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Cluny Brown: A Novel
An unconventional parlor maid upends the lives of an aristocratic family in prewar England
Cluny Brown refuses to know her place in society. Last week, she took herself to tea at the Ritz. Then she spent almost an entire day in bed eating oranges. So, to teach her discipline, her uncle, a plumber who has raised the orphaned girl since she was a baby, sends her into service as a parlor maid at one of England’s stately manor houses.
At Friars Carmel in Devonshire, Cluny meets her Sir Henry, the quintessential country squire, and Lady Carmel, who oversees the management of her home with unruffled calm. Their son, Andrew, newly returned from abroad with a Polish émigré writer friend, is certain the country is once again on the brink of war. Then there’s Andrew’s beautiful fiancée and the priggish town pharmacist.
While everyone around her struggles to keep pace with a rapidly changing world, Cluny continues to be Cluny, transforming those around her with her infectious zest for life.
“ An entertaining story of England just before the war . . . Top drawer reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
Cluny Brown refuses to know her place in society. Last week, she took herself to tea at the Ritz. Then she spent almost an entire day in bed eating oranges. So, to teach her discipline, her uncle, a plumber who has raised the orphaned girl since she was a baby, sends her into service as a parlor maid at one of England’s stately manor houses.
At Friars Carmel in Devonshire, Cluny meets her Sir Henry, the quintessential country squire, and Lady Carmel, who oversees the management of her home with unruffled calm. Their son, Andrew, newly returned from abroad with a Polish émigré writer friend, is certain the country is once again on the brink of war. Then there’s Andrew’s beautiful fiancée and the priggish town pharmacist.
While everyone around her struggles to keep pace with a rapidly changing world, Cluny continues to be Cluny, transforming those around her with her infectious zest for life.
“ An entertaining story of England just before the war . . . Top drawer reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
About the author
Margery Sharp
82 books190 followersMargery Sharp was born Clara Margery Melita Sharp in Salisbury. She spent part of her childhood in Malta.
Sharp wrote 26 novels, 14 children's stories, 4 plays, 2 mysteries and many short stories. She is best known for her series of children's books about a little white mouse named Miss Bianca and her companion, Bernard. Two Disney films have been made based on them, called The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
In 1938, she married Major Geoffrey Castle, an aeronautical engineer.
Sharp wrote 26 novels, 14 children's stories, 4 plays, 2 mysteries and many short stories. She is best known for her series of children's books about a little white mouse named Miss Bianca and her companion, Bernard. Two Disney films have been made based on them, called The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
In 1938, she married Major Geoffrey Castle, an aeronautical engineer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 509 reviews
October 10, 2017
Note: I see that when I originally posted this to my shelf (book was read in March) I forgot to include my little review. I was quite taken with Margery Sharp's writing and hope to read more:
Author's Quote added: "I absolutely believe it is fatal ever to write below your best, even if what you write may never be published."
This was my first experience with the writing of Margery Sharp and I am sure it will not be the last. The style of writing is classic, literary, and so real that I was subtly pulled into the story right from the start – and without really being aware of how involved I was until I would try to put the book down. Cluny Brown is an amazing character – naïve and innocent to the point where she definitely needs to be protected from herself; yet, there is a clarity inside that is driving her toward her destiny even as I felt uneasy about what that might be. The book takes place in both London and Devonshire just prior to WWII and all the social changes that came after it. I was completely captivated by Cluny Brown’s story and her character will remain an inspiration to me for a long time to come. I highly recommend this book as it is a shining character study best experienced rather than told about.
Author's Quote added: "I absolutely believe it is fatal ever to write below your best, even if what you write may never be published."
This was my first experience with the writing of Margery Sharp and I am sure it will not be the last. The style of writing is classic, literary, and so real that I was subtly pulled into the story right from the start – and without really being aware of how involved I was until I would try to put the book down. Cluny Brown is an amazing character – naïve and innocent to the point where she definitely needs to be protected from herself; yet, there is a clarity inside that is driving her toward her destiny even as I felt uneasy about what that might be. The book takes place in both London and Devonshire just prior to WWII and all the social changes that came after it. I was completely captivated by Cluny Brown’s story and her character will remain an inspiration to me for a long time to come. I highly recommend this book as it is a shining character study best experienced rather than told about.
April 18, 2021
3,5/5
Una lectura ligera y muy entretenida con un par de sorpresas, que no por verse venir, se disfrutan menos.
Es el típico libro inglés que dice más de lo que parece en un primer momento, pero sea como sea, representa un lugar feliz en el que estar durante unas horas, sin preocupaciones de ningún tipo.
Es cierto que quizás esperaba un poquito más, o puede que sea que ya he leído muchos libros similares, pero aún así, he disfrutado de la historia y especialmente de la inolvidable Cluny.
Recomendable para que el que busque un libro ingenioso y ligero con una protagonista muy especial.
Una lectura ligera y muy entretenida con un par de sorpresas, que no por verse venir, se disfrutan menos.
Es el típico libro inglés que dice más de lo que parece en un primer momento, pero sea como sea, representa un lugar feliz en el que estar durante unas horas, sin preocupaciones de ningún tipo.
Es cierto que quizás esperaba un poquito más, o puede que sea que ya he leído muchos libros similares, pero aún así, he disfrutado de la historia y especialmente de la inolvidable Cluny.
Recomendable para que el que busque un libro ingenioso y ligero con una protagonista muy especial.
January 2, 2016
I have been utterly charmed by Cluny Brown.
She’s a girl who never does anything that’s exactly wrong; but she’s also a girl who never really does anything that is usual or expected.
She simply followed her heart; oblivious to the strictures that hold most people back.
One day she took herself out to tea at the Ritz; another day she stayed in bed, eating oranges, because she read in a magazine that it would give her vitality.
To many Cluny was a breath of fresh air; but to her Uncle Arn she was a worry. He was a plumber, he had brought up the orphaned Cluny and he was a very conventional man. He worried that his niece didn’t know her place.
The final straw came when, in her uncle’s absence, Cluny set out to unblock a gentleman’s sink.
"The correct costume for a young lady going to fix a gentleman’s sink on a Sunday afternoon has never been authoritatively dealt with: Cluny had naturally to carry her uncle’s tool-bag, but as an offset wore her best clothes."
She did an excellent job and the customer was charmed; Cluny was delighted to be offered a cocktail, and she regretfully declined the offer of the use of the loveliest bath she had ever seen. When Uncle Arn arrived and heard Cluny’s account of what had happened, he was aghast.
He consulted Cluny’s Aunt Addie, and between them they decided that the best thing would be to find Cluny a job in service.
"Nothing could be easier, in that year 1938, than for a girl to go into good service. The stately homes of England gaped for her. Cluny Brown, moreover, possessed special advantages: height, plainness (but combined with a clear skin) and a perfectly blank expression. This last attribute was not permanent, but the lady at the registry office did not know, and she saw in Cluny the very type of that prized, that fast-disappearing genus, the Tall Parlourmaid. Addie Trumper too knew what was what; she had been in good service herself, and with footmen practically extinct felt there was no table in the land too high for Cluny to aspire to."
Cluny was dispatched to Devon to work as a maid at Friars Carmel, the country home of Sir Henry and Lady Carmel. She took her new job in her stride; she loved taking the neighbours dog – who she had met on the train down from London – out on her day off; and she was captivated when the village pharmacist took an interest in her, tried to educate her, and maybe even to court her.
Adam Belinski had arrived at Friars Carmel not long before Cluny. He was a distinguished Polish intellectual, in exile after giving a contentious lecture in Bonn that offended his German hosts. Andrew, the only son of Sir Henry and Lady Carmel, was sure that the Nazis would be trying to track him down, he wanted to do something to help, and so he offered him sanctuary. Belinksi was not so worried, but he was delighted to be offered a home in a quiet country house where he can work, and nurture his growing fame, without distractions.
Upstairs and downstairs at Friars Carmel were separate spheres; but in each sphere was a person who was oblivious to their position, who reached out from their sphere, and those two people met.
Cluny and Belinski met when she was in the library, looking for a certain piece of poetry.
“‘Would you write it down for me?” she asked. “I want to learn it.”
Mr. Belinski obligingly went to a table and did so. Cluny followed…to watch over his shoulder and admire again as the neat lines ran out of his pen. For the first time he had really impressed her.
