Shortly before the Second World War, a column by 'Mrs Miniver' appeared in THE TIMES, the first of many recounting the everyday events of a middle-class Chelsea family: Mrs Miniver's thrill at the sight of October chrysanthemums; her sense of doom when the faithful but rackety car is replaced; the escapades of Vin, Toby and Judy, her unpredictable ( Read more... )

Read on my kindle
Originally published in 1922, this was later re-published by the marvelous Virago. I however - wanting badly to read it - downloaded quite cheaply to my kindle. The narrative of the enormously charming novel, concerns aging spinster sisters Caroline and Sophia, and their younger half sister Rose, and their niece, the young ( Read more... )

Ten-year-old Rebecca is living in the country with her family, when Sibyl Jardine returns to her property in the neighbourhood. The two families - once linked in the past - meet again, with the result that Rebecca becomes drawn into the strange complications of the old lady's life. This is a masterly piece of writing. The Ballad and the Source is ( Read more... )

Mary Robson is a young Yorkshire woman, married to her solid, unromantic cousin, John. Together they battle to preserve Mary's neglected inheritance, her beloved farm, Anderby Wold. This labour of love - and the benevolent tyranny of traditional Yorkshire ways - have made Mary old before her time. Then into her purposeful life comes David Rossitur ( Read more... )

Spending the holiday with friends, as she has for many years, Camilla finds that their private absorptions - Frances with her painting and Liz with her baby - seem to exclude her from the gossipy intimacies of previous summers. Anxious that she will remain encased in her solitary life as a school secretary, Camilla steps into an unlikesly liaison ( Read more... )

The Reverend Maurice Roper awaits his cousins' return to Old Framling with a mixture of desire and dread: years have passed since he saw Edward, his childhood hero, and Margaret, the woman he secretly loved, but whom Edward married. As temporary incumbent of the parish, Maurice has taken only one decisive step. Although he is reluctant to ( Read more... )

Borrowed from Liz When Miss Mole returns to Radstowe, she wins the affection of Ethel and of her nervous sister Ruth and transforms the life of the vicarage. This book won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1930. This is quite a slow read I found, but not in a bad way, Miss Mole is the kind of novel that it is worth taking your time over. I ( Read more... )

Given to me by Liz : ) First published in 1936 this is a marvelously feminist novel. Set in the fictional South Riding, with much of the story concerning local poitics, and the different characters and factions associated with the county council, alongside other local people. There is a large cast of characters, at the centre of which is Robert ( Read more... )

Mrs Lippincote's house, with its mahogany furniture and yellowing photographs, stands as a reminder of all the certainties that have vanished with the advent of war. Temporarily, this is home for Julia, who has joined her husband Roddy at the behest of the RAF. Although she can accept the pomposities of service life, Julia's honesty and sense of ( Read more... )

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