It's not plot that drives a Barbara Pym novel, it's the characters. And in
Jane and Prudence, Pym has created some delightful ones. Prudence Bates is 29, "an age that is often rather desperate for a woman who has not yet married." She works in London, is in love with her employer, and specializes in unsatisfactory love affairs. Jane Cleveland, on the other hand, is 41, and a clergyman's wife trying to adjust to a new parish, who "reads too many novels." She's a bit scattered and not very domestic, has one daughter, Flora, and is determined to find Prudence a suitable widower to marry. These two friends from Oxford are the heart and soul of this charming novel.
I happily immersed myself in their lives, enjoying their various encounters, sympathizing with their defeats and disappointments, and laughing at their astute observations of life. Take this bit of dialogue between Prudence and Jane's "suitable widower":
"I always think women who write books sound rather formidable."
"You'd prefer them to be stupid and feminine? To think men are wonderful?" (Prudence)
"Well, every man likes to be though wonderful. A woman need not necessarily be stupid to admire a man."
See what I mean? Pym's writing (like Jane Austen's) is witty and insightful and her novels are delightful and funny. My favorite is still
Excellent Women, but I enjoyed this one almost as much. Plus, it filled another category for me in the What's In A Name Reading Challenge that I'm participating in this year. (Not that I needed another reason to read this Barbara Pym novel; her novels are reason enough.)
Happy Reading!
What's in a Name 2014 Reading Challenge Update: 2 books read; 3 more to go.
Category completed with this read: Read a book that has a forename (or names) in the title.
