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La señorita Hargreaves
En un día lluvioso, el joven Norman Huntley, organista de iglesia e hijo del librero de la imaginaria ciudad catedralicia de Cornford, y su amigo Henry Beddow, mecánico de coches, tienen la ocurrencia, de puro aburrimiento, de inventarse un personaje: una octogenaria, sobrina del duque de Grosvenor, intérprete de arpa, poeta, dueña de una perra y una cacatúa, e intrépida viajera que siempre va acompañada con su propia bañera. Cuál no será su sorpresa cuando, días después de tal invento, la anciana «en persona» se presenta, con todos sus bártulos, en la estación de Cornford.
428 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
33 people are currently reading
1451 people want to read
About the author
Frank Baker
100 books14 followersFrank Baker was born in Hornsey, London in 1908. He was educated at Winchester Cathedral School, where he enjoyed singing in Cathedral choir. He seems to have inherited a love of music from his grandfather who played the organ at Alexandra Palace. As a young man Frank went into his father's business of marine insurance in the City of London, before leaving after five years to spend a year working at the School of Church Music. With £20 and a small piano he moved from London to Cornwall, and settled in a cottage at St. Just-in-Penwith, earning £1 a week as an organist. There he began to write. His first novel, 'The Twisted Tree' was published in 1935.
Over his life Frank Baker published a series of novels and short stories as well as articles in journals such as the Guardian, Radio Times and Life and Letters. Frank's second novel was 'The Birds' published in 1936. This novel was published before the short story of the same name by Daphne Du Maurier, and before the 1963 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Although Frank's book had a similar premise and story, Frank was advised not to pursue costly litigation against Universal Studios. The affair led to an interesting correspondence with Du Maurier, and eventually to publication of a popular paperback edition of Frank's novel.
In addition to writing, Frank Baker continued to play both piano and organ, and especially enjoyed playing at the parish church at St Hilary in West Cornwall, where he developed a close friendship with Father Bernard Walke, author of the celebrated biography 'Twenty Years At St Hilary'. Here Frank and Bernard produced the first religious plays to be performed live on BBC Radio.
Frank's third novel, 'Miss Hargreaves', was the most successful. It was republished several times and was also produced as a play in 1952 at the Royal Court Theatre Club in London, with Dame Margaret Rutherford in the starring role. Frank wrote a radio adaptation of the novel which was broadcast in the 1950s, and much later a second adaptation was written by Brian Sibley and broadcast in 1989, six years after Frank's death. For a while Frank became a professional actor. During the Second World War Frank he toured with Dame Sybil Thorndike and Lewis Casson (whom he understudied) and Paul Scofield, and they played throughout the UK. At this time he met Kathleen Lloyd whom he married in 1943. They were to have three children together, Jonathan, Llewellyn and Jospehine. After they first met, they lived together in Hampstead, and for 18 months Frank worked as the pianst for the Player's Theatre with performers Leonard Sachs, Hattie Jaques and others.
After the Player's Theatre the family returned to live in Mevagissey in Cornwall, for around 5 years. Frank later lived in Surrey before returning to Cornwall, and a home near the village of Goldsithney. Later he moved to Cardiff. During these years he edited scripts and wrote plays for the BBC, and continued to publish fiction. In 1969-1970 he spent some time in the USA and was Artist-in-Residence at the University in Oklahoma.
Frank was drawn back to Cornwall again and again, and eventually he and Kathleen finally settled in Porthleven. Both Frank's daughters, and many of his nine grand children, were born in Cornwall, a county which inspired him throughout his life.
Frank died of cancer in 1983 at the family home, 'Bay Ridge', in Porthleven.
Over his life Frank Baker published a series of novels and short stories as well as articles in journals such as the Guardian, Radio Times and Life and Letters. Frank's second novel was 'The Birds' published in 1936. This novel was published before the short story of the same name by Daphne Du Maurier, and before the 1963 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Although Frank's book had a similar premise and story, Frank was advised not to pursue costly litigation against Universal Studios. The affair led to an interesting correspondence with Du Maurier, and eventually to publication of a popular paperback edition of Frank's novel.
In addition to writing, Frank Baker continued to play both piano and organ, and especially enjoyed playing at the parish church at St Hilary in West Cornwall, where he developed a close friendship with Father Bernard Walke, author of the celebrated biography 'Twenty Years At St Hilary'. Here Frank and Bernard produced the first religious plays to be performed live on BBC Radio.
Frank's third novel, 'Miss Hargreaves', was the most successful. It was republished several times and was also produced as a play in 1952 at the Royal Court Theatre Club in London, with Dame Margaret Rutherford in the starring role. Frank wrote a radio adaptation of the novel which was broadcast in the 1950s, and much later a second adaptation was written by Brian Sibley and broadcast in 1989, six years after Frank's death. For a while Frank became a professional actor. During the Second World War Frank he toured with Dame Sybil Thorndike and Lewis Casson (whom he understudied) and Paul Scofield, and they played throughout the UK. At this time he met Kathleen Lloyd whom he married in 1943. They were to have three children together, Jonathan, Llewellyn and Jospehine. After they first met, they lived together in Hampstead, and for 18 months Frank worked as the pianst for the Player's Theatre with performers Leonard Sachs, Hattie Jaques and others.
After the Player's Theatre the family returned to live in Mevagissey in Cornwall, for around 5 years. Frank later lived in Surrey before returning to Cornwall, and a home near the village of Goldsithney. Later he moved to Cardiff. During these years he edited scripts and wrote plays for the BBC, and continued to publish fiction. In 1969-1970 he spent some time in the USA and was Artist-in-Residence at the University in Oklahoma.
Frank was drawn back to Cornwall again and again, and eventually he and Kathleen finally settled in Porthleven. Both Frank's daughters, and many of his nine grand children, were born in Cornwall, a county which inspired him throughout his life.
Frank died of cancer in 1983 at the family home, 'Bay Ridge', in Porthleven.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews
May 6, 2015
Do you know this nursery rhyme? Almost certainly you know the first verse,
Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away
But may not know the second,
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door.
(Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns)
This book is exactly about that little man, or in this case, little old woman. Two young gentlemen take shelter in an old church and get chatting with the sexton. They invent having known a lady who was the friend of the late parson of the church. One says something, the next adds detail, back and forth.
And then they are met by the lady complete with portable hip-bath and parrot. To everyone she is as real as the gentlemen who invented her, indeed she is real to them, she isn't any longer a figment of their imagination but, if you like, the word made flesh! She is also aware that her life depends on them. Over a period of time with adventures, encounters and some travels, it is all very awkward and she won't go away and in the end, they are driven to flee.
Very clever writing indeed, very funny, and yet, there is pathos for the plight of the old woman who wasn't there again today.
Highly recommended for something a bit different.
The sense of humour, the gentle, very English misty, rainy day humour is similar to the Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat although the stories bear no resemblance at all.
Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away
But may not know the second,
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door.
(Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns)
This book is exactly about that little man, or in this case, little old woman. Two young gentlemen take shelter in an old church and get chatting with the sexton. They invent having known a lady who was the friend of the late parson of the church. One says something, the next adds detail, back and forth.
And then they are met by the lady complete with portable hip-bath and parrot. To everyone she is as real as the gentlemen who invented her, indeed she is real to them, she isn't any longer a figment of their imagination but, if you like, the word made flesh! She is also aware that her life depends on them. Over a period of time with adventures, encounters and some travels, it is all very awkward and she won't go away and in the end, they are driven to flee.
Very clever writing indeed, very funny, and yet, there is pathos for the plight of the old woman who wasn't there again today.
Highly recommended for something a bit different.
The sense of humour, the gentle, very English misty, rainy day humour is similar to the Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat although the stories bear no resemblance at all.
February 1, 2021
CHARACTER 1:
I'm a clever young man who loves his beer, his whiskey, his best mate, and having boozy vacations with that best mate. La-Di-Da, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, life goes on. As I have nary a thing to do besides sing in the local church choir, and drink, I have taken to telling tall tales, much like my dad. I love to make things up and I love to pull a leg. I will make up a person that I supposedly know, just because, just to string along that bumbling old curate. My best mate and I will create this little old lady, let's make her an eccentric type, dog and parrot and cane and hip-bath et al, and she shall be a niece to a Duke. Together we will give her life.
BEST MATE:
MISS HARGREAVES:
I come alive!
✞ α=Ω ☥
CHARACTER 1:
Who is this monster I have created, that has sprung from my mind like Athena from Zeus' brow? She has arrived at my home village, all of my made-up details now true to life. Alas, she comes to provide hassles and embarrassments; she has come as both my dearest friend and my nemesis. What an ordeal, and what shall all the villagers think. The mind is indeed a terrible thing to taste, I like not it's flavor. And I like not this creation. I think I must destroy the old dear.
BEST MATE:
MISS HARGREAVES:
Pray let me live!
✞ α=Ω ☥
CHARACTER 1:
Like Frankenstein and his Monster, like any artist and their works, like Frank Baker and his characters, and mayhaps like the Lord and His creations ... I shower both love and anger upon my elderly child, Miss Hargreaves. I am both ruthless and sentimental: she is a cross upon me that will not be borne and yet she is the darling apple of my eye. I change her nature as I see fit; I bend reality as I see fit. I am gatekeeper and keymaster, I am alpha and omega, I am the God of this little life and I shall snuff it out as I please. If my ghost has become flesh, if my figment of imagination has become reality... then I will exorcise that figment, it shall be as a dream that evaporates upon waking.
BEST MATE:
MISS HARGREAVES:
I shall haunt you forever, asshole!
I'm a clever young man who loves his beer, his whiskey, his best mate, and having boozy vacations with that best mate. La-Di-Da, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, life goes on. As I have nary a thing to do besides sing in the local church choir, and drink, I have taken to telling tall tales, much like my dad. I love to make things up and I love to pull a leg. I will make up a person that I supposedly know, just because, just to string along that bumbling old curate. My best mate and I will create this little old lady, let's make her an eccentric type, dog and parrot and cane and hip-bath et al, and she shall be a niece to a Duke. Together we will give her life.
BEST MATE:
MISS HARGREAVES:
I come alive!
✞ α=Ω ☥
CHARACTER 1:
Who is this monster I have created, that has sprung from my mind like Athena from Zeus' brow? She has arrived at my home village, all of my made-up details now true to life. Alas, she comes to provide hassles and embarrassments; she has come as both my dearest friend and my nemesis. What an ordeal, and what shall all the villagers think. The mind is indeed a terrible thing to taste, I like not it's flavor. And I like not this creation. I think I must destroy the old dear.
