Barbara Pym

[callmemadam]

Admirers of Barbara Pym, of whom I am not one, may like a heads up that this week's Woman's Hour drama is Jane and Prudence. There was a discussion on this morning's programme of Barbara Pym and her novels and there's a link to it here.

Why don't I like Barbara Pym? I just don't like her or any of her characters; they are the kind of women I would like to smack. If the books had great literary merit this wouldn't matter: I don't like The Provincial Lady but I enjoy reading the books because they are so well done. I think Pym's reputation was grossly over-inflated by Philip Larkin's admiration, publishers cashed in (after leaving the poor woman in the wilderness for years) and boom! the books were undiscovered masterpieces. Just shows the power of publicity. Her novels are not a patch on those by Elizabeth Taylor or E H Young.

Comments

[gghost.livejournal.com]

Oh, lovely new author recommendations! I've just orderd a copy of E.H. Young's 'Chatterton Square'.

I agree with you regarding Barbara Pym. I recently read 'Crampton Hodnet' and was disappointed it. I felt like just about all of the characters could have done with a good smack.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'm glad someone agrees with me :-)

I'm very fond of E H Young. Chatterton Square
is quite a favourite and Miss Mole is excellent.

[(Anonymous)]

By coincidence I started reading Jane and Prudence - which came highly recommended by a friend - the week before Women's Hour aired extracts and I just couldn't get into it at all. I usually love 'middlebrow' fiction but, as you say, the characters irritate. Particularly Jane who seems to do nothing but quote poetry.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I read Jane and Prudence years ago and was unimpressed. I've heard quite a lot of it on the radio in the evenings this week and it really is like hearing paint dry.

[(Anonymous)]

re. last comment. I don't mean to be anonymouse but I can't seem to comment any other way. Anyway, I'm Nicola and I enjoy reading your blog.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Hello Nicola, Welcome and thank you! It's a pity LJ doesn't introduce the system they have on Blogspot where you can log in using your blog name from somewhere else. The only way is to register (free) and then make Friends under the LJ system of the people whose blogs you want to read. Then you se their posts automatically.

[louise culmer (from livejournal.com)]

i think she's brilliant, miles better than Elizabeth Taylor. never heard of E.H. young, will look her up.