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Tag Archives: Excellent Women
“Let me hasten to add that I am not at all like Jane Eyre, who must have given hope to so many plain women . . .nor have I ever thought of myself as being like her.”
When I read about “the unexpected joy of repeat experiences” during difficult times, I immediately thought of the pleasure I have in rereading novels by Barbara Pym. Surely one of the ways we can cope with the stress of an … Continue reading →
Posted in fiction
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Tagged a favorite novelist, Barbara Pym, Excellent Women, twentieth-century Jane Austen
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“The room seemed suddenly very hot and I saw Mrs. Gray’s face rather too close to mine, her eyes wide open and penetrating, her teeth very small and pointed, her skin a smooth apricot colour.”
Why do some novels draw me back year after year, while others – perhaps even more worthy – do not? Maybe, as the NPR commentator noted, returning to books read multiple times is like having a drink with an old … Continue reading →
Posted in fiction
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Tagged Barbara Pym, British humor, deeper meaning, Excellent Women, old friend
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“It was the kind of question that starts a landslide in the mind.”
What was the question? Was it profound? Shocking? Revealing? Turns out, it’s all of these, and it’s laced with British humor. The question was, “Do we need a cup of tea?” This comes next: “She sounded puzzled and distressed and I began to realize … Continue reading →
Posted in fiction
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Tagged Barbara Pym, British humor, Excellent Women, Jane Austen, melancholy, Recommend, tea
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