The Foolish Gentlewoman

by Margery Sharp

Light, humorous novel in the usual Sharp style, Isabel Brocken, a sentimental English widow, extends her hospitality to a rather mixed group of friends and relatives who have been left without living quarters by the war.

Sentimental, affectionate, uncritical, Mrs. Bracken so easily attached herself to persons, places, and even objects that after no more than two days in an hotel she had a favourite waiter, a favourite ornament, a favourite view. She had adored her husband, and was very fond of her French pepper-mill.

World War II has ended and widowed Isabel Brocken, kind-hearted and generous if perhaps just a bit foolish, is back in her old family home on the outskirts of London, accompanied by her friend Jacky, just out of the ATS, and her newly-demobilized nephew Humphrey. They're soon joined by Isabel's surly brother-in-law Simon, who has decidedly mixed feelings about her but whose own home is under repair for bomb damage. Into this uneasy mix comes Tilly Cuff, a poor relation to whom Isabel has been inspired-by a rare church venture and a particularly inspiring sermon-to make amends for having, many years before, sabotaged her one chance at romance.

When Tilly proves manipulative and even 'malevolent', the happiness of Isabel's household is threatened. And where the story goes from there is pure unexpected delight. In The Foolish Gentlewoman, Margery Sharp provides us a thoughtful, funny, and terrifically entertaining slice of British life in the immediate aftermath of war.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, British Literature, World War II, Humor

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Margery 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.

Reviews

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore]

A charming piece of fiction, The Foolish Gentlewoman (1948), which falls exactly midway between Margery Sharp’s twenty-five novels for adults (number 13; she also wrote children’s books), unfolds in post-war England. As the book opens, sixty-year-old Simon Brocken, a typical bachelor (with no very high opinion of women, especially their intelligence), arrives at Chipping Hill, the home of his widowed sister-in-law, Isabel Brocken, the ‘foolish gentlewoman’ of the title, where he has been invited to stay while his own home which was damaged in the war is repaired. Here he finds he isn’t the only guest. Isabel’s nephew, Humphrey Garrett, recently demobbed is staying there as is a Miss Jacqueline Brown, who was in the ATS and is now here as Isabel’s companion. Also living on the premises but separately are the Pooles. Mrs Poole was appointed by Simon as caretaker for the house while it was empty, and she continues to stay on doing small chores and the (hot) cooking, while Jacqueline and Isabel take care of the rest. Mrs Poole’s fourteen-year-old daughter, who is very attached to her mother, stays with her. And there’s Isabel’s old Sealyham, Bogie.

This is a rather motely group of people—Isabel, a nice-looking plump widow of fifty-five, who is good natured and good hearted, wanting those around her to be happy, the young ones Humphrey and Jacqueline who are slightly romantically interested in each other but also in much need of rest after the war, while also having to think of what next, and the grumpy and pompous Simon who wishes mostly to be left alone, and disapproves all the changes that have taken place since the wars. But they soon learn to adjust to each other’s ways and settle into a comfortable life. The Pooles have their own routines and enjoyments and neither group bothers much with the other.

But Isabel has something on her mind. Soon after Simon has moved in, Isabel brings up a sermon she has recently heard (and she isn’t a regular church goer) about past ‘sins’ having to be made up, and Simon’s general agreement with these views leads her to extend an invitation to her distant cousin, Tilly Cuff, who had lived with them for a while when Isabel and her sister, Ruth were young, and whom Isabel feels she has wronged. Not only that, she also intends to make over all of her fortune to Tilly. Simon, Humphrey and Jackie are naturally shocked but there seems little they can do to dissuade Isabel from giving effect to her plan, except Simon managing to convince her to delay telling Tilly Cuff the full extent of it at least till the latter settles in. Tilly was not a very likeable person when they first knew her, and Simon hopes perhaps Isabel might change her mind or at least won’t give away all the money.

