This is one of those rare instances where I watched the film first, and happened to come across the book several years later. The film is absolutely lit up by Frances McDormand's incandescent talent. So I still saw her as the protagonist whilst reading this, but- of course- the book has a depth of thought and description which the film (by virtue of the limitations of the medium) cannot reach.
The plot races ahead with every page, seeing as the whole book is the narration of one day. But WHAT a day! A day of days. Nature abhors a spoiler, but it would not give too much of the plot away to say that the magnificently named Guinevere Pettigrew, a shy governess who is behind on her rent and almost on the streets (who is moreover not very good at being a governess, in her own words), manages to find herself in a situation where she tosses aside her genteel upbringing, quaffs down a goodly amount of the stuff that cheers, and sets the world to rights for a certain Miss Delicia la Fosse.
Miss la Fosse, although possessed of copious amounts of native intelligence and deadly charm, is not perhaps the most capable of extricating herself from her incredibly complicated personal life. Miss Pettigrew's, in her day of desperate madness, sweeps in like Miss la Fosse's own personal battleship, and rearranges it all for her, and in the process rearranges some things for herself too.
I definitely recommend the edition by Persephone Books (perhaps there is no other edition currently published anyway?) with the foreword by Henrietta Twycross-Martin, who happened to be able to meet the author Winifred Watson. Her foreword manages to be funny, engaging and informative and a little Virginia Woolf-lite.
A word of caution- a few places reveal the book to be a product of its time. Do read if you can view that in context and file it away under "I'm glad to be living in 2018". Avoid if unable to read, say, Rudyard Kipling without getting hot under the collar.
For best results, pair with: "A little dry sherry", in homage to Miss Pettigrew's choice of poison.
Author: Winifred Watson
Original illustrations in this edition
First published in 1938 by Methuen (my edition 2008 by Persephone Books, London)
The plot races ahead with every page, seeing as the whole book is the narration of one day. But WHAT a day! A day of days. Nature abhors a spoiler, but it would not give too much of the plot away to say that the magnificently named Guinevere Pettigrew, a shy governess who is behind on her rent and almost on the streets (who is moreover not very good at being a governess, in her own words), manages to find herself in a situation where she tosses aside her genteel upbringing, quaffs down a goodly amount of the stuff that cheers, and sets the world to rights for a certain Miss Delicia la Fosse.
Miss la Fosse, although possessed of copious amounts of native intelligence and deadly charm, is not perhaps the most capable of extricating herself from her incredibly complicated personal life. Miss Pettigrew's, in her day of desperate madness, sweeps in like Miss la Fosse's own personal battleship, and rearranges it all for her, and in the process rearranges some things for herself too.
I definitely recommend the edition by Persephone Books (perhaps there is no other edition currently published anyway?) with the foreword by Henrietta Twycross-Martin, who happened to be able to meet the author Winifred Watson. Her foreword manages to be funny, engaging and informative and a little Virginia Woolf-lite.
A word of caution- a few places reveal the book to be a product of its time. Do read if you can view that in context and file it away under "I'm glad to be living in 2018". Avoid if unable to read, say, Rudyard Kipling without getting hot under the collar.
For best results, pair with: "A little dry sherry", in homage to Miss Pettigrew's choice of poison.
Author: Winifred Watson
Original illustrations in this edition
First published in 1938 by Methuen (my edition 2008 by Persephone Books, London)
So I should read the book?
ReplyDeleteAlso good on the blog. Good to see people still blog. I end up writing the blog and reading it myself .. nothing wrong with that too though :)
Yes, I pretty much read my blog myself. But hey ho, I enjoy it :)
DeleteOh definitely worth a read. It's sparkling.
ReplyDelete