Donne eccellenti

Aside from a few differences--living in the 1950s, being British, not being a teacher, being actively involved in church--Mildred Lathbury could easily be me. She's in her early 30s, she's unmarried, people keep telling her about their problems and expecting her to fix them, men think she's in love

With a sweetness reminiscent of Edith Wharton's gorgeous classic "The Age of Innocence," "Excellent Women" is proof, not solely of female excellence, but of the overall human goodness. Nothing short of miraculous, this novel about a wallflower who knows just how shitty men can often treat their coun Leggi tutto

I've read this many times and have both a kindle version and a paperback. Barbara Pym wrote about ordinary women leading ordinary lives. They don't have interesting, exciting jobs or adventures and their personal lives consist of doing flowers for the church or manning a booth at a church fete. This Leggi tutto

For the past four days, I kept company with some excellent gentlewomen in the UK and had a truly delightful time. In the midst of stifling social restrictions as the pandemic continues to hold sway over us, it is no small treat to steal away to post-war London, drink copious pots of tea, slip unnoti Leggi tutto

This review first appeared on my blog Shoulda Coulda Woulda Books . Awhile ago, I asked for recommendations for books that take place in small villages. I'd just done a re-read of Emma and followed that up with An Accomplished Woman , and I was really enjoying the scale of the worlds and the consequent Leggi tutto

I am re-reading Barbara Pym's books this summer to lift my spirits as I recover from physical injury. I find I can only take so much emotional stress before I retreat to her closely observed lives full of the quotidian routines of the women who are the backbone of the Anglican Church. Flower arrangi Leggi tutto

Why didn't any of you shout louder about reading Barbara Pym? I can't believe I'm nearly 50 and I've only just got round to reading her, because everything was perfect and lovely and wonderful about this book. So beautifully English. An 'ordinary' single woman, Mildred, in the 1950s, goes to church, Leggi tutto

It is completely absurd to set out to read this without a nice cup of tea at the side. The fact that its edition is a lovely one, hardback, part of the Virago Modern Classics Collection, with a wonderful design –Striped Petal—by Orla Kiely, makes a further argument for having the tea on a side table Leggi tutto

I had such high hopes that I would love this book, and I did, so very much. So many people had said that it was so good, that it was Barbara Pym’s best book, and when I realised that it was the story of a spinster, in her thirties in the fifties, my mind went spinning back. Not to the fifties – I’m no Leggi tutto

I am honestly not sure what to make of this book. I initially discovered this book (and author) through a random Amazon-crawl, where I assume it was recommended to me based on some of my other highly-rated books. I vaguely remember reading that Excellent Women was satirical, funny, biting, etc., and Leggi tutto