What do you think?
Rate this book
3-book collection: A Glass of Blessings / Jane and Prudence / Less Than Angels
Paperback HarperCollins (paper) (October 1983) English
Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
48 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Pym
41 books1,002 followersPeople know British writer Barbara Pym for her comic novels, such as
Excellent Women
(1952), of English life.
After studying English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, Barbara Pym served in the Women's Royal Naval Service during World War II. From 1950 to 1961, she published six novels, but her 7th was declined by the publisher due to a change in the reading public's tastes.
The turning point for Pym came with a famous article in the 1975 Times Literary Supplement in which two prominent names, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century. Pym and Larkin had kept up a private correspondence over a period of many years. Her comeback novel, Quartet in Autumn, was nominated for the Booker Prize. Another novel, The Sweet Dove Died, previously rejected by many publishers, was subsequently published to critical acclaim, and several of her previously unpublished novels were published after her death.
Pym worked at the International African Institute in London for some years, and played a large part in the editing of its scholarly journal, Africa, hence the frequency with which anthropologists crop up in her novels. She never married, despite several close relationships with men, notably Henry Harvey, a fellow Oxford student, and the future politician, Julian Amery. After her retirement, she moved into Barn Cottage at Finstock in Oxfordshire with her younger sister, Hilary, who continued to live there until her death in February 2005. A blue plaque was placed on the cottage in 2006. The sisters played an active role in the social life of the village.
Several strong themes link the works in the Pym "canon", which are more notable for their style and characterisation than for their plots. A superficial reading gives the impression that they are sketches of village or suburban life, with excessive significance being attached to social activities connected with the Anglican church (in particular its Anglo-Catholic incarnation). However, the dialogue is often deeply ironic, and a tragic undercurrent runs through some of the later novels, especially Quartet in Autumn and The Sweet Dove Died.
After studying English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, Barbara Pym served in the Women's Royal Naval Service during World War II. From 1950 to 1961, she published six novels, but her 7th was declined by the publisher due to a change in the reading public's tastes.
The turning point for Pym came with a famous article in the 1975 Times Literary Supplement in which two prominent names, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century. Pym and Larkin had kept up a private correspondence over a period of many years. Her comeback novel, Quartet in Autumn, was nominated for the Booker Prize. Another novel, The Sweet Dove Died, previously rejected by many publishers, was subsequently published to critical acclaim, and several of her previously unpublished novels were published after her death.
Pym worked at the International African Institute in London for some years, and played a large part in the editing of its scholarly journal, Africa, hence the frequency with which anthropologists crop up in her novels. She never married, despite several close relationships with men, notably Henry Harvey, a fellow Oxford student, and the future politician, Julian Amery. After her retirement, she moved into Barn Cottage at Finstock in Oxfordshire with her younger sister, Hilary, who continued to live there until her death in February 2005. A blue plaque was placed on the cottage in 2006. The sisters played an active role in the social life of the village.
Several strong themes link the works in the Pym "canon", which are more notable for their style and characterisation than for their plots. A superficial reading gives the impression that they are sketches of village or suburban life, with excessive significance being attached to social activities connected with the Anglican church (in particular its Anglo-Catholic incarnation). However, the dialogue is often deeply ironic, and a tragic undercurrent runs through some of the later novels, especially Quartet in Autumn and The Sweet Dove Died.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Read
June 13, 2017 This is a review of Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym.
I bought this omnibus edition of Barbara Pym's novels in the early nineties and probably read the first two novels then but I have very little recollection of them apart from vague images of middle aged women living on sparse rations in rented accommodation in post war London. I don't remember them being funny at all but this novel, Jane and Prudence, the last of the three, has a lot of humour in it. Pym uses the main character, Jane Cleveland, a very unsuitable vicar's wife who has a tendency to speak her thoughts out loud, to poke fun at many aspects of fifties society such as parish committees, local politics and the role of women. Pym also lampoons herself; there is a writer character in the novel called Barbara Bird whose novels are said to contain 'more incident than wit'. I'd have to say that this novel, on the contrary, contains more wit than incident. In other words, don't read it for the plot.
I bought this omnibus edition of Barbara Pym's novels in the early nineties and probably read the first two novels then but I have very little recollection of them apart from vague images of middle aged women living on sparse rations in rented accommodation in post war London. I don't remember them being funny at all but this novel, Jane and Prudence, the last of the three, has a lot of humour in it. Pym uses the main character, Jane Cleveland, a very unsuitable vicar's wife who has a tendency to speak her thoughts out loud, to poke fun at many aspects of fifties society such as parish committees, local politics and the role of women. Pym also lampoons herself; there is a writer character in the novel called Barbara Bird whose novels are said to contain 'more incident than wit'. I'd have to say that this novel, on the contrary, contains more wit than incident. In other words, don't read it for the plot.
October 21, 2025
I love all the Barbara Pym books but this is one of my favourites.
Funnily enough I've read all the Barbara Pym books and also a biography of her life. My father, mother and I were all fans of her. She lived mainly in either Cambridge or Oxford. Many of her characters appear in her other books. And, when young, a bit like Charlotte Bronte, she did fall in love with a man who crops up as a character (Henry?) in many of her books and in real life they remained lifelong friends and I believe she visited him when he was dying.
And like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte she lived with her sister.
The first novel she wrote when young was about two middle aged sisters living together. And that's what happened to her.
Excellent Women was a favourite. But I liked all her books.
Some people have remarked that her novels are a bit reminiscent of Jane Austen, and I agree with that.
Funnily enough I've read all the Barbara Pym books and also a biography of her life. My father, mother and I were all fans of her. She lived mainly in either Cambridge or Oxford. Many of her characters appear in her other books. And, when young, a bit like Charlotte Bronte, she did fall in love with a man who crops up as a character (Henry?) in many of her books and in real life they remained lifelong friends and I believe she visited him when he was dying.
And like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte she lived with her sister.
The first novel she wrote when young was about two middle aged sisters living together. And that's what happened to her.
Excellent Women was a favourite. But I liked all her books.
Some people have remarked that her novels are a bit reminiscent of Jane Austen, and I agree with that.
Read
April 10, 2009Some Tame Gazelle. by Barbara. Pym (1978)
Read
July 13, 2010Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (1985)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews