In this mesmerizing debut novel, Michael Sledge creates an intimate portrait of
the beloved poet Elizabeth Bishop--of her life in Brazil and her relationship
with her lover, the dazzling, aristocratic Lota de Macedo Soares. Sledge
artfully draws from Bishop's lifelong correspondences and biography to imagine
the poet's intensely private world, revealing the literary genius who lived in
conflict with herself both as a writer and as a woman. A seemingly idyllic
existence in Soares's glass house in the jungle gives way to the truth of
Bishop's lifelong battle with alcoholism, as well as her eventual status as one
of modernism's most prominent writers. Though connected to many of the most
famous cultural and political figures of the era, Soares too is haunted by her
own demons. As their secrets unfold, the sensuous landscape of Rio de Janeiro,
the rhythms of the samba and the bossa nova, and the political turmoil of 1950s
Brazil envelop Bishop in a world she never expected to inhabit. The More I Owe
You is a vivid portrait of two brilliant women whose love for one another pushes
them to accomplish enduring works of art.