Even before Tilly’s arrival, the other three seem to dread it, and when she does arrive, things slowly turn from bad to worse. In small ways, Tilly starts to create trouble, raking up matters that were left alone earlier, making every one uncomfortable and nervy and not getting along with each other as they did. Only Isabel seems to carry on as usual and even though she realises Tilly is not very nice, she seems determined to give effect to her plan. Does she? How do things turn out?

I loved reading this book and how Margery Sharp told this unusual little tale. She gives us a good feel of post war England, with the changing face of the neighbourhood—some people having lost their lives, others moved away, old houses lost or badly damaged; the different views and problems—the older ones like Simon and Isabel reminiscing over the world before the war (Isabel more about people and homes, and Simon more about changing mores and lifestyles), while the younger ones are still recovering, and also wondering (particularly Jacqueline who hasn’t had much of an education) what lies ahead for them. Alongside the Pooles are into football pools (er… no pun intended), film stars, and perms, and Mrs Poole goes dancing every week.

The story is gentle and told with humour and yet also realistic all through (Bogey’s loyalties included). We have an assorted set of people who manage to get along happily enough but whose life is disrupted by the arrival of Tilly Cuff. All of them realise that she is trying to make trouble, yet they aren’t able to entirely withstand the effects or carry on as normal. There is no great drama, but small changes and annoyances which make life far less pleasant that it was. None of our characters have any grand changes of heart or transformations, each of them remains as they essentially are at the core, yet some can and do surprise. I liked that despite feeling that Isabel isn’t exactly taking a most sensible decision, the others are almost all able to see and appreciate the sentiment behind it, and none tries to compel her into doing otherwise or into changing her mind (apart from Simon’s obvious disapproval); and that Isabel is the one person who seems to keep her calm and good nature all through while the others are affected in more ways than one.

How things play out at the end is also quite realistic; surprising, but not storybook, which I also thought was nicely done.

4.5 stars

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gently funny and thoughtful novel about life in Britain just after WWII. In the Angela Thirkell, Dodie Smith vein. I really liked it a lot. (I bought this vintage little hardback from the bookstalls outside of the Strand in NYC for $1 -- that may have contributed to how fond I am of the book. But I think it stands on its own merits, too.)

[notgettingenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Austen + Anne Tyler =...?

I wasn't sold on this until the dominant character makes her entrance, which is after quite a long scene-setting. Suddenly the malevolent Tilly appears, whose only pleasure in life seems to be putting spokes in those of others. Even the most well-meaning and delusional of characters can see how utterly ghastly she is. But how to get rid of her? And what of the title-character's idiotic intentions to even the score?

Having read my second Sharp, it's tempting to compare her with Tyler - in the first instance because they both care about their creations and in the second because the endings are never happy.

rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon Brocken wishes it were still 1912. Manners were much more genteel back then, the younger generation (including himself) were not 'flighty' nor rude, and there were servants.

"What he longed to return to was an orderly world. No one, in Mr. Brocken's opinion, had tasted the sweetness of life who had not lived before 1914. What years those were for solid comfort! What servants, what meals, what excellent claret! Simon meditated nostalgically upon this theme for some minutes; but even dearer to his recollection was the general atmosphere of order and decorum."

In short, Simon Brocken liked his comforts. However, Simon's world is about to be drastically changed.

Having never married (women were such a nuisance weren't they?) he finds himself saddled with the oversight of his brother's estate and even worse, his brother Mark's empty-headed widow Isabel.

Isabel confesses to the oh-so-reluctant Simon that she is unable to reconcile the memory of her bad behavior from past years. She is haunted by the memory of her treatment of a distant cousin, Tilly Cuff. Although her mind tends to wander during church, Isabel does hear one line at the end of a Sunday church sermon, and she takes action. She decides it is imperative that she make reparation and gift Tilly with the estate left her by her husband Mark. Simon is extremely dismayed to find his comfortable world threatened. (In short, Simon is 'in a pickle'; a most uncomfortable place to be!)