“I do think you’re clever!” she said sincerely.
“I am, very clever,” replied Mr. Belinski, without looking up. “Who is Mr. Wilson?”
“He’s the chemist.”
“If he is endeavoring to form your mind with this sort of stuff, he must be a great fool.…”
But Cluny, without paying much attention, took the finished copy and folded it very carefully and put it in her apron pocket."
Meanwhile, Andrew, who fashioned himself as a cosmopolitan young man but was really rather conventional, was courting the lovely Betty Cream. She fashioned herself as a modern girl, he wasn’t at all sure that he could win her heart, but he had to try.
Belinski was charmed by Betty; and Betty was intrigued by Cluny, who she decided ‘looked like somebody.’
And so there was a lovely tangle of characters.
The principals were are beautifully drawn; the other characters were not so finely drawn, but all were drawn well enough to play their part.
That was my one disappointment; there were so many characters I would have liked to known a little better than I did.
I loved the way Margery Sharp told Cluny’s story; I loved the way she set it so well against a time of social change; and I loved her wit and intelligence as much as I ever did.
The ending was beautifully set up, and I can understand why some people didn’t like it, but I thought that it was exactly right for Cluny.
She was the wrong girl for a conventional happy ending; she was the wrong girl for an ending at all or for a fixed future.
I just wish there was a sequel, because I would love to read the next chapters of her story.
She’s a girl who never does anything that’s exactly wrong; but she’s also a girl who never really does anything that is usual or expected.
She simply followed her heart; oblivious to the strictures that hold most people back.
One day she took herself out to tea at the Ritz; another day she stayed in bed, eating oranges, because she read in a magazine that it would give her vitality.
To many Cluny was a breath of fresh air; but to her Uncle Arn she was a worry. He was a plumber, he had brought up the orphaned Cluny and he was a very conventional man. He worried that his niece didn’t know her place.
The final straw came when, in her uncle’s absence, Cluny set out to unblock a gentleman’s sink.
"The correct costume for a young lady going to fix a gentleman’s sink on a Sunday afternoon has never been authoritatively dealt with: Cluny had naturally to carry her uncle’s tool-bag, but as an offset wore her best clothes."
She did an excellent job and the customer was charmed; Cluny was delighted to be offered a cocktail, and she regretfully declined the offer of the use of the loveliest bath she had ever seen. When Uncle Arn arrived and heard Cluny’s account of what had happened, he was aghast.
He consulted Cluny’s Aunt Addie, and between them they decided that the best thing would be to find Cluny a job in service.
"Nothing could be easier, in that year 1938, than for a girl to go into good service. The stately homes of England gaped for her. Cluny Brown, moreover, possessed special advantages: height, plainness (but combined with a clear skin) and a perfectly blank expression. This last attribute was not permanent, but the lady at the registry office did not know, and she saw in Cluny the very type of that prized, that fast-disappearing genus, the Tall Parlourmaid. Addie Trumper too knew what was what; she had been in good service herself, and with footmen practically extinct felt there was no table in the land too high for Cluny to aspire to."
Cluny was dispatched to Devon to work as a maid at Friars Carmel, the country home of Sir Henry and Lady Carmel. She took her new job in her stride; she loved taking the neighbours dog – who she had met on the train down from London – out on her day off; and she was captivated when the village pharmacist took an interest in her, tried to educate her, and maybe even to court her.
Adam Belinski had arrived at Friars Carmel not long before Cluny. He was a distinguished Polish intellectual, in exile after giving a contentious lecture in Bonn that offended his German hosts. Andrew, the only son of Sir Henry and Lady Carmel, was sure that the Nazis would be trying to track him down, he wanted to do something to help, and so he offered him sanctuary. Belinksi was not so worried, but he was delighted to be offered a home in a quiet country house where he can work, and nurture his growing fame, without distractions.
Upstairs and downstairs at Friars Carmel were separate spheres; but in each sphere was a person who was oblivious to their position, who reached out from their sphere, and those two people met.
Cluny and Belinski met when she was in the library, looking for a certain piece of poetry.
“‘Would you write it down for me?” she asked. “I want to learn it.”
Mr. Belinski obligingly went to a table and did so. Cluny followed…to watch over his shoulder and admire again as the neat lines ran out of his pen. For the first time he had really impressed her.
“I do think you’re clever!” she said sincerely.
“I am, very clever,” replied Mr. Belinski, without looking up. “Who is Mr. Wilson?”
“He’s the chemist.”
“If he is endeavoring to form your mind with this sort of stuff, he must be a great fool.…”
But Cluny, without paying much attention, took the finished copy and folded it very carefully and put it in her apron pocket."
Meanwhile, Andrew, who fashioned himself as a cosmopolitan young man but was really rather conventional, was courting the lovely Betty Cream. She fashioned herself as a modern girl, he wasn’t at all sure that he could win her heart, but he had to try.
Belinski was charmed by Betty; and Betty was intrigued by Cluny, who she decided ‘looked like somebody.’
And so there was a lovely tangle of characters.
The principals were are beautifully drawn; the other characters were not so finely drawn, but all were drawn well enough to play their part.
That was my one disappointment; there were so many characters I would have liked to known a little better than I did.
I loved the way Margery Sharp told Cluny’s story; I loved the way she set it so well against a time of social change; and I loved her wit and intelligence as much as I ever did.
The ending was beautifully set up, and I can understand why some people didn’t like it, but I thought that it was exactly right for Cluny.
She was the wrong girl for a conventional happy ending; she was the wrong girl for an ending at all or for a fixed future.
I just wish there was a sequel, because I would love to read the next chapters of her story.
January 18, 2019
The best way to describe this book is to say that it was a lot of fun. Sheer delight to read, great characters, a plot that never goes where you think it should, and a wonderful conclusion with a twist I never saw coming, but was absolutely perfect. A humorous version of Downton Abbey, if you will. Except that Lady Carmel, perfect as she was, was no dowager as played by Maggie Smith. But then, no one is.
Margery Sharp must now be added to that list of English women authors that are my go-to when I need wit and intelligence along with a good story. Barbara Pym, Jane Gardam, Elizabeth von Arnim, and Elizabeth Taylor. Fortunately , she was pretty prolific.
Margery Sharp must now be added to that list of English women authors that are my go-to when I need wit and intelligence along with a good story. Barbara Pym, Jane Gardam, Elizabeth von Arnim, and Elizabeth Taylor. Fortunately , she was pretty prolific.
December 8, 2022
Ambientada en la Inglaterra de finales de los años 30, nos muestra una sociedad en proceso de cambio y en la que las sombras del conflicto se proyectan cada vez con más fuerza. Cluny Brown es una chica llena de vitalidad, que no 'sabe su lugar' en un sistema de clases sociales que va perdiendo su rigidez y su sentido. No acaba de comprender que por ser mujer de clase social baja su destino sea servir en una casa señorial, donde la envía su tío como solución a sus 'excentricidades'.
La mirada de Cluny es desapasionada, no es exactamente crítica pero es suficientemente lúcida para hacernos ver lo absurdo del sistema y la privación de libertad que supone. Es una lectura muy agradable porque lo que predomina es el humor - me ha recordado a Wodehouse - sin malicia pero punzante en todo momento.
Todos los personajes son geniales, no están exagerados, sino que nos dan un buen retrato de costumbres y de la existencia en el campo inglés, pacífica y un poco carente de sentido, que se verá perturbada por la guerra que se aproxima. Me ha gustado el personaje de Cluny, que se siente libre en todo momento, aunque las circunstancias la aprisionen. En la época en que se publicó el libro, en 1944, creo que la autora logró diseñar una heroína muy poco convencional.
Nada más fácil para una muchacha en aquel año de 1938, que entrar a servir en una buena casa. Las mansiones solariegas de Inglaterra esperaban con las puertas abiertas. Cluny Brown, además, tenía ciertas ventajas: era alta, desprovista de atractivo (aunque de piel clara) y absolutamente inexpresiva.
En conjunto una lectura muy agradable que ha superado mis expectativas.
La mirada de Cluny es desapasionada, no es exactamente crítica pero es suficientemente lúcida para hacernos ver lo absurdo del sistema y la privación de libertad que supone. Es una lectura muy agradable porque lo que predomina es el humor - me ha recordado a Wodehouse - sin malicia pero punzante en todo momento.