BEST MATE:
MISS HARGREAVES:
Pray let me live!
✞ α=Ω ☥
CHARACTER 1:
Like Frankenstein and his Monster, like any artist and their works, like Frank Baker and his characters, and mayhaps like the Lord and His creations ... I shower both love and anger upon my elderly child, Miss Hargreaves. I am both ruthless and sentimental: she is a cross upon me that will not be borne and yet she is the darling apple of my eye. I change her nature as I see fit; I bend reality as I see fit. I am gatekeeper and keymaster, I am alpha and omega, I am the God of this little life and I shall snuff it out as I please. If my ghost has become flesh, if my figment of imagination has become reality... then I will exorcise that figment, it shall be as a dream that evaporates upon waking.
BEST MATE:
MISS HARGREAVES:
I shall haunt you forever, asshole!
June 28, 2025
(Updated 11/15/19)
Here's the cover of my 1965 Panther mass-market paperback (234 pages).
What if a seemingly harmless lie suddenly becomes reality? That's what happens when two English fellows, Norman and Henry, decide to make up a fictional old lady friend of theirs named Miss Hargreaves when casually talking to the sexton at an old church they were visiting while on holiday in Ireland. Later, at a pub, they decide to invent more details of her life, making her very eccentric (she carries her own personal bath everywhere she travels; has a parrot named Dr. Pepusch, etc.).
When she shows up in Norman and Henry's hometown of Cornford, exactly as described and as if they were old acquaintances, the two are bewildered, of course. Shenanigans and hilarity ensue. The best adjective to describe this novel for me would be "charming." Author Frank Baker has an engaging style filled with clever dialogue and a constant stream of comedic situations. But it does have a certain creepiness that sort of, well, creeps in at times.
Overall, an excellent blend of fantasy, British humour, and just-plain-weird. Hard to believe it was written 80 years ago.
4.0 Stars.
Here's the cover of my 1965 Panther mass-market paperback (234 pages).
What if a seemingly harmless lie suddenly becomes reality? That's what happens when two English fellows, Norman and Henry, decide to make up a fictional old lady friend of theirs named Miss Hargreaves when casually talking to the sexton at an old church they were visiting while on holiday in Ireland. Later, at a pub, they decide to invent more details of her life, making her very eccentric (she carries her own personal bath everywhere she travels; has a parrot named Dr. Pepusch, etc.).
When she shows up in Norman and Henry's hometown of Cornford, exactly as described and as if they were old acquaintances, the two are bewildered, of course. Shenanigans and hilarity ensue. The best adjective to describe this novel for me would be "charming." Author Frank Baker has an engaging style filled with clever dialogue and a constant stream of comedic situations. But it does have a certain creepiness that sort of, well, creeps in at times.
Overall, an excellent blend of fantasy, British humour, and just-plain-weird. Hard to believe it was written 80 years ago.
4.0 Stars.
May 25, 2021
Frank Baker’s whimsical fantasy from the 1940s centres on an unexpected act of creation, Norman Huntley and best friend Henry are given to flights of fancy, ever since childhood they’ve revelled in coming up with tall tales featuring non-existent people and far-fetched events. One of their imaginary creations is Constance Hargreaves, a wealthy woman in her 80s, somehow Miss Hargreaves not only comes to life but travels to their small, cathedral town of Cornford bringing chaos and scandal along with her. Baker’s novel’s a curious mix of droll humour and melancholy charm with an undercurrent of the supernatural, the inhabitants and setting of Cornford are beautifully-observed, as are the details of Norman’s musical background, one that echoes Baker’s own. For me the most striking characters are Cornelius, Norman’s absent-minded father who likes to spend his days cloistered in an obscure corner of his local bookshop, his outlandish anecdotes rival Norman’s own and then Miss Hargreaves herself. She’s a fascinating figure, strident yet fragile, gloriously eccentric, a poet whose odd verses seem to be drawing on the tradition of English nonsense verse. Although I’m not sure it always hits its mark, Baker’s narrative’s far more sophisticated than it might first appear. There’s a strong impression here that Baker’s using the turbulent relationship between Norman and the disruptive, otherworldly Miss Hargreaves to explore complex, existential questions, making me want to place him alongside writers like T. F. Powys and Sylvia Townsend-Warner - all contributing to a peculiarly British strand of early 20th-century, domestic fantasy that has at its heart an unlikely, but highly productive, pairing of the mundane and the mystical.
Rating: 3.5
Rating: 3.5
November 28, 2025
Todo empieza como un chiste privado y termina en vértigo. La señorita Hargreaves irrumpe en la vida de Norman con bañera, loro y un descaro encantador que desmonta su mundo con cada paso. Frank Baker construye una comedia excéntrica que, entre risa y risa, deja al descubierto los miedos más serios: al juicio ajeno, al ridículo, a perder el control sobre lo que creamos. Porque hay fantasías que no se dejan encerrar.
📚 Análisis completo en @__entre.libros__
📚 Análisis completo en @__entre.libros__
September 15, 2013
This book, I think, should be much more widely known. It has the feel of a classic and I am pleased both that it was reprinted by the Bloomsbury Group (in 2009 - it was originally published in 1939) and that it happened to catch my eye in the library.
On holiday in Lusk, Ireland, Norman Huntley and his friend Henry Beddow happen to visit the local church. It appears to be very unkempt but the Sexton who opened it up for them is inordinately proud of it. Since Henry was the one wo was so keen on visiting it this puts Norman in a foul mood. So, on the "Spur of the Moment" (a dangerous thing according to his bookshop-owning father, Cornelius) he invents the eccentric old lady Miss Hargreaves (pn 'Hargrayves' according to the author), niece of the Duke of Grosvenor - supposedly a great friend of the former incumbent of the church, Rev. Philip Archer. Henry gets caught up in the spirit of it and addso some embellishments of his own to this, as they think, fictional character. But they get the shock of their lives when, on returning home, she actually turns up for an extended stay (replete with her cockatoo, dog, harp and bath) and proceeds to wreak havoc on their hitherto orderly lives.
She is a marvellous character and I love the whole idea of imagination bringing forth life. Something of the magic of children's books has seeped into a novel for grown-ups and it is an absolute delight. It seems to be a commentary on teh whole creative process and how writers live with the characters they have conjured up. At one stage Norman remarks to Henry, "I hate her and I love her and - I'm half-afraid of her" p109. I assume that authors must have feelings like this about some of the people they have brought forth from their imaginations - presumably Frank Baker did at any rate.
It is very well written and I was drawn in from the very first page. I found myself quite willing to suspend disbelief (as I did when reading E Nesbit books and so on as a child) and enjoyed the reactions of the other residents of Cornford to the phenomenon that was Miss Hargeaves (later Lady Hargreaves) and the way this affected their perception of Norman. All the threads of the narrative are cleverly drawn together to bring the narrative to a satisfactory conclusion. In short, this is a wonderful novel and I recommend it without reservation.
On holiday in Lusk, Ireland, Norman Huntley and his friend Henry Beddow happen to visit the local church. It appears to be very unkempt but the Sexton who opened it up for them is inordinately proud of it. Since Henry was the one wo was so keen on visiting it this puts Norman in a foul mood. So, on the "Spur of the Moment" (a dangerous thing according to his bookshop-owning father, Cornelius) he invents the eccentric old lady Miss Hargreaves (pn 'Hargrayves' according to the author), niece of the Duke of Grosvenor - supposedly a great friend of the former incumbent of the church, Rev. Philip Archer. Henry gets caught up in the spirit of it and addso some embellishments of his own to this, as they think, fictional character. But they get the shock of their lives when, on returning home, she actually turns up for an extended stay (replete with her cockatoo, dog, harp and bath) and proceeds to wreak havoc on their hitherto orderly lives.
She is a marvellous character and I love the whole idea of imagination bringing forth life. Something of the magic of children's books has seeped into a novel for grown-ups and it is an absolute delight. It seems to be a commentary on teh whole creative process and how writers live with the characters they have conjured up. At one stage Norman remarks to Henry, "I hate her and I love her and - I'm half-afraid of her" p109. I assume that authors must have feelings like this about some of the people they have brought forth from their imaginations - presumably Frank Baker did at any rate.
It is very well written and I was drawn in from the very first page. I found myself quite willing to suspend disbelief (as I did when reading E Nesbit books and so on as a child) and enjoyed the reactions of the other residents of Cornford to the phenomenon that was Miss Hargeaves (later Lady Hargreaves) and the way this affected their perception of Norman. All the threads of the narrative are cleverly drawn together to bring the narrative to a satisfactory conclusion. In short, this is a wonderful novel and I recommend it without reservation.
November 18, 2021
At the beginning, the idea of creating a fictional character only to have that character appear in the form of an actual person truly intrigued me. Then, as the story gradually unfurled I became invested in the fate of Miss Hargreaves and her 'creators,' especially Norman.
Miss Hargreaves aka Lady Hargreaves is wonderfully described as, "very small, very slight, with a perky, innocent little face and alert speedwell-blue eyes. Perched on top, right on top, of a hillock of snowy white hair: buttressed behind by a large fan-comb, studded by sequins and masted by long black pins, lay a speckled straw hat." She has a larger-than-life character to match her appearance and she stirs people up, as she moves through her day.
Miss Hargreaves professes to "abominate fuss," however she proceeds to be the author of much fuss! One example of her ability to create fuss and command others is when she insists a bed that her dog prefers be moved from one room to another. The manager of the hotel is almost apoplectic at the very idea and responds, "Really, Madam, I can't go having beds moved for dogs to sleep on." Silence ensues. Then, if looks could kill, "She stared at him slowly, up and down. A blush, the color of the poor man's suit, flooded his usually colourless features." Needless to say, she gets her way, or at least a compromise is reached and the favored eiderdown is moved from one room to the other.
Norman learns to his cost that he cannot control Miss Hargreaves, or make her go away either. In one outburst he cries, "Suppose I had turned you into a mouse, eh? A small, underfed mouse; a church mouse. And then set our ginger Tom on you?"
Her effect on the citizens of Cornford is most interesting. Despite being the newcomer, they root for her when sides are drawn later in the book, which speaks to her ability to charm, or perhaps, more accurately, her ability to command their loyalty.
Indeed, she outwits Norman who complains, "That woman. She mesmerizes me. What am I to do? I went crazy. Made up tales about us both, and she confirmed them all - even added to them." She artfully wins over Major Wynne also after getting herself and Norman into a "fix."
