Excellent Women by Barbra Pym

I was surprised by Barbara Pym. She writes in the style of EF Benson or PG Wodehouse almost, or perhaps even Jane Austen, presenting carefully observed social satire with fine wit. But it’s different, and far more believable, and for goodness sake, it’s feminist in its sentiments! The protagonist Mildred is half in love with vicar and then falls half in love with an anthropologist called Everard, but this isn’t a love story. It’s a story about finding one’s place in the world and the value of common sense when surrounded by really pretty silly people. He writing is surprising, funny and charming and I’ll be reading a lot more of it!