The Diary of a Provincial Lady

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Is not a common hate one of the strongest links in human nature? Answer, most regrettably, in the affirmative. Keeping up-to-date with the latest fashions, particularly in millinery, represents another major headache for the Provincial Lady. Like many British women through the ages, our protagonist will head off to the shops in search of something new when her spirits are low. However, finding the right hat to flatter the face isn’t quite as easy as it may sound, especially if one’s hair is as wild and unruly as the Provincial Lady’s proves to be… January 22nd - Robert startles me at breakfast by asking if my cold - which he has hitherto ignored - is better. I reply that it has gone. Then why, he asks, do I look like that? Feel that life is wholly unendurable, and decide madly to get a new hat' Still the same self-abnegating lady, but now she's got a flat in London where she can go to escape domestic duties and "write." (She just published her first book: enormous success.) I envy her. At the same time, what domestic duties does she really have to complain about (and she complains about them rather well)...kids are at boarding school, husband is around but certainly not in the way in any manner, has a cook, a maid, a gardener. WHAT DOES SHE DO?? Write letters for groceries, pay bills (always overdrafting), go to lunch with friends, read, dabble in writing. I think her life sounds rather nice and easy.

The Provincial Lady Goes Further (1932) - continuation, beginning with astonishment at receiving a large royalty cheque (from Provincial Lady). Dedicated to Cass Canfield. [5] The Entertainment (1927) - a collection of short stories, including The Tortoise, where Charles Ellery re-appears. To See Ourselves (1930) - Caroline, married to a rather dull Freddie, yearns for love and romance, but is sadly thwarted by domesticity. This play was a great success, broadcast repeatedly and was included in Gollancz's Famous Plays of 1931

Hairdresser’s assistant says, It’s a pity my hair is losing all its colour, and have I ever thought of having it touched up? After long discussion, I do have it touched up, and emerge with mahogany-coloured head. Hairdresser’s assistant says this will wear off ‘in a few days’. I am very angry, but all to no purpose. Return home in old hat, showing as little hair as possible, and keeping it on till dressing time – but cannot hope to conceal my shame at dinner. (pp.31-32) March 28th.—Read admirable, but profoundly discouraging, article in Time and Tide relating to Bernard Shaw's women, but applying to most of us. Realise—not for the first time—that intelligent women can perhaps best perform their duty towards their own sex by devastating process of telling them the truth about themselves. At the same time, cannot feel that I shall really enjoy hearing it. ... Have very often wondered if Mothers are not rather A Mistake altogether, and now definitely come to the conclusion that they are. First few paragraphs set the tone for a delightful, light, witty flight into this provincial world.

Do I realise, says Lady B., that the Cold Habit is entirely unnecessary, and can be avoided by giving the child a nasal douche of salt-and-water every morning before breakfast?Gay Life (1933) - set in the Côte d'Azur, Hilary and Angie Moon have to live on their wits and her beauty.

It's not easy being a Provincial Lady in Devonshire in the 1920s, juggling a grumpy husband, mischievous children and a host of domestic dilemmas - from rice mould to a petulant cook. But this Provincial Lady will not be defeated; not by wayward flower bulbs, not by unexpected houseguests, not even by the Blitz. She will continue to preside over the W.I., endure rain-drenched family picnics and succeed as a published author, all the while tending to her strawberries.I ask Robert, sentimentally, if this makes him think of our wedding. He looks surprised and says No, not particularly, why should it? As I cannot at the moment think of any particular reply to this, the question drops. As Others Hear Us: A Miscellany (1937) - a collection of humorous sketches which appeared in Punch and Time & Tide.

Think of several rather tart and witty rejoinders to this, but unfortunately not until Lady B.'s Bentley has taken her away." However, says Mrs. Blenkinsop with a sad smile, it is never her way to dwell upon herself and her own troubles. She just sits there, day after day, always ready to sympathise in the little joys and troubles of others, and I would hardly believe how unfailingly these are brought to her. People say, she adds deprecatingly, that just her Smile does them good. She does not know, she says, what they mean. (Neither do I.) It is very funny. The way she describes the torrent of gossip that always seems to pour from the mouth of Our Vicar’s wife not gives a great sense of the speaker and her sense of being possessor of all truths, but also paints a picture of the small community they exist in. Particularly funny too is the way the cooks and maids hold their employers in thrall. Good help being so hard to find it seems post WWI.July 3rd.—I am moved to exclaim—perhaps rather thoughtlessly—that the most wonderful thing in the world must be to be a childless widow—but this is met by unsympathetic silence from Robert, which recalls me to myself, and impels me to say that that isn't in the least what I meant. The social hierarchy is minutely described particularly in the nuances of rank which have more to do with title than money. Committee positions are determined by the rank of the member’s husband. “Sudden appearance of Our Vicar’s wife, who says apologetically that she made a mistake about the time. I beg her to take the chair. She refuses. I insist. She says No, no, positively not and takes it.” Late and Soon Novel 8 Short Stories From the Renowned Author of The Diary of a Provincial Lady and The Way Things Are, Including The Bond of Union, Lost in Transmission Time Work Wonders So, what can I say about this classic of 1930s British literature that hasn’t been said before? Probably not a lot – other than to reiterate what a joy it is to read, full of witty asides about the day-to-day minutiae of English country life.