This is one of those quiet novels that might be passed over, however I found much to enjoy within these pages.
Miss Hargreaves aka Lady Hargreaves is wonderfully described as, "very small, very slight, with a perky, innocent little face and alert speedwell-blue eyes. Perched on top, right on top, of a hillock of snowy white hair: buttressed behind by a large fan-comb, studded by sequins and masted by long black pins, lay a speckled straw hat." She has a larger-than-life character to match her appearance and she stirs people up, as she moves through her day.
Miss Hargreaves professes to "abominate fuss," however she proceeds to be the author of much fuss! One example of her ability to create fuss and command others is when she insists a bed that her dog prefers be moved from one room to another. The manager of the hotel is almost apoplectic at the very idea and responds, "Really, Madam, I can't go having beds moved for dogs to sleep on." Silence ensues. Then, if looks could kill, "She stared at him slowly, up and down. A blush, the color of the poor man's suit, flooded his usually colourless features." Needless to say, she gets her way, or at least a compromise is reached and the favored eiderdown is moved from one room to the other.
Norman learns to his cost that he cannot control Miss Hargreaves, or make her go away either. In one outburst he cries, "Suppose I had turned you into a mouse, eh? A small, underfed mouse; a church mouse. And then set our ginger Tom on you?"
Her effect on the citizens of Cornford is most interesting. Despite being the newcomer, they root for her when sides are drawn later in the book, which speaks to her ability to charm, or perhaps, more accurately, her ability to command their loyalty.
Indeed, she outwits Norman who complains, "That woman. She mesmerizes me. What am I to do? I went crazy. Made up tales about us both, and she confirmed them all - even added to them." She artfully wins over Major Wynne also after getting herself and Norman into a "fix."
This is one of those quiet novels that might be passed over, however I found much to enjoy within these pages.
December 15, 2018
Imagine você inventar uma pessoa que não existe e essa pessoa se tornar em carne e osso. Foi isso que aconteceu com os amigos Norman e Henry, que morando na Inglaterra foram dar um passeio na Irlanda. Lá resolveram visitar uma velha igreja e conversando com o bispo local, inventaram uma tal de Senhora Hargreaves que fora amiga dum Bispo muito querido, já morto, da Igreja em questão. Ao sairem da igreja , até escreveram uma carta para uma suposta Senhora Hargreaves que estaria em um hotel qualquer, a convidando para ir visita-los na Inglaterra. Então o mais sinistro acontece; a senhora Hargreaves responde a carta dizendo que ela vai visita-los, que é para eles a esperarem na estação de trem. E agora?
Realmente a Senhora Hargreaves chega a Londres, uma velhinha com mais de 80 anos, chega com um enorme chapeu na cabeça , com uma banheira, alguns animais e pássaros. Como isso é possível? Quem seria essa Senhora Hargreaves? Uma louca que escapou do manicômio, alguém estava pregando uma peça neles também, ou teria Norman a conhecido em algum momento mas já não se lembrava mais ou realmente o que eles tinham inventado se tornou realidade?
Um livro que apesar de ás vezes ser repetitivo nos prende até o fim na curiosidade de querer saber como se originou a senhora Hargreaves.
Este livro foi escrito em 1940 e a história se passa mais ou menos em 1920. A história é deliciosa pois nessa vila onde chega a senhora Hargreaves , há um emaranhado de personagens e situações que realmente nos diverte muito, principalmente as conversas entre Norman e seu pai. O livro é bem escrito ,cheio de reviravoltas e vai nos fazer pensar duas vezes antes de desejar ou inventar qualquer coisa. !
Realmente a Senhora Hargreaves chega a Londres, uma velhinha com mais de 80 anos, chega com um enorme chapeu na cabeça , com uma banheira, alguns animais e pássaros. Como isso é possível? Quem seria essa Senhora Hargreaves? Uma louca que escapou do manicômio, alguém estava pregando uma peça neles também, ou teria Norman a conhecido em algum momento mas já não se lembrava mais ou realmente o que eles tinham inventado se tornou realidade?
Um livro que apesar de ás vezes ser repetitivo nos prende até o fim na curiosidade de querer saber como se originou a senhora Hargreaves.
Este livro foi escrito em 1940 e a história se passa mais ou menos em 1920. A história é deliciosa pois nessa vila onde chega a senhora Hargreaves , há um emaranhado de personagens e situações que realmente nos diverte muito, principalmente as conversas entre Norman e seu pai. O livro é bem escrito ,cheio de reviravoltas e vai nos fazer pensar duas vezes antes de desejar ou inventar qualquer coisa. !
January 6, 2023
It’s been a bit since I’ve read a book with a permanent grin on my face. I’ve heard Simon Thomas from Stuck in a Book positively mention this favorite of his numerous times. The book star aligned in my interloan library having a copy and me with some reading time over a weekend. I raced through it furiously due to the need to know what happens in the end?! Baker creates a piece of fiction that is fantasy and humor written in a suspenseful tone. I could feel my anxiety matching the main character’s at times only to be lessened by a bark of laughter at the comedic prose. Just a brilliantly written book.
February 12, 2010
Reason for Reading: I love British literature written during the first half of the 20th century and all the books reprinted in The Bloomsbury Group sound delightful.
Summary: Norman Huntley and his friend Henry are visiting an old church and while speaking to the keeper, on a lark, they invent an eighty-plus old woman, Miss Hargreaves, giving her quite an eccentric character, a cockatoo, and a bath she takes with her everywhere. Still having a good laugh they write a letter to this fictional character at the hotel where they've got her staying on her travels. The lark takes a downward spiral when they receive a reply back and shortly afterwards Miss Hargreaves arrives in the village complete with cockatoo and bath. She latches onto Norman like a dear, long lost friend and Norman's once sedate life as choir member, organist and bookstore helper turns upside down with the havoc created by the imaginary but very real Miss Hargreaves.
Comments: This book is simply put, a pure delight! Though written in 1940, the story is set sometime prior WWII and with an offhand remark about WWI we can surmise the story takes place in the 1920s or early 30s. The wonderful British village life filled with a variety of characters is a joyful story. Miss Hargreaves is a most eccentric character and her appearance turns the conventions of the town topsy-turvy. She descends upon Norman and completely takes over his life with her devotion. Creating episode after episode within the village and church community Baker's novel starts off as a hilarious farce. But when Norman can't take it anymore, close to losing his girlfriend, he tells Miss Hargreaves he's done with her and she can do as she like. This causes Miss H. to disappear for some weeks and Norman realizes that he's become a bit fond of the old girl. When Hargreaves returns she's not the woman she was before, she snubs Norman, puts on airs and her former escapades are completely forgotten as she becomes the new centre of the village's society.
Norman and Miss Hargreaves's relationship is a wonderful story. I often felt it compared to that of a parent and a child, with Norman taking the parental role since he 'created' Miss Hargreaves. Miss H. starts off as the doting child thinking Norman is the centre of her universe then after an argument she turns into the defiant teenager who ignores Norman and does what she wants. At this point Norman realizes the feelings he has for Miss H. are genuine and he loves her as a parent; he tries to make her see reason and is forever turned away, banging his head against a wall, and yet he keeps returning for more as his love is coupled with responsibility. While the story is filled with whimsy, there are also to be found great moments of pathos and the ending will tug at your heart strings.
Both Norman and Miss Hargreaves are astounding characters. While they appear to be at odds for the majority of the book, there are profound moments that they share together sometimes through speech and other times simply through a shared look. They are very compelling characters not soon to be forgotten. The secondary characters are also full of life from Norman's little sister Jim, who taunts him frequently, to the church's righteous Dean, who is a bit too full of himself, to Norman's scatterbrained bookstore owner father, to Henry, the one who helped Norman create Miss Hargreaves yet can't quite believe it isn't all some trick.
A delightful book, highly recommended to fans of British cozies. The author wrote fifteen novels and I certainly wouldn't mind trying another.
Summary: Norman Huntley and his friend Henry are visiting an old church and while speaking to the keeper, on a lark, they invent an eighty-plus old woman, Miss Hargreaves, giving her quite an eccentric character, a cockatoo, and a bath she takes with her everywhere. Still having a good laugh they write a letter to this fictional character at the hotel where they've got her staying on her travels. The lark takes a downward spiral when they receive a reply back and shortly afterwards Miss Hargreaves arrives in the village complete with cockatoo and bath. She latches onto Norman like a dear, long lost friend and Norman's once sedate life as choir member, organist and bookstore helper turns upside down with the havoc created by the imaginary but very real Miss Hargreaves.
Comments: This book is simply put, a pure delight! Though written in 1940, the story is set sometime prior WWII and with an offhand remark about WWI we can surmise the story takes place in the 1920s or early 30s. The wonderful British village life filled with a variety of characters is a joyful story. Miss Hargreaves is a most eccentric character and her appearance turns the conventions of the town topsy-turvy. She descends upon Norman and completely takes over his life with her devotion. Creating episode after episode within the village and church community Baker's novel starts off as a hilarious farce. But when Norman can't take it anymore, close to losing his girlfriend, he tells Miss Hargreaves he's done with her and she can do as she like. This causes Miss H. to disappear for some weeks and Norman realizes that he's become a bit fond of the old girl. When Hargreaves returns she's not the woman she was before, she snubs Norman, puts on airs and her former escapades are completely forgotten as she becomes the new centre of the village's society.
Norman and Miss Hargreaves's relationship is a wonderful story. I often felt it compared to that of a parent and a child, with Norman taking the parental role since he 'created' Miss Hargreaves. Miss H. starts off as the doting child thinking Norman is the centre of her universe then after an argument she turns into the defiant teenager who ignores Norman and does what she wants. At this point Norman realizes the feelings he has for Miss H. are genuine and he loves her as a parent; he tries to make her see reason and is forever turned away, banging his head against a wall, and yet he keeps returning for more as his love is coupled with responsibility. While the story is filled with whimsy, there are also to be found great moments of pathos and the ending will tug at your heart strings.
Both Norman and Miss Hargreaves are astounding characters. While they appear to be at odds for the majority of the book, there are profound moments that they share together sometimes through speech and other times simply through a shared look. They are very compelling characters not soon to be forgotten. The secondary characters are also full of life from Norman's little sister Jim, who taunts him frequently, to the church's righteous Dean, who is a bit too full of himself, to Norman's scatterbrained bookstore owner father, to Henry, the one who helped Norman create Miss Hargreaves yet can't quite believe it isn't all some trick.
