A delightful froth of a book. It takes the form of a commonplace book, and much of it is quite silly, in a good way. The Penelope books were written between 1893 and 1915. They are supposed to be the notes that Penelope makes about her travels with her two friends, Salemina and Francesca. They are quite humorous, almost farcical at times, with a strong sense of the time and place, and some fairly low-key romance. One chapter is about how they like to tour London on double-decker buses, their route selection based on the prominent advertisements (like Lipton Tea or Pears Soap) on the sides of the buses. They seem to move in fairly elite social circles, but Penelope's observations include characters from all walks of life. The writing style feels surprisingly modern. They are just fun, with no lessons to be learned, except maybe some history in the later books. ( )

Delightful Edwardian travelogue about 3 American ladies in London and the countryside. ( )