Todos los personajes son geniales, no están exagerados, sino que nos dan un buen retrato de costumbres y de la existencia en el campo inglés, pacífica y un poco carente de sentido, que se verá perturbada por la guerra que se aproxima. Me ha gustado el personaje de Cluny, que se siente libre en todo momento, aunque las circunstancias la aprisionen. En la época en que se publicó el libro, en 1944, creo que la autora logró diseñar una heroína muy poco convencional.
Nada más fácil para una muchacha en aquel año de 1938, que entrar a servir en una buena casa. Las mansiones solariegas de Inglaterra esperaban con las puertas abiertas. Cluny Brown, además, tenía ciertas ventajas: era alta, desprovista de atractivo (aunque de piel clara) y absolutamente inexpresiva.
En conjunto una lectura muy agradable que ha superado mis expectativas.
August 28, 2021
Margery Sharp, una escritora británica, publicó en 1944 su obra «Cluny Brown» que se sitúa en 1938, poco tiempo antes de que Inglaterra se viera trastocada por la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Gracias a @hojadelata podemos disfrutar del primer libro traducido de la autora al castellano.
La historia se centra en el personaje de Cluny Brown, una joven huérfana y vivaz, algo alocada y extravagante, que tras varias situaciones incómodas y que no son del todo comprendidas por su entorno, es enviada a trabajar sirviendo en la mansión Friars Carmel con el fin de que reconduzca su vida. Allí, nuestra entrañable protagonista, hallará un nuevo mundo en el que por fin se sentirá realizada.
Nos hallamos ante una novela que he disfrutado enormemente, donde conoces a todo tipo de personajes, en general, todos ellos muy bien caracterizados, pero sobre todo destaca por una trama que endulza los sentidos. El personaje de Cluny enamora, conquista desde el principio y es inevitable sentir empatía hacia ella y adorarla hasta su imprevisible final.
La narración en sí es bastante satírica, cómica e irónica, sin dejar de lado que guarda entre sus páginas una crítica sutil pero no por ello indirecta a la sociedad inglesa de principios del siglo XX. La diferencia de clases que nos muestra es donde realmente, Margery nos brinda un plausible análisis que ensalza la obra. Escrita con agilidad, supone y representa sin lugar a dudas una lectura fluida, entretenida y que da muchísima calma y felicidad.
En definitiva, es un escrito fresco, ligero y con un sentido del humor único. Lo importante es lo que no nos es contado explícitamente, como la autora logra brindarnos reflexiones, haciendo una autocrítica básicamente riéndose de esta manera tan encantadora de sus compatriotas. Un libro que recomiendo cuando quieres dejarte llevar por una trama sencilla pero que deja una sensación muy especial.
La historia se centra en el personaje de Cluny Brown, una joven huérfana y vivaz, algo alocada y extravagante, que tras varias situaciones incómodas y que no son del todo comprendidas por su entorno, es enviada a trabajar sirviendo en la mansión Friars Carmel con el fin de que reconduzca su vida. Allí, nuestra entrañable protagonista, hallará un nuevo mundo en el que por fin se sentirá realizada.
Nos hallamos ante una novela que he disfrutado enormemente, donde conoces a todo tipo de personajes, en general, todos ellos muy bien caracterizados, pero sobre todo destaca por una trama que endulza los sentidos. El personaje de Cluny enamora, conquista desde el principio y es inevitable sentir empatía hacia ella y adorarla hasta su imprevisible final.
La narración en sí es bastante satírica, cómica e irónica, sin dejar de lado que guarda entre sus páginas una crítica sutil pero no por ello indirecta a la sociedad inglesa de principios del siglo XX. La diferencia de clases que nos muestra es donde realmente, Margery nos brinda un plausible análisis que ensalza la obra. Escrita con agilidad, supone y representa sin lugar a dudas una lectura fluida, entretenida y que da muchísima calma y felicidad.
En definitiva, es un escrito fresco, ligero y con un sentido del humor único. Lo importante es lo que no nos es contado explícitamente, como la autora logra brindarnos reflexiones, haciendo una autocrítica básicamente riéndose de esta manera tan encantadora de sus compatriotas. Un libro que recomiendo cuando quieres dejarte llevar por una trama sencilla pero que deja una sensación muy especial.
December 15, 2020
Aprobado justito, justito: 2.5/5 Estrellas.
Voy a salir del armario y reconocer abiertamente que me desagradan las novelas británicas de finales de siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX (y las películas basadas en ellos). El estilo "Brit" de las Brönte y de las Austen, me repele profundamente, todo tan clasista, tan remilgado, tan puritano, romances exagerados al máximo, basados en la nada......en fin todo tan aburrido.....hala, estoy preparado para recibir hasta en el carnet de identidad, atizadme, estoy preparado, pero no podía callármelo.
Esta novela, que llegó a mis manos como una entrega de una conocida caja literaria a la que estoy suscrito, parecía de entrada pertenecer al mismo estilo.....si y no. Estamos ante una chica de Londres, de clase media baja, que no acaba de adaptarse a lo que se espera de ella, a lo que le corresponde por su "clase" social y, para meterla en vereda, su tío que la tiene en su casa (es huérfana) la manda interna a trabajar como doncella en una casa de campo señorial inglesa, con sus señores, mayordomos, gobernantas, criadas y toda la parafernalia todavía vigente en los años 30 del siglo pasado. Situaciones pueriles, diálogos pueriles, enamoramientos que surgen de la nada tras dos paseos con alguien y ya están preparados para casarse, madre mía, que pestiño.
Sin embargo, le he dado un aprobado, porque el libro no deja de tener una cierta acidez que se vislumbra bajo los diálogos aparentemente intrascendentes, una crítica velada a una sociedad que en muchos aspectos tenia los días contados con el advenimiento de la II Guerra Mundial y los cambios sociales que se produjeron, incluso en la conservadora sociedad inglesa. Crítica que toma forma en un final que me ha cogido por sorpresa en medio de mi sopor lector y que me gustado bastante, ya que le da un enfoque totalmente distinto al libro y un aprobado en mi valoración para GR.
También es de destacar la cuidada edición de Hoja de Lata, que siempre se agradece.
No me atrevería a recomendarlo.
Voy a salir del armario y reconocer abiertamente que me desagradan las novelas británicas de finales de siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX (y las películas basadas en ellos). El estilo "Brit" de las Brönte y de las Austen, me repele profundamente, todo tan clasista, tan remilgado, tan puritano, romances exagerados al máximo, basados en la nada......en fin todo tan aburrido.....hala, estoy preparado para recibir hasta en el carnet de identidad, atizadme, estoy preparado, pero no podía callármelo.
Esta novela, que llegó a mis manos como una entrega de una conocida caja literaria a la que estoy suscrito, parecía de entrada pertenecer al mismo estilo.....si y no. Estamos ante una chica de Londres, de clase media baja, que no acaba de adaptarse a lo que se espera de ella, a lo que le corresponde por su "clase" social y, para meterla en vereda, su tío que la tiene en su casa (es huérfana) la manda interna a trabajar como doncella en una casa de campo señorial inglesa, con sus señores, mayordomos, gobernantas, criadas y toda la parafernalia todavía vigente en los años 30 del siglo pasado. Situaciones pueriles, diálogos pueriles, enamoramientos que surgen de la nada tras dos paseos con alguien y ya están preparados para casarse, madre mía, que pestiño.
Sin embargo, le he dado un aprobado, porque el libro no deja de tener una cierta acidez que se vislumbra bajo los diálogos aparentemente intrascendentes, una crítica velada a una sociedad que en muchos aspectos tenia los días contados con el advenimiento de la II Guerra Mundial y los cambios sociales que se produjeron, incluso en la conservadora sociedad inglesa. Crítica que toma forma en un final que me ha cogido por sorpresa en medio de mi sopor lector y que me gustado bastante, ya que le da un enfoque totalmente distinto al libro y un aprobado en mi valoración para GR.
También es de destacar la cuidada edición de Hoja de Lata, que siempre se agradece.
No me atrevería a recomendarlo.
January 15, 2016
What a wonderful book!
For the past few days I've been in the world of Cluny Brown.