A delightful book, highly recommended to fans of British cozies. The author wrote fifteen novels and I certainly wouldn't mind trying another.
September 28, 2017
This is a fantasy novel.
I feel like that statement needs to sink in. Because I don't read fantasy! And also this is a quiet domestic novel written in the 1930s with a little old lady. So it's a bit unexpected. But, yeah, this is a fantasy novel.
Norman Huntley and his friend Henry Beddow every now and then enjoy making up stories. Not with any malicious intent, but just for fun. At times it's almost a compulsion to just stir up stories from out of thin air and see how far they get.
They've been traveling, and one day they pop in to look at a church. For the benefit of the sexton at the church, they invent a little old lady of mutual acquaintance, name of Connie Hargreaves. They throw out all sorts of ludicrous details about her. She travels everywhere with her own bathtub. She has written a book of poetry, plays the harp, has a pet bird and a dog, etc., etc., etc.
Still in the throes of this creative process, Norman writes and mails her a letter inviting her to visit his family.
Guess what?
She comes. And she's exactly as he described.
The rest of the book is Norman's love/hate relationship with his creation. It's very different, that's for sure. At first Norman searches desperately for a rational explanation, but he can't find one. Miss Hargreaves takes her cues from his imagination, which he finds both delightful and terrifying. When things go too far Norman mentally washes his hands of her, allowing her to go rogue, and that's when he really starts to regret things.
This book is well written. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but I have to say it's well written and I was honestly moved by its poignant moments, like when The ending was pretty gripping. Yes, it's a unique book, and I think some people would immensely enjoy it.
If a metaphysical fantasy novel with all the outward trappings of British domesticity sounds like your thing, then this book is for you.
I feel like that statement needs to sink in. Because I don't read fantasy! And also this is a quiet domestic novel written in the 1930s with a little old lady. So it's a bit unexpected. But, yeah, this is a fantasy novel.
Norman Huntley and his friend Henry Beddow every now and then enjoy making up stories. Not with any malicious intent, but just for fun. At times it's almost a compulsion to just stir up stories from out of thin air and see how far they get.
They've been traveling, and one day they pop in to look at a church. For the benefit of the sexton at the church, they invent a little old lady of mutual acquaintance, name of Connie Hargreaves. They throw out all sorts of ludicrous details about her. She travels everywhere with her own bathtub. She has written a book of poetry, plays the harp, has a pet bird and a dog, etc., etc., etc.
Still in the throes of this creative process, Norman writes and mails her a letter inviting her to visit his family.
Guess what?
She comes. And she's exactly as he described.
The rest of the book is Norman's love/hate relationship with his creation. It's very different, that's for sure. At first Norman searches desperately for a rational explanation, but he can't find one. Miss Hargreaves takes her cues from his imagination, which he finds both delightful and terrifying. When things go too far Norman mentally washes his hands of her, allowing her to go rogue, and that's when he really starts to regret things.
This book is well written. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but I have to say it's well written and I was honestly moved by its poignant moments, like when The ending was pretty gripping. Yes, it's a unique book, and I think some people would immensely enjoy it.
If a metaphysical fantasy novel with all the outward trappings of British domesticity sounds like your thing, then this book is for you.
August 2, 2018
Por momentos me encantó pero otras veces quería arrojarlo por el inodoro.
La historia tiene una premisa muy interesante, un comienzo atrapante y un concepto de trama central que es bastante único y que está bien logrado. Sin embargo, tiene DEMASIADO relleno. Hay partes de la novela en las que uno podría saltarse 30 páginas sin perderse de nada.
Las escenas “buenas” son excelentes y los giros de la trama me parecieron bien planeados y divertidos; originales. Pero las escenas que sobran aburren mucho porque uno nota enseguida que no aportan al avance de la historia.
El final en sí me gustó. Es predecible pero es bueno y coherente. Todo lo que conduce al cierre me ha parecido lógico y apropiado para la historia.
Si el libro tuviera unas 100 páginas menos habría recibido unas 4.5 estrellas.
En fin, si quieren leer la reseña completa pueden pasar por mi blog: http://pardonmispanglish.blogspot.com...
La historia tiene una premisa muy interesante, un comienzo atrapante y un concepto de trama central que es bastante único y que está bien logrado. Sin embargo, tiene DEMASIADO relleno. Hay partes de la novela en las que uno podría saltarse 30 páginas sin perderse de nada.
Las escenas “buenas” son excelentes y los giros de la trama me parecieron bien planeados y divertidos; originales. Pero las escenas que sobran aburren mucho porque uno nota enseguida que no aportan al avance de la historia.
El final en sí me gustó. Es predecible pero es bueno y coherente. Todo lo que conduce al cierre me ha parecido lógico y apropiado para la historia.
Si el libro tuviera unas 100 páginas menos habría recibido unas 4.5 estrellas.
En fin, si quieren leer la reseña completa pueden pasar por mi blog: http://pardonmispanglish.blogspot.com...
January 16, 2012
Two young men, Norman and Henry, lead fairly uneventful lives in the Thames Valley cathedral city of Cornford. As Miss Hargreaves was first published in 1940, the story presumably takes place not long before. But there is no sense of great and terrible events looming, and almost no sense of any world outside of the quiet town, where Norman works in his father’s bookshop, and sings in the choir of Cornford Cathedral. His friend Henry leads a scarcely more challenging existence, working as he does in his father’s garage. All in all, the two men lead quiet lives, enlivened by little more than a few pints in their local, a spot of fishing, and Norman’s rather desultory courtship of his girlfriend Marjorie. All seems peaceful and pleasant down there by the Thames.
But this is a novel subtitled “A Fantasy”. (Maybe the generally serene setting and the characters’ tranquil lives were fantastic enough by the time Miss Hargreaves was published -- and that may have also contributed to the book’s success.) Fantasy can mean dreaming, using the imagination, and whimsical speculation. And this novel is nothing if not all about the consequences of doing just that – of “making things up”.
Having the opportunity to take a break from their enjoyable but routine lives, Norman and Henry spend their holidays in Lusk, a village in Northern Ireland. On impulse, Henry drags Norman to the local church to have a look around what looks like a thoroughly undistinguished Victorian building. There they meet the sexton, who insists on giving them a guided tour.
Wanting to do anything to liven up what turns out to be an interminable catalogue of second-rate furnishings and third-rate art, Norman and Henry, on the spur of the moment, pretend that they had heard of the late Vicar, the Reverend Mr Archer. Starting from a narrow base in reality, and the sexton’s manifest enthusiasm, Mr Archer’s daughters and some of their friends are soon invoked. And from there, it all soon spirals out of control. Fiction has entered the young men’s souls. Eventually, Mr Archer’s childhood friend Miss Connie Hargreaves is created, complete with a fictional address in Rutland. Later, the two friends spend a boozy evening making up even more details about Miss Hargreaves, her life and times, her poetry and music, and even her odd assortment of pets. Finally, the next morning, to get the most out of the joke, Norman writes to Miss Hargreaves, telling her about their visit to Lusk church, and inviting her to stay with his family in Cornford whenever she wants to. All Miss Hargreaves has to do is to send a card to say when she is coming.
Back home again, Norman certainly never expected to get a reply.
At the beginning, when he is looking back at the start of it all, Norman remembers some childhood advice that his father had given him: “Always be careful, my boy, what you make up. Life’s more full of things made up on the Spur of the Moment than most people realise. Beware of the Spur of the Moment. It may turn and rend you.” Now with Miss Hargreaves’ impending visit, The “Spur of the Moment” has indeed turned on its prime creator. As the time of Miss Hargreaves’ appearance nears, it is as if she starts to cast shadows before her. A copy of her collection of verses, Wayside Bundle, is discovered in Norman’s father’s bookshop. Norman and Henry had decided that Miss Hargreaves played the harp; and shortly before she is due to turn up on the train a harp is delivered to Norman’s house.
As soon as she arrives, Norman’s visitor cuts a swathe through Cornford. For a few pages, Miss Hargreaves almost becomes a classic farce, with the dialogue sparking and glinting even more than it usually does throughout the entire novel. (It is so easy to imagine Margaret Rutherford in her role in the 1953 stage adaptation tantalisingly mentioned in the Introduction. And the likes of the late Joan Hickson, or the luckily still un-late Annette Crosbie or Patricia Routledge also come to mind as potential future Miss Hargreaveses. You get the idea.) Norman quickly becomes rather proud of his new friend, although for a moment, when “into her eyes fell a steely glint”, he does begin to be conscious of a feeling of fear...
Miss Hargreaves is a witty and comic novel, although it is not generally a comedy, despite its expert forays into it. (Also, for example, the poems quoted from Wayside Bundle are priceless.) There is a definite “edge” to the humour as well, a dark and unsettling undercurrent that contrasts with the calm and totally mundane setting. Norman and Miss Hargreaves soon develop a sort of affectionate respect for each other – but there is also mutual exasperation and the further consequences of the Spur of the Moment. As Miss Hargreaves becomes a part of Cornford society, tensions grow between her and Norman, and he is torn between wanting her to go, and yet being unable to exercise the power that he presumably has in order to get rid of her. For better or worse, Miss Hargreaves has become an unexpected ingredient of Norman’s life, and despite everything, a sad look from her can break his heart.
When Norman does eventually make Miss Hargreaves leave Cornford he immediately regrets it. And when she reappears, unbidden, her need for the society and approval of her creator is as pitiful and heart-rending as it sometimes seems almost parasitic to him. When, after many adventures with Miss Hargreaves, Norman sends her away a second time, it seems that their story has ended at last. Until, several weeks later, Cornford starts to buzz with the news that a Lady Hargreaves is buying and restoring a large house in the city...
The ambiguities in the relationship between Norman and Miss Hargreaves, of creator and creation, are the constant true theme of the novel. The main questions of who actually depends on who, and who is responsible for who, are explored, but rightly are never fully answered, for they are morally complex. Although the creator is theoretically in charge and responsible, he shows himself to be vulnerable, again and again -- both to his own abuse of his power, and to the character that he created. How much of a life Miss Hargreaves really has of her own when she is out of Norman’s presence cannot be determined, but their interdependence, even so, echoes the fruitful ambivalence of the best and most creative art. Those who write fiction can, if they are lucky, testify at least once to a time when a character almost seems to take over, and the author emerges from a writing story with little sense of how it came to be finished. It seems to have been that the characters have been doing the dictating, deciding their own motivations and actions, with the supposed creator only being there to take notes. Successful stories are often the ones that seem to have thus “written themselves” in this way. Yet that can also be a rather unsettling experience for an author, to say the least. The controller doesn’t seem to be in control after all. So imagine the sense of powerlessness and unease when it isn’t merely a character in a story taking on a life of its own, but an apparently real flesh-and-blood person, notwithstanding that it is one sprung from the half-shell of the mind!
