An Academic Question
Published on 3. May 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-84408-723-5 (ISBN)
Description
A delightful comedy of manners with a touch of mystery, An Academic Question is prime Barbara Pym territory. In a provincial university town Caro Grimstone, a dissatisfied faculty wife, becomes the unwilling accomplice to her husband Alan's ambitions. When she volunteers as a reader to a blind, esteemed anthropologist, Alan seizes the opportunity to steal his papers - research that could both advance his reputation while refuting the findings of a respected colleague.
Reviews / Votes
Beneath the gentle surfaces of her novels is a slow-building comedy, salt wit in a saline drip -- NEW YORK TIMES My favourite writer . . . I pick up her books with joy -- JILLY COOPER She is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life -- ANNE TYLER I am a huge fan of Barbara Pym -- RICHARD OSMAN A splendid humorous writer -- John Betjeman A modern Jane Austen -- Alexander McCall Smith There is a thrill of humanity through all her work -- Shirley HazzardMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 130 mm
Width: 201 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
160 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84408-723-5 (9781844087235)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Barbara Pym (1913-80) was born in Shropshire and educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford. When in 1977 the TLS asked critics to name the most underrated authors of the past 75 years, only one was named twice (by Philip Larkin and Lord David Cecil): Barbara Pym. Her novels are characterised by what Anne Tyler has called 'the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life'.