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Excellent Women

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Excellent Women

By: Barbara Pym
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Gerry Halligan
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About this listen

Mildred Lathbury is one of those 'excellent women' who is often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations of life - birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sales, the garden fete spoilt by bad weather'. As such, she often gets herself embroiled in other people's lives - especially those of her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, whose marriage seems to be on the rocks.

One cannot take sides in these matters, though it is tricky, especially as Mildred, teetering on the edge of spinsterhood, has a soft spot for dashing young Rockingham Napier. This is Barbara Pym's world at its funniest and most touching.

©1952 Barbara Pym (P)2011 Hachette Digital Classics Funny Witty Feel-Good

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All stars
Most relevant  
Nothing of any note happens at all and that’s absolutely fine!
Couldn’t help but laugh at some of the outdated concepts and I wondered at times if it’s a parody? Is it?
But yes i so wish today was like these times where everyone had a place/a job to do and was happy with that.
Well worth a read will cheer you up. :)

Charming account of days gone by

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I've always been a fan of Barbara Pym and that very gentle genre of writing. On this listen, however, I found I had tired a little of the old fashioned storyline. That being said, Pym's wit and humour are always enjoyable.

A classic Pym

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This is an enjoyable read with extremely good characterisations but I felt the narration lacked something. It was played straight and so lost the less obvious subtle levels of irony that are intrinsic in the writing. I also thought that a more clipped enunciation would have been more appropriate to the genteel 50s setting as successfully used by Patricia Hodge or Juliet Stevenson.

Enjoyable but ....

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Pym is as an acute, subtle and witty social observer as Jane Austen. Loved it!

A period piece

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Barbara Pyms’ novels are like curling up in front of a fire on a Winters night with a mug of cocoa. Nothing much happens but somehow they still keep you interested. I like the quiet humour and the feeling of a more gentle time.

Comforting

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It's a perfect match between author and reader. it is enormously enjoyable and I highly recommend.

lovely writing beautifully read.

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This was my first intro to BP and I am now addicted thanks to this wonderful , atmospheric performance. Who knew a world full of vicars, teapots and excellent women could be so intriguing. Thank you!

Delicious !

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I enjoyed this book, though I had to listen on 1.25 speed as I prefer a more clipped tone, which I feel is more in keeping with the strange charm of Barbara Pym's books. They really depict another world! I find them very relaxing to listen to whilst sewing.

another world!

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This is a wonderful novel, clever, subtle, and hunorous. This is a gem of a novel, and the narration is excellent.

A Brilliant, Subtle.Book

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The novel itself is fine- but as an audio-book it doesn't really tick all the boxes.



Firstly it has to be pointed out that it is NOT (as described) narrated by Jonathan Keeble- he reads the introduction by Alexander Maccoll Smith- but from there on Geri Halligan (sp?) takes over.



She reads it much better than I could have done- but I'm afraid she's not really out of the top-drawer of narrators- she falls down badly on the male voices, which tend to be nasal, same-ish and lacking in the necessary charm.



I also felt that a posher, more clipped voice would have suited the middle-class post-war Pym world better- Another narrator (without turning it into a Brief Encounter parody) might have captured the 'feel' of the period better.



Excellent novel- middling reader.

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