Glen Cavaliero’s Introduction gives a valuable overview of Frank Baker’s life and work, and many insights, as well as putting Miss Hargreaves into its context. Cavaliero rightly says that Miss Hargreaves has taken on her share of immortality. And as ever, Tartarus Press puts out a top-quality product. The publishers have even reproduced Baker’s brief Note at the beginning of the novel, in which he insists, on doubtful grounds, that “Hargreaves” should be pronounced “Hargrayves”. On that basis, Miss Hargreaves is certainly a superb “rayd”! But the author’s decision is final – isn’t it?
But this is a novel subtitled “A Fantasy”. (Maybe the generally serene setting and the characters’ tranquil lives were fantastic enough by the time Miss Hargreaves was published -- and that may have also contributed to the book’s success.) Fantasy can mean dreaming, using the imagination, and whimsical speculation. And this novel is nothing if not all about the consequences of doing just that – of “making things up”.
Having the opportunity to take a break from their enjoyable but routine lives, Norman and Henry spend their holidays in Lusk, a village in Northern Ireland. On impulse, Henry drags Norman to the local church to have a look around what looks like a thoroughly undistinguished Victorian building. There they meet the sexton, who insists on giving them a guided tour.
Wanting to do anything to liven up what turns out to be an interminable catalogue of second-rate furnishings and third-rate art, Norman and Henry, on the spur of the moment, pretend that they had heard of the late Vicar, the Reverend Mr Archer. Starting from a narrow base in reality, and the sexton’s manifest enthusiasm, Mr Archer’s daughters and some of their friends are soon invoked. And from there, it all soon spirals out of control. Fiction has entered the young men’s souls. Eventually, Mr Archer’s childhood friend Miss Connie Hargreaves is created, complete with a fictional address in Rutland. Later, the two friends spend a boozy evening making up even more details about Miss Hargreaves, her life and times, her poetry and music, and even her odd assortment of pets. Finally, the next morning, to get the most out of the joke, Norman writes to Miss Hargreaves, telling her about their visit to Lusk church, and inviting her to stay with his family in Cornford whenever she wants to. All Miss Hargreaves has to do is to send a card to say when she is coming.
Back home again, Norman certainly never expected to get a reply.
At the beginning, when he is looking back at the start of it all, Norman remembers some childhood advice that his father had given him: “Always be careful, my boy, what you make up. Life’s more full of things made up on the Spur of the Moment than most people realise. Beware of the Spur of the Moment. It may turn and rend you.” Now with Miss Hargreaves’ impending visit, The “Spur of the Moment” has indeed turned on its prime creator. As the time of Miss Hargreaves’ appearance nears, it is as if she starts to cast shadows before her. A copy of her collection of verses, Wayside Bundle, is discovered in Norman’s father’s bookshop. Norman and Henry had decided that Miss Hargreaves played the harp; and shortly before she is due to turn up on the train a harp is delivered to Norman’s house.
As soon as she arrives, Norman’s visitor cuts a swathe through Cornford. For a few pages, Miss Hargreaves almost becomes a classic farce, with the dialogue sparking and glinting even more than it usually does throughout the entire novel. (It is so easy to imagine Margaret Rutherford in her role in the 1953 stage adaptation tantalisingly mentioned in the Introduction. And the likes of the late Joan Hickson, or the luckily still un-late Annette Crosbie or Patricia Routledge also come to mind as potential future Miss Hargreaveses. You get the idea.) Norman quickly becomes rather proud of his new friend, although for a moment, when “into her eyes fell a steely glint”, he does begin to be conscious of a feeling of fear...
Miss Hargreaves is a witty and comic novel, although it is not generally a comedy, despite its expert forays into it. (Also, for example, the poems quoted from Wayside Bundle are priceless.) There is a definite “edge” to the humour as well, a dark and unsettling undercurrent that contrasts with the calm and totally mundane setting. Norman and Miss Hargreaves soon develop a sort of affectionate respect for each other – but there is also mutual exasperation and the further consequences of the Spur of the Moment. As Miss Hargreaves becomes a part of Cornford society, tensions grow between her and Norman, and he is torn between wanting her to go, and yet being unable to exercise the power that he presumably has in order to get rid of her. For better or worse, Miss Hargreaves has become an unexpected ingredient of Norman’s life, and despite everything, a sad look from her can break his heart.
When Norman does eventually make Miss Hargreaves leave Cornford he immediately regrets it. And when she reappears, unbidden, her need for the society and approval of her creator is as pitiful and heart-rending as it sometimes seems almost parasitic to him. When, after many adventures with Miss Hargreaves, Norman sends her away a second time, it seems that their story has ended at last. Until, several weeks later, Cornford starts to buzz with the news that a Lady Hargreaves is buying and restoring a large house in the city...
The ambiguities in the relationship between Norman and Miss Hargreaves, of creator and creation, are the constant true theme of the novel. The main questions of who actually depends on who, and who is responsible for who, are explored, but rightly are never fully answered, for they are morally complex. Although the creator is theoretically in charge and responsible, he shows himself to be vulnerable, again and again -- both to his own abuse of his power, and to the character that he created. How much of a life Miss Hargreaves really has of her own when she is out of Norman’s presence cannot be determined, but their interdependence, even so, echoes the fruitful ambivalence of the best and most creative art. Those who write fiction can, if they are lucky, testify at least once to a time when a character almost seems to take over, and the author emerges from a writing story with little sense of how it came to be finished. It seems to have been that the characters have been doing the dictating, deciding their own motivations and actions, with the supposed creator only being there to take notes. Successful stories are often the ones that seem to have thus “written themselves” in this way. Yet that can also be a rather unsettling experience for an author, to say the least. The controller doesn’t seem to be in control after all. So imagine the sense of powerlessness and unease when it isn’t merely a character in a story taking on a life of its own, but an apparently real flesh-and-blood person, notwithstanding that it is one sprung from the half-shell of the mind!
Glen Cavaliero’s Introduction gives a valuable overview of Frank Baker’s life and work, and many insights, as well as putting Miss Hargreaves into its context. Cavaliero rightly says that Miss Hargreaves has taken on her share of immortality. And as ever, Tartarus Press puts out a top-quality product. The publishers have even reproduced Baker’s brief Note at the beginning of the novel, in which he insists, on doubtful grounds, that “Hargreaves” should be pronounced “Hargrayves”. On that basis, Miss Hargreaves is certainly a superb “rayd”! But the author’s decision is final – isn’t it?
August 10, 2016
In terms of story, I would give this 4 stars. In terms of readability, I have to drop it down to 3 stars. The author, Frank Baker, himself a musician, goes into way too much detail about music for my liking.
So, great story. It was written in 1940 and concerns two young men on the brink of adulthood (23 years old) amusing themselves on holiday in Ireland. While on a very boring tour of a rundown old church in the neighborhood they are visiting, the two young men, Norman and Henry, get caught up in telling the local sextant a series of lies about an elderly acquaintance, Miss Hargreaves (pronounced Hargrayves, never Hargreeves). Feeding off each other, they go into incredible detail while describing the old woman's life and times. The sexton is so charmed by the stories, he decides to write to her inviting her to his village. The two friends also write to her (using the address of a hotel they know.)So caught up in their nonsense, they invite Miss Hargreaves to visit them when they return to their small village in Britain, Cornford. They are silly young me who must always be entertained. What harm in that?
Upon their return to Cornford, they learn that a Miss Hargreaves has written, taking them up on their kind offer. Initially believing each was pulling an elaborate prank on the other, it soon becomes apparent that their Miss Hargreaves has become flesh and blood. Their joke has come to life, accompanied by all the details they've assigned to her. These include a dog, a parrot, her harp (because of course Miss Hargreaves should play the harp) and carrying her own soaking tub. So what happens when the lie you create outgrows you? In this satire of life in a rural village in England, things pretty soon get out of control.
What a wonderful character Baker has created in Norman's father Cornelius Huntley. Cornelius sits in his dark and dusty bookshop playing chess by himself. Norman insists having access to so many books has been bad for them. The lines between fiction and real life are blurred. Cornelius tells wild (and unbelievable)stories about the crazy things that have happened in his life. He tells Norman he created his own "Miss Hargreaves" of sorts when he conjures up an elephant as an excuse for his lateness to a meeting. All of these things, of course, happened long before meeting Norman's mother and settling down. Is he brilliant or is he barmy? This reader certainly wanted his stories to be true.
This story reminded me somewhat of Wodehouse and his eccentric characters. Also reminded me of the satire of Waugh's Scoop or The Loved One.
So, great story. It was written in 1940 and concerns two young men on the brink of adulthood (23 years old) amusing themselves on holiday in Ireland. While on a very boring tour of a rundown old church in the neighborhood they are visiting, the two young men, Norman and Henry, get caught up in telling the local sextant a series of lies about an elderly acquaintance, Miss Hargreaves (pronounced Hargrayves, never Hargreeves). Feeding off each other, they go into incredible detail while describing the old woman's life and times. The sexton is so charmed by the stories, he decides to write to her inviting her to his village. The two friends also write to her (using the address of a hotel they know.)So caught up in their nonsense, they invite Miss Hargreaves to visit them when they return to their small village in Britain, Cornford. They are silly young me who must always be entertained. What harm in that?
Upon their return to Cornford, they learn that a Miss Hargreaves has written, taking them up on their kind offer. Initially believing each was pulling an elaborate prank on the other, it soon becomes apparent that their Miss Hargreaves has become flesh and blood. Their joke has come to life, accompanied by all the details they've assigned to her. These include a dog, a parrot, her harp (because of course Miss Hargreaves should play the harp) and carrying her own soaking tub. So what happens when the lie you create outgrows you? In this satire of life in a rural village in England, things pretty soon get out of control.
What a wonderful character Baker has created in Norman's father Cornelius Huntley. Cornelius sits in his dark and dusty bookshop playing chess by himself. Norman insists having access to so many books has been bad for them. The lines between fiction and real life are blurred. Cornelius tells wild (and unbelievable)stories about the crazy things that have happened in his life. He tells Norman he created his own "Miss Hargreaves" of sorts when he conjures up an elephant as an excuse for his lateness to a meeting. All of these things, of course, happened long before meeting Norman's mother and settling down. Is he brilliant or is he barmy? This reader certainly wanted his stories to be true.
