My comment seems to have vanished, so trying again. Re. the lack of editing, could it have been because the book was published posthumously? I noticed the anachronistic dialogue in last week's episode - would a 1930s teacher have thanked a pupil for 'sharing' her poem, or whatever it was, in class?
I think you must have commented without being signed in, which is why your comment didn't show the first time. I don't know about the editing. There was obviously a market for these great meandering novels; look at J B Priestley. A while ago I tried yet again to read The Good Companions, published about the same time, and gave up on it. Sharing, yes! One of the very things I picked up on.
She's a bit too dazzling in red, isn't she? Dorothy Tutin in the original series looked more convincing. But quibbles apart, I think it works far better as television than as a novel. Like you, I read it years ago - and can only wonder now at the patience of my younger self! There were so many passages that I'd cheerfully slash.
I didn't see the Dorothy Tutin version, so can't judge. I am persevering with it at the moment but I get tired of the way every character is given a back story.
The actress has quite a strong resemblance to the portrait of "Jillian" on the cover of the Virage edition - but she's dressed quite drably. i wonder who the real "JIllian" was?
I read it again fairly recently and enjoyed it a lot, but then tended to skip some of the boring bits! I found the Bessy Warbuckle character far too vividly dressed as well. That really is a gorgeous edition though and love the Pall Mall Building Society ad. My find today was in Poole of all places - £3 for lovely dustwrappered fat copy of Priorsford - one with boy and dog. Couldn't resist!
That is spooky as Dame Edna would say! Looking forward to hearing what else you found. I was good and put a couple of things back as no bargains, but have you read any Stella Gibbons apart from Cold Comfort and Nightingale? Saw one of hers that looked intriguing - White Sand and Grey Sand, but £30!
Spooky indeed. I've read and have Conference at Cold Comfort Farm, which isn't as good as the original. Also once had but sold (idiot!) A Pink Front Door and Starlight. They're not worth paying a lot of money for, IMO but I wish I'd kept them, if only for the dustwrappers.
I can't decide whether or not to watch the next episode - the last one had me almost spitting with rage and disappointment - they seem to be trying to turn it into a romantic novel rather than a novel about local government.
Yeeees - but the letter to her mother makes clear that the book is essentially a fictitious portrait of local government - yet they've cut out the character who is clearly based on her mother, and who is the central character of the book., Also, the wishy-washy "lost love" aspect that the last episodes suggested is a complete misrepresentation of the situation of one of the pairs of lovers - i mean, of course, the headmistress and Carne - they seem to be trying to turn that into the central plot, which is , again, a complete misrepresentation of the book.
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Re. the lack of editing, could it have been because the book was published posthumously?
I noticed the anachronistic dialogue in last week's episode - would a 1930s teacher have thanked a pupil for 'sharing' her poem, or whatever it was, in class?
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I don't know about the editing. There was obviously a market for these great meandering novels; look at J B Priestley. A while ago I tried yet again to read The Good Companions, published about the same time, and gave up on it.
Sharing, yes! One of the very things I picked up on.
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But quibbles apart, I think it works far better as television than as a novel. Like you, I read it years ago - and can only wonder now at the patience of my younger self! There were so many passages that I'd cheerfully slash.
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I am persevering with it at the moment but I get tired of the way every character is given a back story.
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Starlight. They're not worth paying a lot of money for, IMO but I wish I'd kept them, if only for the dustwrappers.
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