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Cheerfulness Breaks In

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Cheerfulness Breaks In

By: Angela Thirkell
Narrated by: Elaine Claxton
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'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York Times

It is summer 1939 and the social event of the year is about to take place: Rose Birkett, a flighty beauty with a penchant for breaking engagements and hearts, is finally getting married, and the whole village - especially her parents - breathes a sigh of relief.

By autumn, however, summer weddings seem a distant memory as war reaches Barsetshire. While the younger generation throws itself into the war effort with cheerful aplomb, older residents remember the last war keenly, and are fearful.

When an entire London school of evacuees arrive, as well as a number of refugees, the village rallies round to accommodate them. Some inhabitants, though, fail to welcome the newcomers with open arms.

First published in 1940, this is a humorous and poignant picture of wartime in a rural community.©2026 The Estate of Angela Thirkell (P)2026 Little, Brown Book Group Limited City Life Classics Family Life Genre Fiction Small Town & Rural Urban Village War Heartfelt Witty
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Critic reviews

You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own
The novels are a delight, with touches of E. F. Benson, E. M. Delafield and P. G. Wodehouse
Charming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself
All stars
Most relevant
This is a view of England in 1940 which is fresh, honest, and funny. It is positive and cheerful and full of common sense. The narrator gives an excellent performance. The novel includes a little bit of French and even that is pronounced perfectly. The sound quality is also excellent – lovely and loud.

Humorous story, beautifully narrated

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