This story reminded me somewhat of Wodehouse and his eccentric characters. Also reminded me of the satire of Waugh's Scoop or The Loved One.
September 17, 2010
I actually bought this book because the premise sounded so cute. The protagonist and his buddy make up this old woman and out of general hilarity wrote a letter to her and send it. They are shocked when somehow their actions have actually created a real person, Miss Hargreaves. It is amazing with such an original plot device, Baker manages to create such a stinker. I ended up just skimming the last half of the book, it was so annoying. All the characters were obnoxious and not a single one was believable. It didn't help that the cathedral of the town and all the people and gatherings that go with it figured so much in the book. I would need to get some sort of Church of England vocab book just to understand half of what was going on. Anyway, a big disappointment.
November 18, 2010
Cute idea for a book. I liked it at first but then it was pulled out far too long to the point where it got tiresome and I struggled to finish it.
And the main characters were all rather idiotic. They almost could have been lovable in that Wodehouse kind of way... except they weren't.
And the main characters were all rather idiotic. They almost could have been lovable in that Wodehouse kind of way... except they weren't.
September 20, 2020
3.5.
I enjoyed the bizarre character of Miss Hargreaves, I think she carried the book.
I enjoyed the bizarre character of Miss Hargreaves, I think she carried the book.
May 10, 2012
This book is right up my alley - a Bloomsbury reissue of a lost 1940's British gem. While on vacation in Ireland, friends Norman and Henry amuse themselves by going into a church and find themselves telling them sexton that they know someone who know's the old pastor. An 83 year old woman poet who was the niece of the Duke of Grosvenor with a cockatoo named Dr. Pepusch, a hip bath and a harp… It's all fun and games until she shows up on Norman's doorstep in Cornford England shortly after. Much confusion and silliness ensue. Miss Hargreaves and Norman (her primary creator) wind up in a power struggle of wills and a battle for survival.
It's hard for me to say if Miss Hargreaves is supposed to be a likable character. Norman's mother says it best: "I think one could get quite fond of her, and yet never want to set eyes on her again." She is a British octogenarian version of Frankenstein's monster and Norman has a love/hate relationship with his creation. Even when Norman is loving her, I was felt like I wasn't quite seeing her with sympathetic eyes. But Miss H does drive the action in the book and Baker sends many other characters into the fray for the reader to enjoy. Norman's family is particularly funny, especially his father who is constantly talking in non-sequitors and telling strange stories that are wholly unrelated to the situation at hand.
I particularly love this Bloomsbury reissue with the pen and ink drawing on the opening page and the samples of Miss H's poetry in the back. What I wouldn't give to be at Miss H's cottage in Cornford, Lessway's, for a night of readings from Wayside Bundle and Mr Huntley's air on G string.
It's hard for me to say if Miss Hargreaves is supposed to be a likable character. Norman's mother says it best: "I think one could get quite fond of her, and yet never want to set eyes on her again." She is a British octogenarian version of Frankenstein's monster and Norman has a love/hate relationship with his creation. Even when Norman is loving her, I was felt like I wasn't quite seeing her with sympathetic eyes. But Miss H does drive the action in the book and Baker sends many other characters into the fray for the reader to enjoy. Norman's family is particularly funny, especially his father who is constantly talking in non-sequitors and telling strange stories that are wholly unrelated to the situation at hand.
I particularly love this Bloomsbury reissue with the pen and ink drawing on the opening page and the samples of Miss H's poetry in the back. What I wouldn't give to be at Miss H's cottage in Cornford, Lessway's, for a night of readings from Wayside Bundle and Mr Huntley's air on G string.
July 14, 2017
The premise was so good but I felt like the same thing kept happening over and over.
April 13, 2011
Behold a work of relentless mediocrity. This novel is charmingly written with more than enough saccharine that while it may not be cloying, will certainly sate one's taste for such confections. MISS HARGREAVES is part of the Bloombury Group's set of reprinted "early" 20th-century British novels that have disappeared and been swept aside into the dustbin of history. This 1939 volume was a popular prewar novel displaying the dubious literary talents of organist, actor, BBC editor, and author Frank Baker (1908-83). The work relates the mysterious (but comical) tale of Norman Huntley, who while on vacation in the wilds of Ireland with his friend Henry, whimsically invents a fictional elderly and eccentric woman, the eponymous Miss Hargreaves.
The joke backfires (I am tempted by Baker's rhetoric to exclaim, "lo and behold")...Miss Hargreaves appears in Henry's town of Cornford (pseud. for Cornwall) and anticipated misadventures and misfortunes for the perplexed Henry follow.
High jinks and monkeyshines, all reminiscent of the Ealing studio films with Ian Carmichel, Sid James, Peter Sellers, and Margaret Rutherford, enthrall the denizens of Cornford for the subsequent 300 pages. At best, one might regard this novel as a "demented" Pygmalion with screwball comedy highlights and vague film noir elements. Unfortunately, it all becomes increasingly repetitive and unpalatable. Those in search of character development, provocative themes, interesting metaphors and narrative techniques, witty dialogue, or even just a hearty guffaw will be disappointed. This is light reading fare; those with more robust appetites (and not tempted by such English treacle) may wish to dine elsewhere.
The joke backfires (I am tempted by Baker's rhetoric to exclaim, "lo and behold")...Miss Hargreaves appears in Henry's town of Cornford (pseud. for Cornwall) and anticipated misadventures and misfortunes for the perplexed Henry follow.
High jinks and monkeyshines, all reminiscent of the Ealing studio films with Ian Carmichel, Sid James, Peter Sellers, and Margaret Rutherford, enthrall the denizens of Cornford for the subsequent 300 pages. At best, one might regard this novel as a "demented" Pygmalion with screwball comedy highlights and vague film noir elements. Unfortunately, it all becomes increasingly repetitive and unpalatable. Those in search of character development, provocative themes, interesting metaphors and narrative techniques, witty dialogue, or even just a hearty guffaw will be disappointed. This is light reading fare; those with more robust appetites (and not tempted by such English treacle) may wish to dine elsewhere.
August 12, 2015
A very funny book.
Be careful what you wish for as it may come true.
Be careful what you wish for as it may come true.
February 8, 2012
"When, on the spur of a moment, Norman Huntley and his friend Henry invent an eighty-three-year-old woman called Miss Hargreaves, they are inspired to mail a letter to their new fictional friend. It is only meant to be a silly, harmless game -- until she arrives on their doorstep. She is, to Norman's utter disbelief, exactly as he had imagined her: eccentric and endlessly astounding. He hadn't imagined, however, how much havoc an imaginary octogenarian could wreak on his sleepy Buckinghamshire town. Norman has some explaining to do, but how will he begin to explain to his friends, family, and girlfriend where Miss Hargreaves came from when he hasn't the faintest clue himself? Will his once-ordinary, once-peaceful life ever be the same again? And what's more,does he want it to be?"
~~back cover
Here's a review from my friend Simon. Simon loves this book -- it's got to be one of his Desert Island books:
"...if you only read one book I recommend, let this one be it. It will change your life - honest. (Only very *slightly* over the top...) I can't think of a novel which compares; Miss Hargreaves is truly in a class of its own.
"Norman and his friend Henry are on holiday in Lusk - on a dull day they wander into a church, and have to make conversation with an even duller verger. On the spur of the moment, Norman says he has a shared acquaintance with the parish's old vicar - and that acquaintance is one Miss Hargreaves. She's nearly ninety, carries a hip flask, bath and cockatoo with her everywhere, not to mention Sarah the dog. Continuing the joke, they send a letter to her supposed hotel, asking if she'd like to come and stay. When Miss Constance Hargreaves arrives on a train, Norman has some explaining to do, and the strange occurences are just beginning...
It is a cliche of criticism, but Miss Hargreaves genuinely did make me both laugh and cry - and pretty much every emotion in between. I thought the theme would pall, but Baker keeps the momentum going for every page, and I never wanted it to end. And though this is without doubt Connie's book, the secondary characters are also wonderful - especially Norman's bookshop-owning father, Mr. Huntley. As my friend Curzon recently said "what a joyous book! I loved every moment" - in fact, don't just take our words for it. I have forced - apologies, suggested - this book to so many people, probably two dozen, and only one has not raved. If you've liked any of the other books I've mentioned, I guarantee you'll love this. And you're in hallowed company - Elaine at Random Jottings, Lisa at Blue Stalking, Ruth at Crafty People, and Lynne at dovegreyreader are all fanatics."
~~Simon Thomas, stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com
From Amazon:
www.briansibleysblog.blogspot.com says: "A fantasy of the most hilarious description. Miss Hargreaves may be the utterest lunacy - a tissue of moonshine - but it is the kind of novel, I fancy, that is badly wanted at the moment, and its central idea is one which has rarely, if, indeed, ever, been used before."
The Sunday Times says: "A comedy about the creative imagination, loss of control and the pressures of conformity."
The Independent says: "This is a masterpiece of imaginative fiction ... mystical, humorous and poignant. Once this extraordinary woman has entered your life, you'll never want her to leave."
Sometimes I wonder if I've read the same book as everyone else did. It started out as great fun: Miss Hargreaves arrives in Cornfold in answer to Norman's letter and the fun begins. I expected her to be just a remarkable coincidence, but then the coincidences became too strained: Norman and Henry decided that Miss Hargreaves has a cockatoo named Dr Pepusch, and sure enough, the real Miss Hargreaves arrives complete with a cockatoo named Dr Pepusch. Etc.
I expected a sweet old lady, all tea cozies, WI and herbaceous borders. Which she definitely is not! I didn't find her a sympathetic character, although Norman did (alternating with anger and loathing.) Norman, by the way, started out as a Bertie Wooster sort of young man: weedy & a bit wet. As things progressed, he became more and more ineffective, as I suppose he must have done or the story would have been completely different.
This book is the "utterest lunacy", but it wasn't a lunacy I could join in. I'm much more a P.G. Wodehouse lunacy sort of person.
~~back cover
Here's a review from my friend Simon. Simon loves this book -- it's got to be one of his Desert Island books:
"...if you only read one book I recommend, let this one be it. It will change your life - honest. (Only very *slightly* over the top...) I can't think of a novel which compares; Miss Hargreaves is truly in a class of its own.
