Excellent Women: 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' Richard Osman (VMC)

Excellent Women: 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' Richard Osman (VMC)

by Barbara Pym (Author), Barbara Pym (Author), Alexander McCall Smith (Introduction)

Synopsis

Cover design by Orla Kiely Mildred Lathbury is one of those 'excellent women' who is often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations of life - birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sales, the garden fete spoilt by bad weather'. As such, though, she often gets herself embroiled in other people's lives - and especially those of her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, whose marriage seems to be on the rocks. One cannot take sides in these matters, though it is tricky, especially when Mildred, teetering on the edge of spinsterhood, has a soft spot for dashing young Rockingham Napier. This is Barbara Pym's world at its funniest and most touching.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Edition: 1
Publisher: Virago
Published: 03 Jul 2008

ISBN 10: 1844085260
ISBN 13: 9781844085262
Book Overview: Probably Pym's most famous novel 'I'd sooner read a new Barbara Pym than a new Jane Austen' Philip Larkin

Media Reviews
One of the finest examples of high comedy * Lord David Cecil *
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 -- Marghanita Laski * OBSERVER *
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 * Jilly Cooper *
Author Bio
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of over eighty books on a wide array of subjects, including the award-winning The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. He is also the author of the Isabel Dalhousie novels and the world's longest-running serial novel, 44 Scotland Street. His books have been translated into forty-six languages. Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and holds honorary doctorates from thirteen universities.