Carol

The novel tells the story of Therese Belivet, a 19-year-old sales assistant who falls deeply in love with Carol Aird, a sophisticated and wealthy woman in the midst of a divorce and a custody battle.

Their relationship, though mutual, is fraught with societal disapproval and personal complications.

The story explores themes of love, identity, and the constraints of societal norms in the 1950s.

Highsmith drew heavily from her own life experiences and relationships in writing this semi-autobiographical novel.