"Norman and his friend Henry are on holiday in Lusk - on a dull day they wander into a church, and have to make conversation with an even duller verger. On the spur of the moment, Norman says he has a shared acquaintance with the parish's old vicar - and that acquaintance is one Miss Hargreaves. She's nearly ninety, carries a hip flask, bath and cockatoo with her everywhere, not to mention Sarah the dog. Continuing the joke, they send a letter to her supposed hotel, asking if she'd like to come and stay. When Miss Constance Hargreaves arrives on a train, Norman has some explaining to do, and the strange occurences are just beginning...
It is a cliche of criticism, but Miss Hargreaves genuinely did make me both laugh and cry - and pretty much every emotion in between. I thought the theme would pall, but Baker keeps the momentum going for every page, and I never wanted it to end. And though this is without doubt Connie's book, the secondary characters are also wonderful - especially Norman's bookshop-owning father, Mr. Huntley. As my friend Curzon recently said "what a joyous book! I loved every moment" - in fact, don't just take our words for it. I have forced - apologies, suggested - this book to so many people, probably two dozen, and only one has not raved. If you've liked any of the other books I've mentioned, I guarantee you'll love this. And you're in hallowed company - Elaine at Random Jottings, Lisa at Blue Stalking, Ruth at Crafty People, and Lynne at dovegreyreader are all fanatics."
~~Simon Thomas, stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com
From Amazon:
www.briansibleysblog.blogspot.com says: "A fantasy of the most hilarious description. Miss Hargreaves may be the utterest lunacy - a tissue of moonshine - but it is the kind of novel, I fancy, that is badly wanted at the moment, and its central idea is one which has rarely, if, indeed, ever, been used before."
The Sunday Times says: "A comedy about the creative imagination, loss of control and the pressures of conformity."
The Independent says: "This is a masterpiece of imaginative fiction ... mystical, humorous and poignant. Once this extraordinary woman has entered your life, you'll never want her to leave."
Sometimes I wonder if I've read the same book as everyone else did. It started out as great fun: Miss Hargreaves arrives in Cornfold in answer to Norman's letter and the fun begins. I expected her to be just a remarkable coincidence, but then the coincidences became too strained: Norman and Henry decided that Miss Hargreaves has a cockatoo named Dr Pepusch, and sure enough, the real Miss Hargreaves arrives complete with a cockatoo named Dr Pepusch. Etc.
I expected a sweet old lady, all tea cozies, WI and herbaceous borders. Which she definitely is not! I didn't find her a sympathetic character, although Norman did (alternating with anger and loathing.) Norman, by the way, started out as a Bertie Wooster sort of young man: weedy & a bit wet. As things progressed, he became more and more ineffective, as I suppose he must have done or the story would have been completely different.
This book is the "utterest lunacy", but it wasn't a lunacy I could join in. I'm much more a P.G. Wodehouse lunacy sort of person.
November 13, 2016
A very entertaining little jaunt of a novel. It is perceptibly English with its small town, little witty jokes delivered spectacularly without fuss, and its perfectly staged situations of embarrassment observant to maximum effects. (No other kind of story except an English one, I think, could deal so lethally in these terms.)
This was written in 1940 - magical realism before magical realism was cool. It is surprisingly very engaging, balancing the mundane and the comic with the bewildering intrusion of the extraordinary, with such poise and fun that it can be called a masterpiece if such a title doesn't gild over its best qualities. The story reminds me of Joan Aiken's Armitage family (a charming series of tales collected in The Serial Garden), but it bears themes reminiscent of the film, Ruby Sparks.
I really like the Bloomsbury Group series, to which this belongs. The purpose behind it was, as advertised, to rediscover authors now virtually forgotten but worthy of being remembered for the stories they tell. Frank Baker does count as one of these. (He is the author behind The Birds, a novel which is the apparently coincidental predecessor to Hitchcock's movie of the same name and similar premise.) Can't wait to pursue the others I've had my sights on in this collection.
This was written in 1940 - magical realism before magical realism was cool. It is surprisingly very engaging, balancing the mundane and the comic with the bewildering intrusion of the extraordinary, with such poise and fun that it can be called a masterpiece if such a title doesn't gild over its best qualities. The story reminds me of Joan Aiken's Armitage family (a charming series of tales collected in The Serial Garden), but it bears themes reminiscent of the film, Ruby Sparks.
I really like the Bloomsbury Group series, to which this belongs. The purpose behind it was, as advertised, to rediscover authors now virtually forgotten but worthy of being remembered for the stories they tell. Frank Baker does count as one of these. (He is the author behind The Birds, a novel which is the apparently coincidental predecessor to Hitchcock's movie of the same name and similar premise.) Can't wait to pursue the others I've had my sights on in this collection.
May 4, 2018
I loved this quirky gem of a story. I've never heard of Fred Baker before, but it's on a challenge list I'm following this year, so I thought I'd better give it a try. When Norman and his friend go on holiday they take shelter in a church, get talking to the sexton and mischievously make up a Miss Hargreaves whom they claim was a friend of late vicar of the church. They take the game a little far, and Norman even writes a letter to this imaginary person. When they get back home to Cornford, they are horrified to find out that Miss Hargreaves is on her way for a visit.
The writing it witty and the story has enough pace to keep you turning the pages wanting to find out what will happen next. It reminded me of the humour in the novels of the period by such writers as E. F. Benson (who is one of my favourites) and was a charming read. I don't want to give to much away about the fate of the characters, but I loved that this was a very unusual realisation of a story of this period and setting. I think that's enigmatic enough!
The writing it witty and the story has enough pace to keep you turning the pages wanting to find out what will happen next. It reminded me of the humour in the novels of the period by such writers as E. F. Benson (who is one of my favourites) and was a charming read. I don't want to give to much away about the fate of the characters, but I loved that this was a very unusual realisation of a story of this period and setting. I think that's enigmatic enough!
August 23, 2016
I wasn't sure about this one until the end, but am giving it four stars as the ending was worth it. Norman, the main character through whom the tale is told, seemed a bit of a wimp to me, but I suppose he was a product of his time. I will say that I found the story lagged a bit when the title character wasn't present; there's a fair amount of internal monologue, etc. Other fans of Trollope might even feel it's in an earlier age, with all the Cathedral goings on (Dean and Chapter), though at one point Norman admits to being "mad for Garbo". Recommended for those interested in not-so-modern British stories.
Regarding the audio quality: Elfer does a good job with the characters, but has a wildly frustrating habit of reading the internal stuff and text in a Very Soft Voice, while abruptly switching to a louder voice for dialogue. I didn't see any need for that at all!
Regarding the audio quality: Elfer does a good job with the characters, but has a wildly frustrating habit of reading the internal stuff and text in a Very Soft Voice, while abruptly switching to a louder voice for dialogue. I didn't see any need for that at all!
December 29, 2009
Delightful jeu d'esprit new from the Bloomsbury Group! Norman Huntley is an organist in a small cathedral town who finds that his imaginative response to the "spur of the moment" have taken a frightening turn when he and his friend Henry become the unwitting creators of a woman named Miss Hargreaves, first in jocular conversation, then in the flesh. But who is the haunter and who is the haunted? Miss Hargreaves is everywhere! and Norman realizes that he no longer has control of the situation.
A novel with endearing characters, hilarious dialogue, improbable probability, and magic!
A novel with endearing characters, hilarious dialogue, improbable probability, and magic!
April 22, 2024
This was honestly delightful. The nonsense - the unexpected poetry - the notes of creepiness and melancholy giving depth to the hijinks! It's an ode to the creative process, and it also made me laugh out loud way too many times. (Thank you for the rec, Shirley Jackson!)
March 11, 2016
I sampled twice from The Bloomsbury Group: last year, I read and loved Let's Kill Uncle and then loathed The Brontes Went To Woolworths to an almost equal measure. With that in mind, Miss Hargreaves was very much the decider. I loved it - making it a 2:1 victory for Bloomsbury and another occasion when I am left to mourn the fact that I have adored a book which is the property of the library service. I still haven't quite broken free from the childhood rule that I shouldn't buy books that I have already read. We shall see. Miss Hargreaves is a fabulous supernatural farce, running in a similar vein to Blithe Spirit or other similar 1940s comedies. Set firmly pre-war, Baker tells this wonderful story which is something of a cautionary tale for those of us with vivid imaginations.
Norman Huntley and his best friend Henry both like to tell a tale and enjoy sitting down together to make up stories of places they have been and people they have met. During a holiday to Ireland, they visit a local church and as the sexton shows them around, he tells them of the erstwhile vicar Reverend Archer. Bored to tears, Norman makes a vague remark about knowing one of the Reverend's old friends - Henry leaps on to the point as well and within only a few minutes, they have invented the character of Miss Hargreaves, niece to the Duke of Grosvenor, owner of small dog Sarah and cockatoo Dr Pepusch, a marvelous creature of ninety who travels at all times with her harp and hip bath. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, Norman and Henry add further details and to continue the joke, they even send a letter to the hotel which they have decided that she must be staying in. It is with some consternation however that they return home to Cornford to receive a reply from Miss Hargreaves herself, thanking Norman for his note and announcing her plans to arrive for a visit. Horrified, Norman and Henry scramble about for an explanation for what has happened but as the date of Miss Hargreaves' arrival approaches, they are unable to find a rational explanation.
The book is written from Norman's perspective and has a convincing 'dashed-out' sense of immediacy, apparently composed in conjunction between his cryptic old diary entries and personal memories. Miss Hargreaves' time in Norman's life has been over for some time but he is now an exile from his beloved hometown of Cornford due to the all of the trouble she caused and the heavy cloud she left over his good name. Arriving precisely on schedule, Miss Hargreaves insists from the first (and then repeatedly) that she 'abombinates fuss' but nonetheless causes rather a lot of it, with Sarah the dog, the cockatoo and the hip bath all trundling along in her wake. Certain that Norman is her friend of long-standing, Miss Hargreaves speedily makes difficulties between him and Henry, Norman's girlfriend Marjorie and the senior figures in the Cathedral where Norman spends time as an organist. This is one of those intensely quotable novels, with the grand lady packing a good number of zingers to those who fall afoul of her expectations. A particularly glorious moment comes from her arrival at a local hotel where Miss Hargreaves goes about buying all of the vases since she regards them as insufferably ugly - once purchased, she orders Norman to smash them to pieces.
