The novel follows schoolteacher Rachel Cameron through a summer affair and its consequences on her life. Although Rachel is in her 30s, the book serves to document a second adolescence as she comes to recognize herself as the adult to her aging mother.
A Jest of God was adapted to the 1968 movie Rachel, Rachel, starring Joanne Woodward and directed by Paul Newman. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1969, including Best Picture.