How Tilly Cuff comes to live with Simon, (who is temporarily rooming in Isabel's home while his is being renovated), Isabel's nephew Humphrey, and Isabel's live-in help and in the process manages to turn the entire household upside down makes for a fast and entertaining read! The ending was quite a surprise, as I waited to see Tilly get her 'comeuppance' and certainly didn't see the author's resolution to the novel coming! It would appear that the 'foolish gentlewoman' is perhaps, not so foolish after all.

I did not realize at first that Margery Sharp was the author of the 'Bianca the mouse' series, the books I read in childhood! This book started a bit slow for me but after a bit it really took off and I greatly enjoyed it.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Foolish Gentlewoman was Margery Sharp’s thirteenth novel in a seemingly long and prolific writing career, yet it is the first that I’ve read. Judging by this novel alone, I feel I have made a discovery; another author I will want to read more of and like so many authors of this era is crying out to be re-issued. Today of course is Margery Sharp day, and I can’t wait to read lots more reviews of books I will almost certainly want to get my hands on.

The Foolish Gentlewoman is set soon after the end of World War Two, when houses are still being repaired from the bombing, and young men and women are slowly picking up the threads of their lives. When Isabel Brocken makes a rare visit to church, she hears one particular line of an otherwise unmemorable sermon, and takes to heart its message. It is a message that will have a lasting effect on the inhabitants of her household, and even upon her own future.

Full review https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2015/...

[Maritza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just so cosy, genuine, witty.
The main character, this foolish gentlewoman, is regarded as such by pragmatic relatives. However, the most important is that her being foolish was following her conscience, and trying to make amendments on past actions. This is truly deep, as deep as the reader chooses to judge it (this because the book is light-hearted, approachable, and still, thought-provoking).
The characters are believable, genuine, very well depicted. This was very enjoyable and entertaining. I wish more booktubers would be talking about Margery Sharp's work. It is really interesting, well-written, well-structured, cosy and also a great opportunity to think differently than what is considered reasonable and politically correct.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Margery Sharp's "Britannia Mews" at the library sale and brought it home as it was a youthful favorite of mine, as was the movie based on the book. Though Sharp was a prolific author of adult novels, it's only her children's books that are readily available. As a result I ordered "The Foolish Gentlewoman," "Cluny Brown" and "Four Gardens" from used book-dealers on line. The first two cost under $4.00 each but the last one was almost $25! However, you can imagine how much the title appealed to me. Still have to read Cluny Brown but the other two remind me very much of some of the interwar-year titles published by Persephone Books. They are very slow paced and I often want to smack the woman who is the main character. But if you can get into the spirit of them and the culture that produced them, then the are quite amusing and rewarding. They won't be everyone's cup of tea but they are well-worth the effort if you can find them at a good price. Though I still liked Britannia Mews on re-reading it, I think it is quite different from Gentlewoman and Four Gardens. I'll let you know where Cluny Brown fits into Sharp's oeuvre when I've read it.

[Abigail Bok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Margery Sharp’s first novel, Rhododendron Pie, filled me with excitement—a new favorite author! Accessible but fresh! Witty like Jane Austen! Wise beyond her years! I was eager to read everything I could get my hands on.

The Foolish Gentlewoman, published twenty years later, should have shown me a mature writer at the height of her powers. Sadly, it showed an author who had settled into a comfortable, undemanding rhythm, no longer bothering to reach for originality or challenge, for herself or for the reader. It was still an enjoyable book for those who like retro fiction, but I had hoped to be more impressed.

The scene is set in a suburb of London in the immediate aftermath of World War II, a time of ongoing shortages and massive physical and social dislocation. Isabel Brocken, a widow, has fared better than most: one of her two houses on Chipping Hill (her childhood home) was not bombed, and she has returned to live in the old pile with a companion, a caretaker with daughter, a nephew, and her brother-in-law, who doubles as her man of business. They are an ill-assorted group but rub along until Isabel decides, out of guilt for a past wrong, to invite an indigent cousin to join the group. Tilly, the cousin, is a terrifying caricature of the paid companion scraping by, her whole personality turned grotesque by years of financial insecurity and emotional deprivation. She becomes a destructive force in the household, sending various residents spinning off course.

