This is the third book (or second depending on which list you use) in a series by Angela Thirkell set in the fictional county of Barsetshire created by Anthony Trollope. The books were written between 1933 and 1961 (this one in 1934). They are generally a light and delightful blend of social satire, comedy and romance.

The story revolves around the Leslie family and their family home Rushwater. The cast is confusing at first but I soon had them all sorted out. Lady Emily is the absentminded matriarch. Her daughter Agnes is equally silly. Emily’s sons John (a young widower) and David (much more interested in fun than work) don’t live at home but visit often. The Leslie’s eldest son died in the Great War and his 16 year old son. Martin is the heir and visiting the family for the summer. Also visiting is Mary Preston who is the niece of Agnes’s husband.

Romance is In the air as Mary falls for the imminently unsuitable David when everyone knows that John is the better match for her. Visitors in the neighborhood from France add more fun and a bit of fervor to restore the French Monarchy that fails to disrupt Martin’s birthday party near the end of the summer.

It’s light with more fun than substance but all in all entertaining. This is the first I’ve listened to instead of reading. Hilary Neville is a good narrator. I will likely get the next book on audio even though it has a different narrator. ( )

Re-read was enjoyable. Original review follows...


This was delightful.
*Possible spoilers? I don't know, I'll try not to give endings away, at least.*
It took me about two chapters to get into it. Evidently one of Angela Thirkell's trademarks is to throw A WHOLE BUNCH of characters at you and then hope that you get them all sorted out pretty quick. This may even be one of her easier ones, but it still took me a little while to settle everyone's role in my mind. The more you read, the easier it gets though, because everyone is quite well defined as a character.
So, this novel focuses on the Leslies, a well-to-do family with lots of characters. The mother cheerfully and lovingly rearranges any and all plans for those around her, however small, until they become an ineffective mess. Fortunately the servants and the family know to just "carry on" while letting her have her say. She's a lovable character. She and her husband had three sons and a daughter. Their oldest son was killed in war, so they are basically raising their teenage grandson. Their second son, John, is a remarkably kind and intelligent man in his mid-30's, whose wife died after just one year of marriage. Their youngest son, David, is a flirt and a man-about-town, with dozens of ideas for a brilliant career, none of which seem to ever pan out.
Agnes, their daughter, married with several small children of her own, somehow manages to be a bit simple-minded in conversation, yet fairly observant and able to occasionally rise to the situation and save the day.
The catalyst for change is when Agnes' niece by marriage, Mary Preston, comes to stay for the summer. She falls in love with David, the flirtatious son, but also strikes a sympathetic chord in the heart of John, who happens to be in the right time and place to provide a shoulder to lean on when she is going through a little crisis.
Most of the characters have their own story arc going on as the narrative drives forward to the climax, the 17th birthday party of the Leslie grandson.
I laughed quite a lot while reading. This book is extremely cleverly written, and there were times when I just had to pause in delighted surprise at some funny and unexpected moment. I also love how Thirkell gives her readers different shades of some of the characters. Mrs. Leslie could have been nothing but a caricature, with all her ridiculous plans and interference. But the author occasionally dwells on the way that she thinks about her son who was killed in war. Things like that make it hard to pigeonhole these characters with just one word. You have to end up saying, "They're this, but they're also that."
Thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )

I think I'm in love with Angela Thirkell. A lovely story, sweet romance, and one where everything works out in the end. Delightful characters. I really enjoyed disappearing into this world. ( )

This was really good! I'd read High Rising last year and enjoyed it; enough to buy the next couple of books, obviously. But then they languished on the pile for awhile, because High Rising wasn't that good.

But this was great! If you like family pandemonium (the kind where you sit back and wonder at the chaos as each member lives in their own orbit, occasionally bumping up against each other, while all somehow working as one eccentric unit), a smattering of light romance, a lot of tongue-in-cheek stereotyping and a story line that really meanders and goes nowhere in particular, this is a book worth checking out.

It's a historical piece, so there is at least one cringe worthy use of language, but in the context of the time it was written it, it doesn't come across as painful or nasty.

Mostly, it's just a wonderfully silly book. I closed it thinking "that was fun!". ( )

You either love these books, or you hate them, and I love being able to immerse myself in Thirkell’s novels of manners where nothing very much happens, the characters are very silly, and everything turns out all right in the end. In this novel, pretty Mary Preston arrives at the Rushwater estate to spend the summer with her Aunt Agnes who apparently is living their with her parents, her three young children, and her parent’s grandson, Martim There are also two brothers of Agnes who pop in and out with great regularity.

Mary immediately falls for Agnes’ handsome younger brother, David, who is a playboy who doesn’t take life (or work) seriously and is rather self-centered. Agnes and her mother, Lady Emily think a much better match would be with the elder brother, John, who lost his wife presumably in the 1918-19 flu epidemic and who is a much more steady prospect. Everything comes to a head at a dance being given for Martin's 17th birthday, and everyone is all smiles at the end. ( )