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Barbara Pym
Barbara Pym (1913-1980) wrote more than a dozen novels that reflect the life and manners of mid-twentieth-century Britain. Pym's subtle wit and irony infuse the common round of English drawing room comedy with an energy that validates the seeming trivia of women's lives.
Barbara Writing a Life is about Pym and her novels and about the critical response to her work. Part 1 introduces all of Pym's novels, as well as fragments collected posthumously, in the order in which they were written, relating some of the events in her life-including the public reception of her work-to her themes in the novels. Part 2 is a study of the ten novels that Pym herself prepared for publication. It focuses on some of the autobiographical elements in the novels that Pym herself prepared for publication. It focuses on some of the autobiographical elements in the novels that derive from Pym's concerns about romantic love, the Church, and literature, and discusses some of the techniques Pym used in transmuting these concerns into fiction. Part 3 is a bibliographic essay that summarizes the critical issues that have come to bear on her work. Part 4 is a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Barbara Writing a Life is designed to encourage the teaching of Pym's novels and to assist scholars in the critical study of the novels and of Pym's contribution to English literature.
Barbara Writing a Life is about Pym and her novels and about the critical response to her work. Part 1 introduces all of Pym's novels, as well as fragments collected posthumously, in the order in which they were written, relating some of the events in her life-including the public reception of her work-to her themes in the novels. Part 2 is a study of the ten novels that Pym herself prepared for publication. It focuses on some of the autobiographical elements in the novels that Pym herself prepared for publication. It focuses on some of the autobiographical elements in the novels that derive from Pym's concerns about romantic love, the Church, and literature, and discusses some of the techniques Pym used in transmuting these concerns into fiction. Part 3 is a bibliographic essay that summarizes the critical issues that have come to bear on her work. Part 4 is a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Barbara Writing a Life is designed to encourage the teaching of Pym's novels and to assist scholars in the critical study of the novels and of Pym's contribution to English literature.
278 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 1994
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May 21, 2020
A useful volume, this is a "study" of Pym's life and work in the literal sense of that word.
Allen's first chapter is a summary of Pym's life, interspersed with broad details of each of her novels as they fit biographically. This is a synthesist work, i..e. Allen has just read all of the previous biographies of Pym and cobbled together the narrative from those. So if you're already familiar, this section can be skipped. (I should note that there are some appalling typographical errors and factual mistakes here, including referring to the novelist Denton Welch as "Dennis" and a moment when Allen mixes up one of Pym's 1950s male friends with one of her 1960s ones.)
Allen then gives a very helpful smattering of newspaper and academic reviews of all of the novels, which is a more helpful array of contemporary material than I had previously seen.
This is followed by quick examinations of most of the novels (Allen choosing to skip a few that she doesn't feel are up to her standard) reflecting on her core thesis that Barbara Pym was a particularly autobiographical writer, and that her views and life experiences figure in the novels in various ways. It's a satisfying read, with perhaps too broad a scope for a relatively small section, but Allen covers a fair amount of material without losing the reader.
The reason this volume is more likely to be found in a university library than on one's bookshelf is due to what comes next. The entire second half is given over to an extensive bibliography, reflecting on nearly every piece of Pym literature that had come before - including 16 non-fiction books devoted to her, countless essays, theses, reviews, and articles. This includes an attempt to link many of these works by theme, to help the researcher on their path. In this respect, it is a worthy achievement, although the lay reader of Pym's works may wish to search elsewhere!
Allen's first chapter is a summary of Pym's life, interspersed with broad details of each of her novels as they fit biographically. This is a synthesist work, i..e. Allen has just read all of the previous biographies of Pym and cobbled together the narrative from those. So if you're already familiar, this section can be skipped. (I should note that there are some appalling typographical errors and factual mistakes here, including referring to the novelist Denton Welch as "Dennis" and a moment when Allen mixes up one of Pym's 1950s male friends with one of her 1960s ones.)
Allen then gives a very helpful smattering of newspaper and academic reviews of all of the novels, which is a more helpful array of contemporary material than I had previously seen.
This is followed by quick examinations of most of the novels (Allen choosing to skip a few that she doesn't feel are up to her standard) reflecting on her core thesis that Barbara Pym was a particularly autobiographical writer, and that her views and life experiences figure in the novels in various ways. It's a satisfying read, with perhaps too broad a scope for a relatively small section, but Allen covers a fair amount of material without losing the reader.
The reason this volume is more likely to be found in a university library than on one's bookshelf is due to what comes next. The entire second half is given over to an extensive bibliography, reflecting on nearly every piece of Pym literature that had come before - including 16 non-fiction books devoted to her, countless essays, theses, reviews, and articles. This includes an attempt to link many of these works by theme, to help the researcher on their path. In this respect, it is a worthy achievement, although the lay reader of Pym's works may wish to search elsewhere!
Displaying 1 of 1 review