Chilly Scenes of Winter

Chilly Scenes of Winter is Ann Beattie's first novel, published by Doubleday in 1976. The marketing copy from the paperback edition declared, "This is the story of a love-smitten Charles; his friend Sam, the Phi Beta Kappa and former coat salesman; and Charles' mother, who spends a lot of time in the bathtub feeling depressed." The title comes from the Cousin Emmy song Chilly Scenes of Winter from the album The New Lost City Ramblers with Cousin Emmy, which the novel's protagonist Charles listens to. The song tells of the fickle love of an inconstant woman.