Diary of a Provincial Lady (1930)E. M. Delafield (1890-1943)THE ORIGINAL
TEXT OF THIS RECORDING IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN COUNTRIES WHERE
COPYRIGHT EXPIRES 70 YEARS OR LESS AFTER THE AUTHOR'S DEATH, BUT IS
STILL PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT IN THE USA AND SOME OTHER COUNTRIES. PLEASE
CHECK THE COPYRIGHT LAW OF YOUR COUNTRY BEFORE PURCHASINGABOUT THE
story: First published in 1930, this charming, funny book is a warm
portrait of a middle-class English family and their village life. Our
heroine recounts the mundane delights and disasters of her household,
dealing with constant money worries, the challenges of finding & keeping
a really good parlourmaid, and how best to retain grace towards her
fellow humans in the face of their astonishing range of foibles. It's
also a wonderfully genuine description of a marriage, with all the
little ups and downs of rubbing along with the same person for so many
years.About the author: Edmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood, née de la
Pasture (9 June 1890 - 2 December 1943), commonly known as E. M.
Delafield, was a prolific English author who is best-known for her
largely autobiographical Diary of a Provincial Lady, which took the form
of a journal of the life of an upper-middle class Englishwoman living
mostly in a Devon village of the 1930s, and its sequels in which the
Provincial Lady buys a flat in London and travels to America. Other
sequels of note are her experiences looking for war-work during the
Phoney War in 1939, and her experiences as a tourist in the Soviet
Union."Notice, and am gratified by, large clump of crocuses near the
front gate. Should like to make whimsical and charming reference to
these and try to fancy myself as 'Elizabeth of the German Garden', but
am interrupted by Cook, saying that the Fish is here, but he's only
bought cod and haddock, and the haddock doesn't smell any too fresh, so
what about cod? Have often noticed that Life is like
that."ReviewsGlorious, simply glorious―DAILY TELEGRAPHShe converts the
small and familiar dullness of life into laughter―The TIMESI reread, for
the nth time, E. M. Delafield's dry, caustic Diary of a Provincial Lady,
and howled with laughter―India KnightI finished the book in one sitting,
leaving the children unbathed, dogs unwalked, a husband unfed, and
giving alternate cries of joy and recognition throughout―Jully
CooperFrom the PublisherThe Provincial Lady has a nice house, a nice
husband (usually asleep behind The Times) and nice children.