Cluny, who's real name is Clover goes into service in a house in Devon.
A far cry from London where she has been brought up by her Uncle.
I was soon engrossed in the story and wanted to know what was going to happen to Cluny.
The ending was totally unexpected and I didn't see it coming.
Very well written with wonderful characters.
A dog called Roderick , a Polish professor, Betty Cream , Mr Porritt, Mr Ames, Mr Wilson.
Cluny came to love the countryside , taking the dog for a walk and collecting flowers.
She never seemed to know her place but does she now?
You will have to read to find out!
A big thank you to Jane for sending it to me.
I loved it and felt sad when it ended.
Will definitely be looking out for more of her novels.
For the past few days I've been in the world of Cluny Brown.
Cluny, who's real name is Clover goes into service in a house in Devon.
A far cry from London where she has been brought up by her Uncle.
I was soon engrossed in the story and wanted to know what was going to happen to Cluny.
The ending was totally unexpected and I didn't see it coming.
Very well written with wonderful characters.
A dog called Roderick , a Polish professor, Betty Cream , Mr Porritt, Mr Ames, Mr Wilson.
Cluny came to love the countryside , taking the dog for a walk and collecting flowers.
She never seemed to know her place but does she now?
You will have to read to find out!
A big thank you to Jane for sending it to me.
I loved it and felt sad when it ended.
Will definitely be looking out for more of her novels.
February 18, 2021
My cup of tea.
September 15, 2015
I am so disappointed.
A friend of mine read this and said that she didn't agree with the ending, I figured that it was probably just something like what happened in Stormswift, and gave it a go anyway.
I was really enjoying Cluny Brown, she's amusing and likable. The story had her bungling her way through service as a parlour maid to the Carmels and helping the town chemist who hasn't much happiness to see the sun again.
Then we have the side story of Betty Cream, a woman who turns every man's head and knows it. Andrew Carmel would like to marry her, his guest Adam Belinski is also interested and all this goes to make the story an interesting tangle.
I thought, I would really love this and I was. But when an author throws a completely unexpected ending at you when you've been contemplating a different one quite happily, it takes the wind right out of your sails and it took my enjoyment with it.
I'm all for surprises, but not the kind that leave me feeling the whole book was ruined by the surprise.
I know a lot of people loved this, and I'm willing to read more by this author because I enjoyed this. Only now I'm worried she'll toss some switch up among the couples that I don't like.
Others read and enjoyed this because or in spite of what I didn't care for, so be warned and read it if you think you'll enjoy it.
G a few swears, one character is out to seduce someone, anyone, but doesn't. Other than that,it's fine from what I remember.
A friend of mine read this and said that she didn't agree with the ending, I figured that it was probably just something like what happened in Stormswift, and gave it a go anyway.
I was really enjoying Cluny Brown, she's amusing and likable. The story had her bungling her way through service as a parlour maid to the Carmels and helping the town chemist who hasn't much happiness to see the sun again.
Then we have the side story of Betty Cream, a woman who turns every man's head and knows it. Andrew Carmel would like to marry her, his guest Adam Belinski is also interested and all this goes to make the story an interesting tangle.
I thought, I would really love this and I was. But when an author throws a completely unexpected ending at you when you've been contemplating a different one quite happily, it takes the wind right out of your sails and it took my enjoyment with it.
I'm all for surprises, but not the kind that leave me feeling the whole book was ruined by the surprise.
I know a lot of people loved this, and I'm willing to read more by this author because I enjoyed this. Only now I'm worried she'll toss some switch up among the couples that I don't like.
Others read and enjoyed this because or in spite of what I didn't care for, so be warned and read it if you think you'll enjoy it.
G a few swears, one character is out to seduce someone, anyone, but doesn't. Other than that,it's fine from what I remember.
December 9, 2024
Aunque últimamente no estoy yo muy de clásicos (creo que leí tantos en mi adolescencia que me saturé), una amiga lectora me convenció para unirme a esta lectura .
Escrito en 1944 por una autora inglesa a la que no conocía y me ha fascinado: Margery Sharp.
La historia gira en torno a Cluny Brown, una veinteañera que vive con su tío fontanero en Londres y a la que mandarán a servir a una casona en la campiña inglesa. Cluny no parece haber sido muy agraciada en su vida, huérfana, sin nada destacable en su aspecto, parece avocada a una vida sin sal. Pero Cluny tiene una personalidad bien peculiar, de esas que no pasan inadvertidas y mucho menos codeándose con la clase alta inglesa.
Me ha gustado mucho esta novela corta y confieso que el final me ha sorpredido totalmente, no me lo esperaba para nada.
Además esos escenarios al más puro estilo Downton Abbey a mi me atrapan sin poder evitarlo.
Entretretenida, con toques de humor y giros inesperados. ¿Necesitáis algo más para leerla? Venga que os chivo otra cosita. La edición de Hoja de lata es una preciosidad.
La verdad es que espero seguir leyendo a esta autora, me ha encantado su estilo.
Escrito en 1944 por una autora inglesa a la que no conocía y me ha fascinado: Margery Sharp.
La historia gira en torno a Cluny Brown, una veinteañera que vive con su tío fontanero en Londres y a la que mandarán a servir a una casona en la campiña inglesa. Cluny no parece haber sido muy agraciada en su vida, huérfana, sin nada destacable en su aspecto, parece avocada a una vida sin sal. Pero Cluny tiene una personalidad bien peculiar, de esas que no pasan inadvertidas y mucho menos codeándose con la clase alta inglesa.
Me ha gustado mucho esta novela corta y confieso que el final me ha sorpredido totalmente, no me lo esperaba para nada.
Además esos escenarios al más puro estilo Downton Abbey a mi me atrapan sin poder evitarlo.
Entretretenida, con toques de humor y giros inesperados. ¿Necesitáis algo más para leerla? Venga que os chivo otra cosita. La edición de Hoja de lata es una preciosidad.
La verdad es que espero seguir leyendo a esta autora, me ha encantado su estilo.
August 13, 2023
Clun y Brown is a fascinating character and I'm not too sure what to make of her, but I very much enjoyed reading her story.
February 15, 2020
I so did not see that ending coming! Now I’ll have to read it again to pick up on the clues I missed. 😆 The book is so wonderfully written! The prose is so clever and fun and sparkling, as people sometimes say. Now I’ll be looking out for more Margery Sharp!
December 25, 2020
"Con su uniforme negro, pero sin delantal ni cuello, tenía un curioso aspecto intemporal; podría haber sido una muchacha cualquiera de un siglo cualquiera, o todas las muchachas que en todos los siglos se habían quedado de pie, mirando hacia arriba oyendo la voz de un hombre."
Desde el momento en que me puse con esta novela, la fina ironía de Margery Sharp me ganó, quizás porque iba con algunos prejuicios y pensé que iba a ser la típica novela suave británica politicamente correcta, y nada más lejos. Margery Sharp, con su aguda visión de las diferencias de clases en una todavía rígida Inglaterra, me llevó literalmente al huerto. La agudeza de esta autora brilla sobre todo a la hora de marcar las diferencias de clases, dónde quién se saliera del tiesto de lo socialmente marcado, se convertía automáticamente en una especie de bicho raro y un caso perdido socialmente hablando. Tal como se repite una y otra vez en la novela, “tienes que saber cual es tu sitio en la sociedad y no salirte de lo marcado según tu nacimiento”.
Cluny Brown es la sobrina huérfana de un fontanero, pero Cluny es un espiritu libre y según su tio, no sabe cual es su sitio en el mundo. El hecho de que Cluny sea una jovencita ingenua que no entienda el concepto de lo que se espera de ella, es lo que convierte esta novela en una delicia. Tomarse el atrevimiento de ir un día al Ritz a tomarse el té (un lugar socialmente hablando casi tabú para ella), o pasarse un dia acostada solo comiendo naranjas, o el hecho de que en sus paseos por el parque entablase conversación con desconocidos, convierte a ojos de su tio a Cluny Brown en un caso perdido. La castiga de alguna forma alejándola de Londres y buscándole un empleo como sirvienta en Devon, no solo para alejarla de él y asi evitarle más conflictos, sino sobre todo para que Cluny aprenda su sitio en el mundo ¿y qué mejor lugar que en una casa aristocrática dónde las diferencias de clase estaban superdelimitadas? Como sirvienta y siendo la última en el escalafón jerarquico en la casa de Lady Carmel le sería imposible volver a ser un espiritú libre.