The book is interesting as a window on the price paid by ordinary citizens for war, especially war that hits the home front. (We Americans have no experience of this level of dislocation.) The loss of comfort, of old-fashioned lifeways, people having to learn how to cope with impoverishment and loss, all are on low-key display here. The people least affected by disaster cling most fervently to their memories of a lost life; others shoulder their new burdens with zest or resignation. It was touching, but the lack of a clear center or a character to root for made it a bit of a low-stakes read. The author herself defensively refers to the ending more than once as an anticlimax. Isabel alone rises to the occasion, but in a rather self-abnegating way that is more a shirking than an embrace of her potential. This felt like the product of a tired writer, unfortunately.

[Austen to Zafón · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first couple of chapters of this book, I thought, "Oh no, this is going to be like an Angela Thirkell book. Classist snobs I find it difficult to care about. Money being hoarded." But then it picks up and I found that it was a more of a psychological study of how people cope with one another. Sort of like a country-house mystery, but without the murder. You learn about people's backgrounds and why they do the sometimes weird or malicious things they do. Her sharp (pun intended) observations about motives reminded me more of Muriel Spark (whose last name also reflects her writing) than Thirkell. Sharp is best known for her children's series, The Rescuers, about mice who complete heroic rescues. It was fun to read her writing for adults.

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote about this book here: https://theblankgarden.wordpress.com/...

[lilias · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grandmother’s initials sit on the corner of one of the first pages of this book, and I thought of her a lot as I read it. It’s a very funny book but also quite sad for subtle reasons. Sharp’s characters remind me a lot of Wodehouse’s, and I have missed his writing a lot since I haven’t been able to pick up a book of his in years, since learning of his anti-semitism. Like, Wodehouse, Sharp’s characters are quite complex, and their inner thoughts and impressions of one another are at the center of their development.

[Shaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the aftermath of WWII, this captures the atmosphere of the time and the way people thought and lived through well observed characters who are by turn selfish, a bit cruel, foolish, kind and generally quite well-drawn.
I didn't really find this funny for the most part, I don't think it's meant to be, but occasionally there was a phrase or comment that I found quite witty.

[Shawn Mooney (Shawn Breathes Books)]

50 pages in, I hadn't gotten invested. Automatic bail.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the first part of this novel rather ho hum (3***), but my enjoyment level really picked up when Miss Tilly Cuff entered the story (5*****).

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isabel Brocken owned two homes: her own family home and the home of her husband, now deceased. Sadly, her husband's home was bombed during the war, so she is very glad that she never sold Chipping Hill. Her brother-in-law, Simon, has been bombed out also, so he is coming to Chipping Hill; along with the caretaker and her daughter, the house also contains Humphrey Garrett, Isabel's nephew, and Jacqueline Brown, Isabel's companion.

Thus the stage is set for not a grand drama, but for a quiet comedy. Isabel has recently heard a snippet of a sermon that awakens her conscience to a wrong she did long ago and she is determined to put it right. So she invites Tilly Cuff, a poor relation, to Chipping Hill as well - and that puts an end to the quiet. Tilly is not a Nice Person. She interferes and tries to cause mischief. Isabel says it's because Tilly has had such a miserable life, which was Isabel's fault (and that much may be true), but the others don't see quite why they should all suffer.

Simon's inner monologue is the narrator for most of this story. Simon doesn't really like people much - he considers himself very fortunate to have never married. "Mr. Brocken enjoyed these afternoons as much as he enjoyed anything; they rested and relaxed him. They also confirmed his opinion that the prime condition of rest and relaxation was the absence of anyone else."

