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Jane and Prudence

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Jane and Prudence

By: Barbara Pym
Narrated by: Maggie Mash
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About this listen

 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

INTRODUCED BY JILLY COOPER

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

'I devoured all her books, but Jane and Prudence remains my favourite' JILLY COOPER

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

If Jane Cleveland and Prudence Bates seem an unlikely pair to be walking together at an Oxford reunion, neither of them is aware of it. They couldn't be more different: Jane is a rather incompetent vicar's wife, who always looks as if she is about to feed the chickens, while Prudence, a pristine hothouse flower, has the most unsuitable affairs. With the move to a rural parish, Jane is determined to find her friend the perfect man. She learns, though, that matchmaking has as many pitfalls as housewifery.

'This comedy of manners is a salutary reminder of just how good Barbara Pym was . . . This book is a gem' THE TIMES©1953 Barbara Pym (P)2011 Hachette Digital Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Marriage Village Funny

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All stars
Most relevant  
This is one of my favourite Barbara Pym novels. I really like Jane. Not so keen on Prue. The narrator was very good. I did not think she over-acted at all. Her clear delineation of the different characters added to my enjoyment.

most enjoyable

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A thoroughly enjoyable reading of this closely-observed comedy of manners, filled with what now seem old-fashioned characters, attitudes & expectations. A nostalgic study of mid-20th century, middle-class life & romance.
My one criticism would be that several characters speech is far too slow & ponderous even for the types & times portrayed. But as a great Pym fan, I still loved it! 🙂

An excellent rendition overall.

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It's hard to say whether it was the poor reading of this book, but i felt pretty disappointed in it, and I am a Barbara Pym fan. Of course BP sets most of her stories in the period after the war, which is a pretty depressing time. However, I've enjoyed her other books a lot. The story here seemed less interesting and the characters held my attention much less than is the case with her other books. Can it really be that the conversation at that time was so banal and shallow, for example?
I think now that Angela Thirkell has overtaken BP as my favourite author of that genre; Summer Half and August Folly, for example, are quite outstanding in my view, but they do have the benefit of being set in pre-war England and therefore lack that grey sadness that is at once one of Pym's strengths and also perhaps a drawback.

My least favourite Barbara Pym

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Another enjoyment of small lives enriched by constrained imaginings in post-WW2 London and environs from the author who made this territory her own. Not as funny as the delightful “Certain Women” (possibly Pym’s best) but superbly performed and a worthwhile listening experience on that score alone.

The joy of meagre things

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A real joy to finally have some Barbara Pym here..if you've never read or listened to any of her books you are in for a real treat and if you have.. well you know already how good this is going to be. I'm keeping everything crossed that we get some more Pym...........please!!!

More Please

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The book is a delight, though a shame to have a number of plot points revealed in Jilly Cooper's introduction (less easy to skip in an audiobook). Not overfond of Maggie Mash's narration – she over-enunciates, and simply misunderstands the tone of a considerable portion of the dialogue.

A delight

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Barbara Pym deserves very much greater public recognition than she has so far received. There is so much to love and admire in her work which has a charm and humour all it's own. I will definitely seek out all her other books.
That I endured the agonising narration to the end of the book speaks volumes for the author. Maggie Mash managed to make all the characters spoken dialogue sound slow, ponderous, pretentious and generally robbed them all of any of the character, intonation and humour obviously intended by the author. If this is the only audio version of this book, please take my advice and read it instead!!

Loved the book - hated the narrator!

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Barbara Pym is the modern Austin. You can't go wrong with any of her novels. a
A delicious read.

excellent

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Sorry to have to say this, but the vocal performance of the narrator is terrible - really slow and ponderous, with no feel for the nuance of the text. Such a pity.

Ruined by poor narration.

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Sharp observation and wonderful use of English but marred by a less than adequate delivery which was over deliberate, often plodding.

Middle class life in the fifties.

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