Es interesante que aunque la novela fuera publicada en 1944, realmente transcurre en 1938 justo antes de que Inglaterra se viera sumergida en una nueva guerra mundial, asi que lo que sobrevuela la atmósfera son unos nuevos tiempos que iban a ir deshaciendo esta rigidez social, y los papeles sociales iban a ir difuminándose. El hecho de que Cluny no entendiera que según nacimiento cada persona tenía que ajustarse a un rol social, es de alguna forma la excusa que Margery Sharp usa para contarnos que todo un sistema social se empezaba a tambalear y para ello sumerge a Cluny Brown en escenas divertidas (casi imposible dejar de sonreir durante toda la novela) a primera vista, pero leyendo entre lineas, una fina ironía y una profunda crítica social sobrevuela toda la novela.
En definitiva una novela deliciosa donde Margery Sharp pone sobre el tapete el cuestionamiento de todo un sistema de clases y donde los personajes de Cluny Brown y Adam Belinski personifican la libertad de poder decidir el rumbo de tu vida independientemente del nacimiento. De Margery Sharp no hay nada más publicado en castellano asi que agradecer infinítamente a Hoja de Lata que la haya rescatado del olvido, y esperando que lleguen más de sus novelas de una autora todavia muy invisible. En 1946 se adaptó al cine dirigida por Ernst Lubitsch.
"... y llegó al acertado veredicto de que no había ningún catálogo de atributos capaz de explicar la cualidad más extraña y sobresaliente de Cluny Brown: tenía personalidad. (...) Su belleza era inextinguible, y resultaba igualmente obvio que ni el servicio doméstico ni aquel opresivo uniforme habían podido extinguir la peculiar cualidad que poseía Cluny Brown."
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2020...
Desde el momento en que me puse con esta novela, la fina ironía de Margery Sharp me ganó, quizás porque iba con algunos prejuicios y pensé que iba a ser la típica novela suave británica politicamente correcta, y nada más lejos. Margery Sharp, con su aguda visión de las diferencias de clases en una todavía rígida Inglaterra, me llevó literalmente al huerto. La agudeza de esta autora brilla sobre todo a la hora de marcar las diferencias de clases, dónde quién se saliera del tiesto de lo socialmente marcado, se convertía automáticamente en una especie de bicho raro y un caso perdido socialmente hablando. Tal como se repite una y otra vez en la novela, “tienes que saber cual es tu sitio en la sociedad y no salirte de lo marcado según tu nacimiento”.
Cluny Brown es la sobrina huérfana de un fontanero, pero Cluny es un espiritu libre y según su tio, no sabe cual es su sitio en el mundo. El hecho de que Cluny sea una jovencita ingenua que no entienda el concepto de lo que se espera de ella, es lo que convierte esta novela en una delicia. Tomarse el atrevimiento de ir un día al Ritz a tomarse el té (un lugar socialmente hablando casi tabú para ella), o pasarse un dia acostada solo comiendo naranjas, o el hecho de que en sus paseos por el parque entablase conversación con desconocidos, convierte a ojos de su tio a Cluny Brown en un caso perdido. La castiga de alguna forma alejándola de Londres y buscándole un empleo como sirvienta en Devon, no solo para alejarla de él y asi evitarle más conflictos, sino sobre todo para que Cluny aprenda su sitio en el mundo ¿y qué mejor lugar que en una casa aristocrática dónde las diferencias de clase estaban superdelimitadas? Como sirvienta y siendo la última en el escalafón jerarquico en la casa de Lady Carmel le sería imposible volver a ser un espiritú libre.
Es interesante que aunque la novela fuera publicada en 1944, realmente transcurre en 1938 justo antes de que Inglaterra se viera sumergida en una nueva guerra mundial, asi que lo que sobrevuela la atmósfera son unos nuevos tiempos que iban a ir deshaciendo esta rigidez social, y los papeles sociales iban a ir difuminándose. El hecho de que Cluny no entendiera que según nacimiento cada persona tenía que ajustarse a un rol social, es de alguna forma la excusa que Margery Sharp usa para contarnos que todo un sistema social se empezaba a tambalear y para ello sumerge a Cluny Brown en escenas divertidas (casi imposible dejar de sonreir durante toda la novela) a primera vista, pero leyendo entre lineas, una fina ironía y una profunda crítica social sobrevuela toda la novela.
En definitiva una novela deliciosa donde Margery Sharp pone sobre el tapete el cuestionamiento de todo un sistema de clases y donde los personajes de Cluny Brown y Adam Belinski personifican la libertad de poder decidir el rumbo de tu vida independientemente del nacimiento. De Margery Sharp no hay nada más publicado en castellano asi que agradecer infinítamente a Hoja de Lata que la haya rescatado del olvido, y esperando que lleguen más de sus novelas de una autora todavia muy invisible. En 1946 se adaptó al cine dirigida por Ernst Lubitsch.
"... y llegó al acertado veredicto de que no había ningún catálogo de atributos capaz de explicar la cualidad más extraña y sobresaliente de Cluny Brown: tenía personalidad. (...) Su belleza era inextinguible, y resultaba igualmente obvio que ni el servicio doméstico ni aquel opresivo uniforme habían podido extinguir la peculiar cualidad que poseía Cluny Brown."
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2020...
November 11, 2022
A gem! I loved it!
I think when an author of children's books writes a book for adults (or young adults) that book is wonderful. E.g. "I Capture the Castle". Writing for children is more demanding, so those who write for them must be better writers, or at least better storytellers.
--> I love a message of this novel. I sympathized with Cluny Brown every time when someone (even herself) asked:
How often, not only when we are young, we are struggling with finding who we are and then with fighting to save our nature, our "real me".
Then, although I am a rather calm person, I understood Cluny perfectly when she said:
--> I wasn't so surprised with an ending as many of my GR-friends were. Perhaps because I knew they were, so I knew there would be a surprising plot twist at the end. Moreover, I love this twist, this ending! In my opinion it was perfect. I am tempted to read again all meetings between to see how their relationship began and developed.
--> Margery Sharp had an observant eye. Her view on national characteristics, shown as a contrast between British and Polish was marvelous. I am a Pole and I am always fascinated when non-Polish author writes about the Poles. Sharp described Polish soul (in its extreme version) very accurately and wonderfully. I am not especially proud of those national characteristics ;-) but still, one can't pretend they don't exist.
--> I loved the atmosphere in this novel. I was gripped by the language, the writing and the world.
--> It was also very witty. A classic British, like by Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Thirkell, Emily Eden.
--> Awesome characters. What should I add? They were simply perfectly chosen, from main characters to John Frewen and Mrs. Wilson.
--> I really appreciate that Margery Sharp didn't end the story at the scene when Some writers would have done it. What she did showed her style of storytelling.
--> And the two love stories... Charming but also very wise. I know it sounds oddly but it is true. And when I read:
I sighed loudly and I wanted to swoon or melt. If you hadn't read the book, you will probably don't understand this quote but to me it was one of the best declaration of love I have ever read.
I was gripped so much, that I have read it all day and late at night. It was good it was Sunday and additionally my birthday, so I didn't have any obligations ;-)
I have the feeling I haven't explain as good as I should, why this book is worth reading. But believe me, it is a wise and charming novel about being self, no matter where you was born and where you live.
I think when an author of children's books writes a book for adults (or young adults) that book is wonderful. E.g. "I Capture the Castle". Writing for children is more demanding, so those who write for them must be better writers, or at least better storytellers.
--> I love a message of this novel. I sympathized with Cluny Brown every time when someone (even herself) asked:
"Who do you think you are, Cluny Brown?"
How often, not only when we are young, we are struggling with finding who we are and then with fighting to save our nature, our "real me".
...people who knew what was best for her, only their idea of the best was being shut up in a box - in a series of smaller and smaller boxes until you were safe at last in the smallest box of all, with a nice tombstone on top.
Then, although I am a rather calm person, I understood Cluny perfectly when she said:
"I want something to happen," she said vaguely. "I want things happening all the time...".
