Excellent Women cover art

Excellent Women

'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' Richard Osman

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Excellent Women

By: Barbara Pym, Alexander McCall Smith - introduction
Narrated by: Gerri Halligan, Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

 INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH

'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN

Mildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life - birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sale, the garden fête spoilt by bad weather'. Her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, seem to be facing a marital crisis. One cannot take sides in these matters, though it is tricky, especially as Mildred has a soft spot for dashing young Rockingham Napier. This is Barbara Pym's world at its funniest and most touching.

'One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

'Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life' ANNE TYLER

'Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise' THE TIMES©1952 Barbara Pym Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Witty Feel-Good

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Critic reviews

I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym (Richard Osman)
Why shouldn't the lives of cardigan-wearing spinsters and fussy confirmed bachelors be the engines of some of the finest comic writing in English? Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise
Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life (Anne Tyler)
One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century (Alexander McCall Smith)
All stars
Most relevant

Any additional comments?

As others have pointed out, this is narrated by Gerri Halligan, not Jonathan Keeble, and she does a really excellent job.

Barbara Pym is someone, I imagine, that you either love or don't really understand ... Her observation is brilliant, and the gentle but continuous humour flows primarily from this. I read a review which pointed out that few if any other authors manage this without making the characters themselves comedic, whereas Pym's are all completely believable.

Definitely recommended if you appreciate quiet, thoughtful, humour.

A marvellous book, and brilliantly narrated

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Hard to say anything that has not been said before. I am 20 years younger than Miss Pym, literally the next generation and I found the situations that she described familiar. Her control over her material is absolute and this quickly establishes trust between author and reader. One is safe to relax and enjoy a trip into an intimate transitional world.

Remains Relevant

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There is an excellent earlier recording of Juliet Stevenson reading this book and everything that is wonderful about that recording is lacking here. Unfortunately this reader seems to have no understanding of Pym’s wit or irony and the result is so awful it is almost comic. I keep trying to listen, as it is one of my favourite Pym novels, but this was my final attempt.

Awful reading of wonderful book

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A superb production of one of my favourite novels. A revealing portrayal of the lot of the single woman in post-war austerity Britain.

Wonderful Barbara Pym

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For those who know and love Miss Pym, ‘Excellent Women’ is right on point. For those who don’t already know her, I don’t want the responsibility for inviting them to absorb her world, only for them to tell me they ‘didn’t get it’ or simply that they ‘didn’t enjoy it’. So as I say, to all those who know and enjoy Pym. You will enjoy EW too!

Pym for Pym fans

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