Furthermore, he is old-fashioned and rather proud of the fact. As he tells Humphrey, "I look back to 1912 as the highest point of civilization, from which we have been steadily retrogressing ever since."

I quite sympathize with Simon's viewpoints. Unfortunately for him, Isabel is extremely obstinate in her own way even though Simon feels she hasn't a brain in her head. Brain or not, once she has the idea of how to pay for her past crimes, no amount of arguing will dissuade her.

I haven't read much of Ms. Sharp's work, just this one and Cluny Brown. But I quite enjoy her style of writing - a quiet, almost sly, certainly dry sense of humor. And her stories contain unexpected twists that still manage to be in character for the characters.

3.75 stars.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat dated since it was written in the 1940's, but an interesting look at how malicious women totally changed the lives of a group of people, except for one man whose life maybe should have changed.

[Lore Lippincott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memorable combination of shallowness and depth, both in the characters' lives and the intertwining story.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and funny novel about thoughtless sin and thoughtful redemption, bitter regret and remorseful gratitude.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might pass for a rather charming, slightly quirky but delightful read were it not for the fact that one of the major characters is downright devious and another one is too naïve for her own good. Oddly enough that was one the things that kept me reading.

It’s set in the years immediately following WWII in a wealthy London suburb where many stately homes were badly damaged. But Chipping Hill survived and is home to the widowed Isabel Brock and her bachelor brother-in-law Simon who is awaiting repairs to his own residence.

Undeniably the foolish gentlewoman of the title, Isabel has heard a sermon that leaves her convinced she has done a terrible injustice to Tilly Cuff, a woman she once knew as a girl (but hasn’t seen since) and the only way to make amends is to give her all the money she’s inherited. Simon’s attempts to make her realize that perhaps that’s a little extreme fall on deaf ears and so Tilly is invited to come to Chipping Lodge for a visit in order for Isabel to find the right opportunity to make amends.

Turns out that Tilly is a thoroughly unlikable person and even the naïve but tender-hearted Isabel discovers she’s not the person she had assumed she was. In fact, Tilly is probably one of the more thoroughly un-likable characters I’ve come across in a novel in a long time and Isabel’s stubborn refusal to abandon her plans leaves the reader wondering whether she’ll come to her senses before the book ends. And if she doesn’t, what kind of ending are we in for?!! It’s what kept me reading in spite of how much I disliked both Tilly and Isabel.

What I enjoyed the most about this book was Margery Sharp’s wonderful way of bringing her characters to life – especially the fussy old Simon Brock who had almost as many rough edges as Tilly – although they were much easier to put up with because he wasn’t as vicious and cruel as Tilly or as mindless as Isabel. Simon was my favorite character, possibly because the novel was told from his point of view and it was definitely a curmudgeonly one: “It was his habit to avoid people whenever possible, in case they became a nuisance. For Simon was profoundly convinced that all people became a nuisance sooner or later; logic and arithmetic, informed him that the fewer people one became involved with, the less danger one ran of being annoyed.”

And so Simon went harrumphing through the pages of this novel leaving me glad I was reading it in spite of how much I disliked the other major characters.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every once in a while it's fun to read an old fashioned book with no blood, guts, sex, violence and bad language. This was such a book I found on Ebay for a few dollars and it's a first edition 1948 book that sounded interesting.

Margery Sharp wrote British fiction and I kept thinking the time period was the turn of the century with proper etiquette and a woman who was not exactly rich, but still had live in help in a large and lovely home, but in fact it was actually a later time period.

Isabel Brocken is a sweet and sentimental English widow who extends her hospitality to a rather mixed group of friends and relatives who have been left without living quarters by the war. Each character, including the help, have minds of their own and are opinionated when it comes to Isabel wanting to give her money to a spoiled and selfish distant relative.

In the end it's rather clever how she works it out and it comes to light who is actually more selfish than the obvious.