--> I wasn't so surprised with an ending as many of my GR-friends were. Perhaps because I knew they were, so I knew there would be a surprising plot twist at the end. Moreover, I love this twist, this ending! In my opinion it was perfect. I am tempted to read again all meetings between to see how their relationship began and developed.
--> Margery Sharp had an observant eye. Her view on national characteristics, shown as a contrast between British and Polish was marvelous. I am a Pole and I am always fascinated when non-Polish author writes about the Poles. Sharp described Polish soul (in its extreme version) very accurately and wonderfully. I am not especially proud of those national characteristics ;-) but still, one can't pretend they don't exist.
--> I loved the atmosphere in this novel. I was gripped by the language, the writing and the world.
--> It was also very witty. A classic British, like by Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Thirkell, Emily Eden.
--> Awesome characters. What should I add? They were simply perfectly chosen, from main characters to John Frewen and Mrs. Wilson.
--> I really appreciate that Margery Sharp didn't end the story at the scene when Some writers would have done it. What she did showed her style of storytelling.
--> And the two love stories... Charming but also very wise. I know it sounds oddly but it is true. And when I read:
"Perhaps sometimes you will have to run after me again, because I do not yet know how my constancy is. But I have a feeling that I shall be quite constant to you. It's fine,"
I sighed loudly and I wanted to swoon or melt. If you hadn't read the book, you will probably don't understand this quote but to me it was one of the best declaration of love I have ever read.
I was gripped so much, that I have read it all day and late at night. It was good it was Sunday and additionally my birthday, so I didn't have any obligations ;-)
I have the feeling I haven't explain as good as I should, why this book is worth reading. But believe me, it is a wise and charming novel about being self, no matter where you was born and where you live.
June 27, 2014
I checked this book out of the library, blew the dust off of the book jacket, and opened it to the cover page. I smiled to read the notice from the library that ”A fine of two cents a day will be charged on each book which is not returned according to the rules of the library.” It set the mood for the nostalgia and innocence that was to come.
I was charmed within the first few pages of this novel, and the smile pretty much stayed on my face the whole time I was reading it. I enjoyed the wide-eyed, off-beat Cluny Brown and her yearning for something different than what she had. I found all of the supporting characters to be equally as engaging, and I loved the gentle humor that each provided. Even though this was not a mystery, I definitely would consider it a “cozy” read.
This was the first book I can remember having read by this author, and I liked her style of writing. I will seek out more of her books for adults.
I was charmed within the first few pages of this novel, and the smile pretty much stayed on my face the whole time I was reading it. I enjoyed the wide-eyed, off-beat Cluny Brown and her yearning for something different than what she had. I found all of the supporting characters to be equally as engaging, and I loved the gentle humor that each provided. Even though this was not a mystery, I definitely would consider it a “cozy” read.
This was the first book I can remember having read by this author, and I liked her style of writing. I will seek out more of her books for adults.
July 2, 2026
Almost 5 stars, but for the author’s need to startle her readers at the end. Sometimes Margery Sharp can be too clever for her own good. She certainly lulled me into thinking I was reading one kind of story, when she had something quite different in store for me.
Most of Cluny Brown is deliciously subversive. It’s a country-house social comedy that takes the help at least as seriously as the masters—in fact, it treats the young heir rather more cavalierly than the parlor maid. The eponymous character is indeed the parlor maid, christened Clover but nobody ever dared to call her that. She is somewhat opaque as a person, knowing herself as little as others know her. All she knows is that she doesn’t fit into her surroundings. Her uncle remarks, with more truth than he knows, that she doesn’t know her place.
Cluny, outwardly docile, acts very simply on her impulse of the moment, which creates mayhem in the lives of the conventionally minded. Just about everyone else is a slave to expectations, a propensity that puts them at a disadvantage when Cluny acts as if expectations simply don’t exist. But nobody hates her for it; indeed, everyone finds themselves oddly attached to her.
The time is 1938, the last gasp of a dying world of English country gentry—and since the story was published six years later it must be taken for granted that the author was consciously playing out her tale in the full glare of the disaster to come. The gracious world of the country house is depicted with affectionate precision made all the more poignant by the war we know to be imminent.
The second storyline, that of the young heir, is about someone who fancies himself a rebel but is discovering his fundamental conventionality and becoming comfortable with it. I can appreciate the symmetry of the contrasts between the two arcs, but I confess to wishing Cluny had settled for comfort and safety in the end. I wanted a comfier story than I got. Ironically, though, Cluny’s break for freedom probably saved her, while the young heir’s settling into conventionality put his life at risk. My sentimental streak wanted it to go a different way but the author was right that it could not. Quite a masterful job by a confident storyteller.
Most of Cluny Brown is deliciously subversive. It’s a country-house social comedy that takes the help at least as seriously as the masters—in fact, it treats the young heir rather more cavalierly than the parlor maid. The eponymous character is indeed the parlor maid, christened Clover but nobody ever dared to call her that. She is somewhat opaque as a person, knowing herself as little as others know her. All she knows is that she doesn’t fit into her surroundings. Her uncle remarks, with more truth than he knows, that she doesn’t know her place.
Cluny, outwardly docile, acts very simply on her impulse of the moment, which creates mayhem in the lives of the conventionally minded. Just about everyone else is a slave to expectations, a propensity that puts them at a disadvantage when Cluny acts as if expectations simply don’t exist. But nobody hates her for it; indeed, everyone finds themselves oddly attached to her.
The time is 1938, the last gasp of a dying world of English country gentry—and since the story was published six years later it must be taken for granted that the author was consciously playing out her tale in the full glare of the disaster to come. The gracious world of the country house is depicted with affectionate precision made all the more poignant by the war we know to be imminent.
The second storyline, that of the young heir, is about someone who fancies himself a rebel but is discovering his fundamental conventionality and becoming comfortable with it. I can appreciate the symmetry of the contrasts between the two arcs, but I confess to wishing Cluny had settled for comfort and safety in the end. I wanted a comfier story than I got. Ironically, though, Cluny’s break for freedom probably saved her, while the young heir’s settling into conventionality put his life at risk. My sentimental streak wanted it to go a different way but the author was right that it could not. Quite a masterful job by a confident storyteller.
January 25, 2017
The Charming and Unusual Story of Cluny Brown
'Cluny Brown' by Margery Sharp was just as quirky, just as delightful and just as thoughtful as Sharp's other books. The book leads us through the life of an unusual girl who prefers to tread down the unconventional path in life.
In the story we are introduced to an orphaned young lady called Cluny Brown. She's quite an interesting character, memorable, like Sharp's other protagonists.
But she has one serious fault- she doesn't seem to know her 'place' in the world- at least according to her Uncle, Mr Porritt and her interfering Aunt Addie. Just as an example, she's been known to have had tea at the Ritz, which according to them, is seen to be vastly above her station.
She works as a phone receptionist of sorts for her plumber-uncle. And though she gets into a few scrapes along the way, things come to a serious head when she actually goes to visit one of her uncle's clients, tries to fix the plumbing herself, and is discovered in a compromising position by who else than her uncle.
Her Uncle and Aunt Addie decide that enough is enough and Cluny must go into some sort of service and find her own way in the world. And so when the position of a house maid comes up in a respectable, rich household in the country, Cluny is sent on her way without giving her a chance to demur.
It seems Cluny has (according to the employment bureau) all the attributes of the perfect parlour-maid - 'height, plainness and a perfectly blank expression.' What they don't account for is her personality!
So Cluny arrives at the expansive Devonshire estate of Friars Carmel. There's a Lord Carmel of course, a Lady Carmel, a privileged only son, Andrew, recently down from Cambridge and to provide variety, a Polish man of letters called Adam Belinski, who is seeking cover from the Nazis and a guest of the family.
Cluny Brown's Life at Friars Carmel
Cluny arrives at Friars Carmel, quite by chance, in a Rolls-Royce. The gardener fails to pick her up in the station wagon and it is left to kind and neighbourly Colonel Duff-Graham (who is informed by telephone by the station master) who is at the station to pick up his new Labrador to 'drop anything for Friars Carmel'. He doesn't really count on dropping home the new parlour-maid but of course he obliges.
Cluny befriends the new Labrador and is invited to take him out on walks on her afternoons off. On these afternoons of sheer freedom she also stumbles upon the local village pharmacist, his cozy dwelling behind the shop and his heartwarming mother.
