Barbara Pym

by Cotsell Michael

Out of routine and small moments of modest, unfulfilled lives, Barbara Pym created a fine and sensitive comedy that delicately catches the way we sustain interest in our own lives and those of others, grow and are illuminated, and bear with loneliness and age. This study shows the perceptiveness of her sexual comedy and her awareness of social change, as well as her subtle and sophisticated use of language and narrative form. Michael Cotsell places Pym among the great explorers of human value in the modern world.

164 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

Reviews

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cotsell's critical examination of Barbara Pym's novels came out in 1989, a decade after the author's death. It was the conclusion of ten years of Pym idolatry in which her unpublished works, a collection of letters and diaries, a biography and a cookbook were released, as well as several other critical analyses in this vein. I think Cotsell's is the best of the period, although new readers are advised this is very light on biographical detail and assumes familiarity with the novels.

Cotsell benefits from the fact that his book comes out after all of the others. He is able to offer a more nuanced retrospective view on the "Pym mania", reflecting on both the positive and negative appraisals, the strengths and weaknesses of the works, and their genesis. Most importantly, he is clear-eyed in his attempt to locate Pym's works within both English history and the changing literary tastes of the mid-20th century. He is particularly perceptive on the clash between modernism and the traditionalists, and Pym's gradual awareness of political and social realities. I also enjoy his view on how and why the Americans took to Pym from 1978 onward - perhaps largely because it matches my own!

So, in closing, not a biography, but a smart overview of the novels from a critical perspective.