<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A visit with old and new friends
Review: Reading my way through the Barsetshire Series for the second time in 5 years. They are as delightful now as they were the first time and thanks to the reprints, much easier to find. This novel shows how the end of the war effected those in Britain, who although were relieved to welcome their loved ones home, had to suffer through rationing for many more years. Thirkell's gentle touch with humor, recurring characters and comfortable setting all make for a wonderful escape. There are no murders or intrigue, no sex, but for me pure entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: A visit with old and new friends
Review: Reading my way through the Barsetshire Series for the second time in 5 years. They are as delightful now as they were the first time and thanks to the reprints, much easier to find. This novel shows how the end of the war effected those in Britain, who although were relieved to welcome their loved ones home, had to suffer through rationing for many more years. Thirkell's gentle touch with humor, recurring characters and comfortable setting all make for a wonderful escape. There are no murders or intrigue, no sex, but for me pure entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Discontent breaks out
Review: This is one of the most disturbing of Angela Thirkell's books, seemingly the watershed between the early books which are mostly humourous but seem still connected with the time period in which they are set and the later books which even the author herself says are set in the 'cloud cuckoo land of Barsetshire'. Perhaps thr author herself was very depressed after the war or found the changes in society difficult to cope with but it becomes increasingly difficult decide when the author is being satirical or when she is indulging in propaganda for her own prefered social setup. There are still some genuinely funny passages but many of the situations in the later books seem designed as showcases for the same conversations, jokes and prejudices that have already been overly laboured in previous books- for example the superiority of a classical education.There is a fair amount of subtlety in the depictions of the aristocracy and upper gentry but other 'classes' are frequently represented as mindless morons. It may be significant the Angela Thirkell has a greater following in America than in Britain where people (myself included evrn though this is written from Canada)can still remember the times when some of the books were written or have a greater knowledge of the social history of the times. If you find you enjoy the books and don't find parts of them irritating or depressing,carry on reading them but for someone who really wants to know what life was like after the Second World War in Britain it would be better to read non-fiction accounts or any fictional author of books set in the period other than Angela Thirkell.
<< 1 >>
| 