The pharamacist's friendship seems to provide Cluny with everything her life has been missing- order, security and companionship. And when Cluny is confronted with making a serious decision in her life, she doesn't hesitate to make the decision which is right for her.
Why Margery Sharp's Cluny Brown is so Unique
Margery Sharp's Cluny is truly memorable. She's slightly 'off' just like Sharp's Martha of the 'Martha trilogy ' and that makes her totally endearing to me. She doesn't follow societal norms but does follow her instincts. And if that means that she will never know her place in life, then so be it.
It does make one think: what truly is a person's place in society? Who decides it? What controls it? How can birth decide a person's position? Haven't we seen innumerable examples in history where people have changed their situation through hard work and initiative?
All food for thought.
Full review at https://bagfullofbooks.com/2017/01/25...
April 3, 2019
I so wish I didn’t have to file this under ‘books you won’t read before you die’. Such a crying shame.
When my mother handed this back to me yesterday, she said it was mildly amusing here and there. Told me the sentence she thought was most important. A bit Jane Austeny she said, in that way that damns everything in a comparison I wish could be outlawed.
This, after I'd laughed out loud on most pages to the occasional envy of my reading companion who was stuck in his Persian grammar book, which is very light on laughs. I read bits out and wanted to torment him with more. I do wish people liked being read to - I need a willing audience, though I make do with a captive one.
rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
When my mother handed this back to me yesterday, she said it was mildly amusing here and there. Told me the sentence she thought was most important. A bit Jane Austeny she said, in that way that damns everything in a comparison I wish could be outlawed.
This, after I'd laughed out loud on most pages to the occasional envy of my reading companion who was stuck in his Persian grammar book, which is very light on laughs. I read bits out and wanted to torment him with more. I do wish people liked being read to - I need a willing audience, though I make do with a captive one.
rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
February 26, 2025
Sometimes a book is exactly what you need at the exact moment you need it and Cluny Brown was that for me. I loved Cluny’s whole attitude toward life and was swept away into her world. And the ending! Like so many others, I did not see it coming. And while at first I wasn’t sure about it, now I think it was absolutely pitch perfect. I loved it from start to finish.
December 29, 2017
No one would describe this as revolutionary novel, and yet the great social changes brought about by World War II are hinted at - and sort of hover about this novel about a young girl from the working classes who just doesn't know 'her place'. The first thing we learn about 20 year old Cluny Brown is that she has gone to tea at the Ritz, all by herself, and just to see what it is like. Mr. Porritt, a London plumber and Cluny's uncle and guardian, is at a loss to know what to do about her, so he sends her down to Devon to go into 'service'.
Much of the novel takes place in Friars Carmel, the big estate house in Devon where Cluny Brown joins a skeleton staff in taking care of Lord and Lady Carmel and their son Andrew. Friars Carmel is definitely a rural idyll, where the gardens are planned by Lady Carmel three years in advance and very little ever happens, but changes have gradually eroded even the Friars Carmel standards. The house is both under occupied and understaffed: there are no longer any footmen, and the butler and housekeeper have to 'make do' with two maids and one of them (Cluny Brown) is not only untrained, but definitely not subserviant maid material. The outside world also encroaches in the character of Adam Belinski - a Polish writer, who has escaped to the 'safety' of England, and been invited as a houseguest to Friars Carmel. Belinski is unsettling, instable - and just one of the many allusions to the approaching war. Even Andrew, the reluctant heir, is planning on marrying first and then joining the Air Force by the conclusion of the novel.
In a rather unromantic way, this novel is a romance. A collection of young people - Cluny, Andrew, Belinski, the society beauty Betty Cream and the local chemist Titus Wilson - provide a merry-go-round of coupling and uncoupling. But the romantic bits are sedate in the extreme, and more about whether marriages uphold society or subvert it. The romance is 'the form' if you will, but it feels more like the structure or driver of the plot than the essence of the story.
The charm of the book is not so much the plot, but the very clever way in which Margery Sharp phrases and shapes what would be mundane and even trite in the hands of a lesser writer. She's an elegant and witty stylist - a real breath of fresh air, just like her unconventional protagonist.
Much of the novel takes place in Friars Carmel, the big estate house in Devon where Cluny Brown joins a skeleton staff in taking care of Lord and Lady Carmel and their son Andrew. Friars Carmel is definitely a rural idyll, where the gardens are planned by Lady Carmel three years in advance and very little ever happens, but changes have gradually eroded even the Friars Carmel standards. The house is both under occupied and understaffed: there are no longer any footmen, and the butler and housekeeper have to 'make do' with two maids and one of them (Cluny Brown) is not only untrained, but definitely not subserviant maid material. The outside world also encroaches in the character of Adam Belinski - a Polish writer, who has escaped to the 'safety' of England, and been invited as a houseguest to Friars Carmel. Belinski is unsettling, instable - and just one of the many allusions to the approaching war. Even Andrew, the reluctant heir, is planning on marrying first and then joining the Air Force by the conclusion of the novel.
In a rather unromantic way, this novel is a romance. A collection of young people - Cluny, Andrew, Belinski, the society beauty Betty Cream and the local chemist Titus Wilson - provide a merry-go-round of coupling and uncoupling. But the romantic bits are sedate in the extreme, and more about whether marriages uphold society or subvert it. The romance is 'the form' if you will, but it feels more like the structure or driver of the plot than the essence of the story.
The charm of the book is not so much the plot, but the very clever way in which Margery Sharp phrases and shapes what would be mundane and even trite in the hands of a lesser writer. She's an elegant and witty stylist - a real breath of fresh air, just like her unconventional protagonist.
October 31, 2025
ENGLISH: I have watched several times the movie version by Ernst Lubitsch of this novel. Now I have read the novel. In general, I have liked the movie adaptation better, although the novel is not bad and there aren't too many changes.
Among the changes, one of the most important is the change in nationality of the protagonist, from Pole in the novel, to Czech in the movie. I find this change logical. The novel (first published in 1944) is supposed to take place in 1938, the year of the Munich Agreement that delivered Czechoslovakia into Hitler's hands. Poland, on the other hand was not invaded until 1939. So a Czech refugee was more logical than a Pole.
ESPAÑOL: He visto varias veces la versión cinematográfica de esta novela realizada por Ernst Lubitsch. Ahora he leído la novela. En general me ha gustado más la adaptación al cine, aunque la novela no está mal y no hay demasiados cambios.
Entre los cambios, uno de los más importantes es la nacionalidad del protagonista, que pasa de polaco en la novela, a checo en la película. Este cambio me parece lógico. Se supone que el argumento de la novela (publicada en 1944) tiene lugar en 1938, el año del Contubernio de Munich, en el que las potencias aliadas abandonaron a Checoslovaquia en manos de Hitler. Polonia, en cambio, no fue invadida hasta 1939. Por ello, un refugiado checo era más lógico que un polaco.
Among the changes, one of the most important is the change in nationality of the protagonist, from Pole in the novel, to Czech in the movie. I find this change logical. The novel (first published in 1944) is supposed to take place in 1938, the year of the Munich Agreement that delivered Czechoslovakia into Hitler's hands. Poland, on the other hand was not invaded until 1939. So a Czech refugee was more logical than a Pole.
ESPAÑOL: He visto varias veces la versión cinematográfica de esta novela realizada por Ernst Lubitsch. Ahora he leído la novela. En general me ha gustado más la adaptación al cine, aunque la novela no está mal y no hay demasiados cambios.
Entre los cambios, uno de los más importantes es la nacionalidad del protagonista, que pasa de polaco en la novela, a checo en la película. Este cambio me parece lógico. Se supone que el argumento de la novela (publicada en 1944) tiene lugar en 1938, el año del Contubernio de Munich, en el que las potencias aliadas abandonaron a Checoslovaquia en manos de Hitler. Polonia, en cambio, no fue invadida hasta 1939. Por ello, un refugiado checo era más lógico que un polaco.