A light and comic read through another time in a lovely home in the English countryside. I enjoyed the change of pace.

[Grier · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Shatterlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took a while to get going and then didn’t really go the way you think it will, but was charming in parts with a wry humour. It was worth the perseverance.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isabel Brocken is a well off widow who has come back to live in the large Victorian house where she grew up, having spent the war years living in a hotel in Bath. Staying in the house with her are her nephew Humphrey, and her young companion Jacqueline, and her irascible brother in law Simon Brocken, whose own house is being repaired having suffered bomb damage. There are also the enigmatic Pooles, mother and daughter, who have acted as caretakers during the war years and now occupy a rather vague position as not quite servants. But Isabel has a guilty secret, years ago as a girl she wronged her distant cousin Tilly, a poor relation who lived with them, and now she is determined to make amends, much to the dismay of the other inhabitants of the house. Tilly comes to stay and maddens everybody, but Isabel remains resolute in her purpose. This is a very entertaining novel with a great cast of characters, in particular Simon Brocken, from whose exasperated point of view the story is mostly told, and the Pooles, in whom he develops a reluctant interest. And of course the infuriating Tilly, who might be the villain of the piece in a more ordinary story, but who is here given her share of sympathy. Fascinating too that even post Ww2, the role of companion had not entirely died out.

[Franceseattle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only my second Sharp novel for adults, but I will definitely go ahead and plow forward through the others. Sharp's writing is exquisite, and she's really the only author whose viewpoint, attitude to her characters, and language construction actually remind me of Jane Austen's. Like Austen, she is a realist, and there are similar touches of humor. However, because of the emotionally unsatisfying, anticlimactic ending, I just couldn't warm up enough to this book to give it more than 3 stars.

On a sidenote, all throughout reading this novel, I kept thinking how superbly a talented screenwriter could adapt this for the BBC, and staff with a whole host of fantastic older British actors and actresses. The Flowering Thorn would also lend itself well to this sort of treatment. BBC, please, anyone listening out there?

[Jenalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of her books are as good as The Nutmeg Tree. This had its moments, but I was bored.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Margery Sharp novel. (Hardcover/used)

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very gentle story about very gentle people. I knew it was going to be a bore to read but have so few books to choose from.

[Ness · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky and contemplative novel set in post-WW2 England. Isabel Brocken, a middle-aged wealthy widow and the titular foolish gentlewoman, influenced by an offhand phrase from a sermon she had only half-listened to, sets out to right an old wrong done to a distant relative. She invites the unfortunate cousin, Tilly, over to stay at her house with the full intent of giving her all her money as compensation. However, as Isabel finds out (and as do all the other residents of the house), unfortunate people aren't necessarily nice people. For Tilly's miserable existence has only turned her into a malicious and envious busybody, who plots to disrupt the lives of everyone around her.

The novel is a character study on how poverty and the struggle for survival can warp a person's very nature. Tilly is as much a product of her life situation as Isabel is a product of hers. She has developed a habit of scheming against others primarily as a proactive defence mechanism. She eavesdrops on conversations to discover if others are conspiring against her (as they so often do). She takes pleasure in tyrannizing those even more unfortunate in life than her, for if she isn't happy, why should everyone else not be miserable? She's a pathetic and pitiful antagonist, and I felt absurdly infuriated at myself for feeling twinges of sympathy for her.

Fittingly enough, the story is told from the point-of-view of Isabel's stuffy brother-in-law, Simon. Simon, who has been forced to temporarily lodge with Isabel due to his own house being destroyed in the war, is about as different from his sister-in-law as one could possibly be. Where she is charming and open-hearted and forbearing, he is irascible and orthodox and inflexible. Simon has clear ideas about his brother's widow wasting his brother's money on a foolish quest to redress a youthful mistake. He considers the intrusion of Tilly into his life as both irritating and unnecessary. But as much as Isabel values and relies on Simon for his assistance in her endeavour, the one thing Simon can't shake is Isabel's stubborn sense of right and wrong. Simon, like the reader, can only watch powerlessly as the headstrong Isabel plunges straight into her hare-brained scheme. The results of which, well, you'll have to read to find out...

