Excellent Women
'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' Richard Osman
Published on 2. June 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-349-01607-8 (ISBN)
Description
INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH
'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN
Mildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life - birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sale, the garden fete spoilt by bad weather'. Her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, seem to be facing a marital crisis. One cannot take sides in these matters, though it is tricky, especially as Mildred has a soft spot for dashing young Rockingham Napier. This is Barbara Pym's world at its funniest and most touching.
'One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH
'Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life' ANNE TYLER
'Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise' THE TIMES
'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN
Mildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life - birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sale, the garden fete spoilt by bad weather'. Her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, seem to be facing a marital crisis. One cannot take sides in these matters, though it is tricky, especially as Mildred has a soft spot for dashing young Rockingham Napier. This is Barbara Pym's world at its funniest and most touching.
'One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH
'Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life' ANNE TYLER
'Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise' THE TIMES
Reviews / Votes
I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym -- Richard Osman * Guardian * I pick up her books with joy, as though I were meeting an old, dear friend who comforts me, extends my vision and makes me roar with laughter One of the finest examples of high comedy Why shouldn't the lives of cardigan-wearing spinsters and fussy confirmed bachelors be the engines of some of the finest comic writing in English? Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise * The Times * I don't think I've ever before recommended a novel as one that everybody will enjoy and yet - even with a certain assurance - I'm prepared to vouch for Excellent Women * Observer * Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life -- Anne Tyler One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century -- Alexander McCall SmithMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
248 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-349-01607-8 (9780349016078)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2011
Virago Press Ltd
€2.99
Available for download
Persons
Barbara Pym (1913-1980) was born in Oswestry, Shropshire. She was educated at Huyton College, Liverpool, and St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she gained an Honours Degree in English Language and Literature. From 1958-1974, she worked as an editorial secretary at the International African Institute. Her first novel, Some Tame Gazelle, was published in 1950, and was followed by Excellent Women (1952), Jane and Prudence (1953), Less than Angels (1955), A Glass of Blessings (1958) and No Fond Return of Love (1961). During the sixties and early seventies her writing suffered a partial eclipse and, discouraged, she concentrated on her work for the Institute, from which she retired in 1974 to live in Oxfordshire. A renaissance in her fortunes came in 1977, when both Philip Larkin and Lord David Cecil chose her as one of the most underrated novelists of the century. With astonishing speed, she emerged, after sixteen years of obscurity, to almost instant fame and recognition. Quartet in Autumn was published in 1977 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The Sweet Dove Died followed in 1978, and A Few Green Leaves was published posthumously. Barbara Pym died in January 1980.