December 26, 2015
Reading this was an odd experience. I was enjoying myself, I thought I liked the characters, and then suddenly I wasn't and I didn't. I'm not sure where it went off. And it's not that Sharp isn't a good writer. She is. I think it's more that I thought she was going somewhere else with it. At best, I can say that the character Cluny seems to embody a spirit of change, of unrest, of a new individuality and unrootedness - a break with tradition (which was necessary and important at the time) that began to happen between the first and second world wars. Cluny is summed up by the other characters in the book as one who "Doesn't know her place." which I thought was going to make for a ruckus of some sort. I wasn't wrong about that, but the light tone didn't prepare me for the whiplash. Wolf in sheep's clothing! A perfectly good book that fell flat because of my expectations.
April 27, 2018
Truly delightful and laugh out loud. Brilliant.
February 10, 2026
Luego de leer este libro recapacitas respecto a los clásicos: divertido, diferente y dejando entrever algo que se venía cuajando en la Europa entre guerras.
February 14, 2021
Rom without the com…
Cluny Brown is extremely plain, except to the many men who think she’s beautiful. She does scandalous things like going for tea at the Ritz, so her uncle who doesn’t seem to like her much (and incidentally hasn’t spotted her beauty) sends her off to be trained as a parlour-maid at the Devonshire home of Lady Carmel. There, several men will fall in love with several women, there will be mild misunderstandings and mild jealousies, and then they will all sort themselves into perfect partnerships and live happily ever after. As will I, now that this one can be cheerfully despatched to the charity shop…
I realise this book is beloved by all and even sundry, but I fear its charm largely escaped me. Cluny manages to be both underdeveloped and unrealistic, which is quite a feat when you think about it. Perhaps Sharp genuinely had no idea about the working-class – she certainly gives me that impression – but an editor could surely have told her that by 1938 aggrieved uncles weren’t actually able to force reluctant twenty-year-old nieces into service against their will. Nor are all working-class people fundamentally stupid, although that’s how they’re portrayed in this book. Sharp reminds us of Cluny’s basic stupidity on a regular basis, unnecessarily since she never has a thought worth thinking or expresses an opinion worth expressing. Her eventual rebellious metamorphosis is ludicrous, since up to that point the most rebellious thing she had ever done was to eat oranges in bed. She seems perfectly willing to go off with any man who promises to let her keep a puppy – one felt she could have got a job, a flat and a puppy all on her own, and foregone the dubious pleasure of having to put up with any of these tedious men.
For tedious they are! There’s working class therefore stupid Uncle Arn, he who can’t cope with the idea that his niece might be attractive to men so gets rid of her so he can sit in the evenings staring happily at his wall – one imagines his mouth hanging open and his mind echoing emptily as he does so. Sir Henry Carmel, stereotypical Little Englander member of the declining gentry, is also stupid now I think about it – Sharp clearly felt stupid is a synonym for funny. We’ll have to agree to differ on that. Mr Wilson, the chemist, attracted to Cluny because she looks at him adoringly, rather like that puppy she so longs for, and apparently happy to marry a woman whom he considers to be his inferior, socially, culturally and intellectually, presumably because he wants submissive admiration rather than any kind of equal partnership in life. One is supposed to like him, I think. Belinski, the Polish writer who comes to stay at the house, has more comic potential and actually provides the glimmerings of a plot in the early stages, as it appears he has got into the bad books of the Nazis and may be in danger. But no, turns out it’s all been a misunderstanding, and really he’s just a mediocre writer and marginally more successful womaniser.
Andrew, the son of the house, is somewhat better as a character, being given a little more complexity and letting us see the gentry coming to terms with the approaching war. His mother, Lady Carmel, is also quite well drawn – outwardly she seems to be rather vague and wispy, but in fact she’s more perceptive than all the rest, and guides her useless menfolk with a good deal of charm. Beautiful Betty, love interest of many, is fun, and her development from immature social butterfly to poised society woman is much better done than poor Cluny’s unlikely coming-of-age story. I won’t mention the other servants, since quite frankly Wodehouse gives his domestics more depth and realism.
Nope, not for me. I’m not much of a fan of rom-coms in general, and even less so when the com bit gets missed out, leaving little except dull meanderings through an unrealistic depiction of pre-war life.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Cluny Brown is extremely plain, except to the many men who think she’s beautiful. She does scandalous things like going for tea at the Ritz, so her uncle who doesn’t seem to like her much (and incidentally hasn’t spotted her beauty) sends her off to be trained as a parlour-maid at the Devonshire home of Lady Carmel. There, several men will fall in love with several women, there will be mild misunderstandings and mild jealousies, and then they will all sort themselves into perfect partnerships and live happily ever after. As will I, now that this one can be cheerfully despatched to the charity shop…
I realise this book is beloved by all and even sundry, but I fear its charm largely escaped me. Cluny manages to be both underdeveloped and unrealistic, which is quite a feat when you think about it. Perhaps Sharp genuinely had no idea about the working-class – she certainly gives me that impression – but an editor could surely have told her that by 1938 aggrieved uncles weren’t actually able to force reluctant twenty-year-old nieces into service against their will. Nor are all working-class people fundamentally stupid, although that’s how they’re portrayed in this book. Sharp reminds us of Cluny’s basic stupidity on a regular basis, unnecessarily since she never has a thought worth thinking or expresses an opinion worth expressing. Her eventual rebellious metamorphosis is ludicrous, since up to that point the most rebellious thing she had ever done was to eat oranges in bed. She seems perfectly willing to go off with any man who promises to let her keep a puppy – one felt she could have got a job, a flat and a puppy all on her own, and foregone the dubious pleasure of having to put up with any of these tedious men.
For tedious they are! There’s working class therefore stupid Uncle Arn, he who can’t cope with the idea that his niece might be attractive to men so gets rid of her so he can sit in the evenings staring happily at his wall – one imagines his mouth hanging open and his mind echoing emptily as he does so. Sir Henry Carmel, stereotypical Little Englander member of the declining gentry, is also stupid now I think about it – Sharp clearly felt stupid is a synonym for funny. We’ll have to agree to differ on that. Mr Wilson, the chemist, attracted to Cluny because she looks at him adoringly, rather like that puppy she so longs for, and apparently happy to marry a woman whom he considers to be his inferior, socially, culturally and intellectually, presumably because he wants submissive admiration rather than any kind of equal partnership in life. One is supposed to like him, I think. Belinski, the Polish writer who comes to stay at the house, has more comic potential and actually provides the glimmerings of a plot in the early stages, as it appears he has got into the bad books of the Nazis and may be in danger. But no, turns out it’s all been a misunderstanding, and really he’s just a mediocre writer and marginally more successful womaniser.
Andrew, the son of the house, is somewhat better as a character, being given a little more complexity and letting us see the gentry coming to terms with the approaching war. His mother, Lady Carmel, is also quite well drawn – outwardly she seems to be rather vague and wispy, but in fact she’s more perceptive than all the rest, and guides her useless menfolk with a good deal of charm. Beautiful Betty, love interest of many, is fun, and her development from immature social butterfly to poised society woman is much better done than poor Cluny’s unlikely coming-of-age story. I won’t mention the other servants, since quite frankly Wodehouse gives his domestics more depth and realism.
Nope, not for me. I’m not much of a fan of rom-coms in general, and even less so when the com bit gets missed out, leaving little except dull meanderings through an unrealistic depiction of pre-war life.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
August 5, 2016
A novel about a young woman in WWII-era Britain who is deemed not to know her place in life, so her uncle/guardian sends her off to be a housemaid at a country estate.
Full review at Another Look Book
Reminded me of:
- “Downton Abbey”; “Upstairs/Downstairs”
- D. E. Stevenson (The Blue Sapphire)
- Vita Sackville-West (The Heir; All Passion Spent; The Edwardians)
- Phillip Rock (The Passing Bells)
Full review at Another Look Book
Reminded me of:
- “Downton Abbey”; “Upstairs/Downstairs”
- D. E. Stevenson (The Blue Sapphire)
- Vita Sackville-West (The Heir; All Passion Spent; The Edwardians)
- Phillip Rock (The Passing Bells)
January 7, 2008
Very cute and funny story about an eccentric, strangely attractive young woman who gets herself in wacky situations. Books like this just make me so happy to be alive and able to read.
February 16, 2018
A simple and amusing little story - easy to whiz through, and good for what ails you! A pleasant way to spend a few winter evenings. I will return to this author!
March 9, 2021
4 Stars
Charming and quite different from the 1946 film.
Charming and quite different from the 1946 film.
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