[Karen (Living Unabridged) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another look at post-war England, this time from Margery Sharp. I usually find Ms. Sharp a witty and perceptive writer (if a little more...blunt or hard edged than D.E. Stevenson or Elizabeth Cadell). If I was rating this book based on the start, it would be four stars. If I was rating it based on the ending...well, two would be generous. (I split the difference and gave it three. But I stayed up late to finish this and I was so disappointed I seriously considered giving it one.)

Hiding the rest behind spoilers:
The characters are well, if sparingly drawn. Isabel Brocken is likeable (as almost everyone in the story points out. But she really is). I imagined her as a Debbie Reynolds type, honestly. (Possibly because she calls everyone she knows "Dear.") Simon Brocken is grouchy and impossible in a mostly amusing way. Humphrey was funny but also vulnerable. Jacqueline was likeable but possibly the least described of the main characters.

And then there is Tilly Cuff. My word. Picture one of the most spiteful spinsters L.M. Montgomery ever imagined. And then picture that horrible creature triumphing over everything good and beautiful and humorous.

Because that is what happens here. There's no "happily ever after" for any of the characters unless you count Tilly. The happy and hard-working home, where people are recovering from the mass trauma of a World War, as described at the beginning of the book is destroyed. Simon ends the book, going along as he began, because he's a basically selfish creature anyway. I think the readers are supposed to think the ending is wryly humorous, maybe? But Simon almost, almost cared about something and someone(s) more than himself near the end. And Humphrey and Jacky almost found a way to recover from the war together and they truly do care for Mrs. Brocken and her house. And ultimately, Isabel doesn't deserve the fate that befalls her, even if she chooses it herself.

So...this story did not do what I expected at all. Maybe Ms. Sharp was in a depressed, cynical mood when she wrote it. But it wasn't worth staying up past my bedtime to read and it's going to take several light, frothy novels to erase this bitter taste.

[Pascale · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an uncharacteristic fit of jealousy, Isabel Brocken once tore up a marriage proposal destined for a plain and not much loved poor relative, Tilly Cuff. Since that day, Isabel has married and been widowed, and led an uneventful and blameless life. The year is now 1946. Isabel shares her dilapidated childhood home with her rigid brother in law Simon, who has been bombed out of his own home, her amiable nephew Humphrey, a pleasant paid companion, Jacqueline, and 2 unobtrusive "caretakers", Mrs Poole and her daughter Greta. Everybody in the household rubs along just fine until Isabel takes it into her head to invite Tilly to move in with them in order to make amends for the past. In an admirable spirit of atonement, she even intends to abase herself in front of Tilly and offer her her entire fortune. Simon strongly disapproves, and Humphrey would quite like the house himself, but nothing will deter Isabel from her noble project. As could be expected, all hell breaks loose when Tilly arrives and starts smelling Isabel's guilt, although she has no inkling of its cause. After a lifetime of working mostly for invalid old ladies for low wages and scant gratitude, Tilly has turned into a bitter and malicious old maid out to make trouble for anybody who crosses her path. She takes it into her head to have Greta, who has no scholastic abilities and worships her mother, away to boarding school on Isabel's dime, just to flex some muscles. She disrupts the burgeoning idyl between Humphrey and Jackie (irreparably, as it turns out). But when Isabel finally tells her of her plan to deed all her assets to her, Tilly turns out to be less greedy than expected. Instead of accepting Isabel's money outright, she begs her distant cousin to leave the house to Humphrey and to move with her to a hotel in Bath. Warped by a hard life, Tilly is no monster after her, just a disagreeable old fool with genuine affection for Isabel and their shared memories. This simple story is tartly and elegantly told in immaculate British prose.