It is interesting that the reading of it reminded me of Blithe Spirit, since when Miss Hargreaves was adapted for the stage, it was Margaret Rutherford who took the title role. To be fair, I can think of few other actors who could handle with the appropriate degree of aplomb. I would suggest tentatively either Dame Maggie or Dame Judi but even then am not sure somehow feel that Dame Helen is a little too polished. But no matter. So much of the humour is based around this instensely British comedy of manners as we watch poor Norman driven to distraction as he tries to govern this creature he has unleashed, particularly as Miss Hargreaves drags him deeper and deeper into disgrace and even the suspicion of mental instability. Yet, every time he tries to avoid her and cast the problem aside, Norman is confronted by the fact that he created Miss Hargreaves with such joy and affection - he loves the old lady and cannot quite bear to give her up.
Although she is of course the centrepiece, the novel's genius rests on far more than simply Miss Hargreaves herself. The town of Cornford itself is a wonderful setting, bearing more than a passing resemblance to my own current hometown of Oxford. The various creatures of the Cathedral are each brilliant in their own right, but my personal favourite has to be Norman's father. Mr Huntley is a bookshop owner who is fabulously cruel to his assistant and never quite on the same wavelength as the other characters. His constant stream of apparent non-sequiturs add another level of ridiculousness, particularly when the action hits its fever pitch. Yet despite always having his head in a story he has read, or a tale from his boyhood, there are snatches of moments where the reader (and Norman) wonder if he just may be able to help find an end to this ludicrous situation. Mr Huntley appears to speak in riddles but it may be that he is wiser than he knows.
Miss Hargreaves is a novel that really does ride the full gamut of emotion - as Norman and Henry await Miss Hargreaves' initial arrival, it is gently spine-chilling. An added level of horror arises as Miss Hargreaves gains strength and seems about to overwhelm poor Norman's resources. When Norman attempts to avoid her, the lady's distress does induce genuine tears. But this is not to make it sound depression - the overwhelming theme of this novel is pure and sublime comedy, I mean only to compliment a novel that does feel like a real classic. Despite the fact that Miss Hargreaves has wreaked havoc all over his life, the older Norman is still full of pride and affection for his creation, no matter that her behaviour sent him into exile and wrecked his reputation. On a further level, this is a highly British morality tale about being careful of the stories you tell. Miss Hargreaves is like a (semi-)modern poltergeist sent to work mischief to punish the liar, a creature feasting on belief, but there is still something at the heart of her that the reader cannot help but warm to, so that along with Norman, Henry, Mr Huntley and so many others, I finished wanting very much to raise a glass to Miss Hargreaves, God save her!
Norman Huntley and his best friend Henry both like to tell a tale and enjoy sitting down together to make up stories of places they have been and people they have met. During a holiday to Ireland, they visit a local church and as the sexton shows them around, he tells them of the erstwhile vicar Reverend Archer. Bored to tears, Norman makes a vague remark about knowing one of the Reverend's old friends - Henry leaps on to the point as well and within only a few minutes, they have invented the character of Miss Hargreaves, niece to the Duke of Grosvenor, owner of small dog Sarah and cockatoo Dr Pepusch, a marvelous creature of ninety who travels at all times with her harp and hip bath. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, Norman and Henry add further details and to continue the joke, they even send a letter to the hotel which they have decided that she must be staying in. It is with some consternation however that they return home to Cornford to receive a reply from Miss Hargreaves herself, thanking Norman for his note and announcing her plans to arrive for a visit. Horrified, Norman and Henry scramble about for an explanation for what has happened but as the date of Miss Hargreaves' arrival approaches, they are unable to find a rational explanation.
The book is written from Norman's perspective and has a convincing 'dashed-out' sense of immediacy, apparently composed in conjunction between his cryptic old diary entries and personal memories. Miss Hargreaves' time in Norman's life has been over for some time but he is now an exile from his beloved hometown of Cornford due to the all of the trouble she caused and the heavy cloud she left over his good name. Arriving precisely on schedule, Miss Hargreaves insists from the first (and then repeatedly) that she 'abombinates fuss' but nonetheless causes rather a lot of it, with Sarah the dog, the cockatoo and the hip bath all trundling along in her wake. Certain that Norman is her friend of long-standing, Miss Hargreaves speedily makes difficulties between him and Henry, Norman's girlfriend Marjorie and the senior figures in the Cathedral where Norman spends time as an organist. This is one of those intensely quotable novels, with the grand lady packing a good number of zingers to those who fall afoul of her expectations. A particularly glorious moment comes from her arrival at a local hotel where Miss Hargreaves goes about buying all of the vases since she regards them as insufferably ugly - once purchased, she orders Norman to smash them to pieces.
It is interesting that the reading of it reminded me of Blithe Spirit, since when Miss Hargreaves was adapted for the stage, it was Margaret Rutherford who took the title role. To be fair, I can think of few other actors who could handle with the appropriate degree of aplomb. I would suggest tentatively either Dame Maggie or Dame Judi but even then am not sure somehow feel that Dame Helen is a little too polished. But no matter. So much of the humour is based around this instensely British comedy of manners as we watch poor Norman driven to distraction as he tries to govern this creature he has unleashed, particularly as Miss Hargreaves drags him deeper and deeper into disgrace and even the suspicion of mental instability. Yet, every time he tries to avoid her and cast the problem aside, Norman is confronted by the fact that he created Miss Hargreaves with such joy and affection - he loves the old lady and cannot quite bear to give her up.
Although she is of course the centrepiece, the novel's genius rests on far more than simply Miss Hargreaves herself. The town of Cornford itself is a wonderful setting, bearing more than a passing resemblance to my own current hometown of Oxford. The various creatures of the Cathedral are each brilliant in their own right, but my personal favourite has to be Norman's father. Mr Huntley is a bookshop owner who is fabulously cruel to his assistant and never quite on the same wavelength as the other characters. His constant stream of apparent non-sequiturs add another level of ridiculousness, particularly when the action hits its fever pitch. Yet despite always having his head in a story he has read, or a tale from his boyhood, there are snatches of moments where the reader (and Norman) wonder if he just may be able to help find an end to this ludicrous situation. Mr Huntley appears to speak in riddles but it may be that he is wiser than he knows.
Miss Hargreaves is a novel that really does ride the full gamut of emotion - as Norman and Henry await Miss Hargreaves' initial arrival, it is gently spine-chilling. An added level of horror arises as Miss Hargreaves gains strength and seems about to overwhelm poor Norman's resources. When Norman attempts to avoid her, the lady's distress does induce genuine tears. But this is not to make it sound depression - the overwhelming theme of this novel is pure and sublime comedy, I mean only to compliment a novel that does feel like a real classic. Despite the fact that Miss Hargreaves has wreaked havoc all over his life, the older Norman is still full of pride and affection for his creation, no matter that her behaviour sent him into exile and wrecked his reputation. On a further level, this is a highly British morality tale about being careful of the stories you tell. Miss Hargreaves is like a (semi-)modern poltergeist sent to work mischief to punish the liar, a creature feasting on belief, but there is still something at the heart of her that the reader cannot help but warm to, so that along with Norman, Henry, Mr Huntley and so many others, I finished wanting very much to raise a glass to Miss Hargreaves, God save her!
September 13, 2023
3-1/2 Stars
I wanted to utterly adore this book. I truly did. But I found our narrator, Norman, to be very annoying. He loves Miss Hargreaves, he hates Miss Hargreaves. Make up your mind, Norman!
I actually really loved Miss Hargreaves herself and thought this would have been a more delightful novel if Norman had rolled with the punches a bit more. And Norman’s dad is such a funny, eccentric character. While I think it would be natural for Norman to feel completely out of sorts thinking he created a person from his own imagination but how that was played out just didn’t quite work for me.
A good but not great read for me.
I wanted to utterly adore this book. I truly did. But I found our narrator, Norman, to be very annoying. He loves Miss Hargreaves, he hates Miss Hargreaves. Make up your mind, Norman!
I actually really loved Miss Hargreaves herself and thought this would have been a more delightful novel if Norman had rolled with the punches a bit more. And Norman’s dad is such a funny, eccentric character. While I think it would be natural for Norman to feel completely out of sorts thinking he created a person from his own imagination but how that was played out just didn’t quite work for me.
A good but not great read for me.
May 28, 2010
Browsing at my local independent bookseller, I came across The Bloomsbury Group books and I bought 5 of the 6 they've published so far, including this book. Similar to the Virago books, these are republished out-of-print books, although not just by women. "A new library of books from the early twentieth century chosen by readers for readers."
Norman, a young man with a vivid imagination, is prone to making up wild stories "on the Spur of the Moment" whe he is in a tight spot. His father warns him that The Spur of the Moment can come back to bite you, but he can't help himself. One day, he and his friend Henry invent an older woman, Mrs Hargreaves. They keep adding more and more fanciful details about her while they're drinking in a pub, culminating in actually writing a letter to her imagined address. But when she arrives in the flesh on their doorstep, they get much, much more than they bargained for.
I found Miss Hargreaves to be a more likeable character than the essentially spineless and wishy-washy Norman. She's got a stout character and she's funny and although she can be overbearing and difficult, she does sense in some way that she's not like other people.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was that if Norman can change things just be making stuff up, why doesn't he? There are many ways in which he could easily fix all his problems. Why not just wish that Miss Hargreaves had a different personality or that she no longer doted on him? Instead, he wishes and does ever more ridiculous and complicated things that bring negative consequences on himself and his creation. In short, the author makes him rather unconvincingly stupid.
But I loved the premise and the writing was witty in that very British tradition of Saki, Jerome K. Jerome, and P.G. Wodehouse.
Norman, a young man with a vivid imagination, is prone to making up wild stories "on the Spur of the Moment" whe he is in a tight spot. His father warns him that The Spur of the Moment can come back to bite you, but he can't help himself. One day, he and his friend Henry invent an older woman, Mrs Hargreaves. They keep adding more and more fanciful details about her while they're drinking in a pub, culminating in actually writing a letter to her imagined address. But when she arrives in the flesh on their doorstep, they get much, much more than they bargained for.
I found Miss Hargreaves to be a more likeable character than the essentially spineless and wishy-washy Norman. She's got a stout character and she's funny and although she can be overbearing and difficult, she does sense in some way that she's not like other people.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was that if Norman can change things just be making stuff up, why doesn't he? There are many ways in which he could easily fix all his problems. Why not just wish that Miss Hargreaves had a different personality or that she no longer doted on him? Instead, he wishes and does ever more ridiculous and complicated things that bring negative consequences on himself and his creation. In short, the author makes him rather unconvincingly stupid.
But I loved the premise and the writing was witty in that very British tradition of Saki, Jerome K. Jerome, and P.G. Wodehouse.
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