hat es mich immer mehr überzeugt.
Wie Fielding die Beziehung von Lillian zu David beschreibt und sich immer wieder an dem Spruch: „ man will immer das was man nicht hat“ entlanghangelt ist genial.
Das einzige negative war dass ich anfangs manchmal nicht die zeitsprünge verstanden habe.
Ich freue mich schon auf das nächste Buch von Fielding das ich lesen werde.
Ihre Schreibweise ist einfach so packend und alle ihre Bücher behandeln so interessante Themen.
Bei „Ich will ihren Mann“ war ich anfangs skeptisch ob das Buch mir gefällt, weil es sich um ein anderes Thema dreht als die ersten beiden Bücher die ich von ihr gelesen habe, aber während dem Lesen hat es mich immer mehr überzeugt.
Wie Fielding die Beziehung von Lillian zu David beschreibt und sich immer wieder an dem Spruch: „ man will immer das was man nicht hat“ entlanghangelt ist genial.
Das einzige negative war dass ich anfangs manchmal nicht die zeitsprünge verstanden habe.
Ich freue mich schon auf das nächste Buch von Fielding das ich lesen werde.
March 16, 2018
I liked this book despite the fact that everyone in it is unlikeable. Well, not the woman who killed her abusive husband. BUT -- Jill is stupid as ____. Gives up a job she loves and is good at for a man who is obviously self centered and a dawg. But good looking. The ex wife (Elaine) is selfish and a bitch. Then there's the NEW love interest -- Nicole. Beautiful and unscrupulous. Jill finally has enough and about time. Oh -- the one who killed her husband had a daughter, who was OK. Reading through all that, how could I have given it 4 stars? Who knows? I just kind of liked it.
June 11, 2017
Canada/1983
3.75/5
its a good book but prolly i wont re read this book, that just too much pain in 200ish pages. damnit! and slow... slow plot.
If you're reading this, and you happen to be a women. You seriously aint alone. I felt it. I felt how Joy Fielding- the author stirred your emotion. It kind of disgusting betrayal. David Plumley just a first-class prick!!
and "what goes around comes around" to Jill Listerwoll. but honestly, i feel deeply sorry to her. proud that, in the end she made a glorious decision.
jengkel banget sumpah bacanya. arghh
3.75/5
its a good book but prolly i wont re read this book, that just too much pain in 200ish pages. damnit! and slow... slow plot.
If you're reading this, and you happen to be a women. You seriously aint alone. I felt it. I felt how Joy Fielding- the author stirred your emotion. It kind of disgusting betrayal. David Plumley just a first-class prick!!
and "what goes around comes around" to Jill Listerwoll. but honestly, i feel deeply sorry to her. proud that, in the end she made a glorious decision.
jengkel banget sumpah bacanya. arghh
January 18, 2023
I really love Joy Fielding as an author but this was not one of her best books. I realize it’s one of her first movies and she got much better with time. I found it to be a bit slow-moving and somewhat trite. Some parts I thought were unnecessary. I didn’t care for the characters at all. They were despicable. There were some parts that had interesting twists and turns so it kept me somewhat engaged.
August 31, 2017
As much as I love Joy Fielding - this wasn't one of my favorite books by her. Maybe because the women in the book were so stupid! I'm glad Jill somewhat came to her senses, but I would have liked to have more of a wrapped up ending with Beth. I still really liked the characters but I just wasn't satisfied at the end - it needed an extra 50 pages or so to wrap it up better.
December 7, 2025
4.5 stars
This book surprised me. It’s been sitting on my TBR pile for a long time and finally picked it up not expecting much - mainly just to get it out of my pile and I actually really enjoyed myself. Should have trigger warnings i feel for those that have been cheated on but I actually had a great time.
This book surprised me. It’s been sitting on my TBR pile for a long time and finally picked it up not expecting much - mainly just to get it out of my pile and I actually really enjoyed myself. Should have trigger warnings i feel for those that have been cheated on but I actually had a great time.
December 26, 2025
It was irritating and a little dated - possibly I was irritating and I may be dated
Anyway not thrilling nor really original
You reap what you sow !
No one likes that to happen but it does - in this book though it took too long and why didn’t someone punch “little-Miss-sparkling-personality” in the face.
Oh and PS the murder ….. too obvious for words
Anyway not thrilling nor really original
You reap what you sow !
No one likes that to happen but it does - in this book though it took too long and why didn’t someone punch “little-Miss-sparkling-personality” in the face.
Oh and PS the murder ….. too obvious for words
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