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Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M.…
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Diary of a Provincial Lady (1930)

by E. M. Delafield

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Provincial Lady (1)

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6851912,693 (4.1)133
Recently added byUndreya, private library, maribou, Rosalind, dexcat, popscratch, rglossne, SChant, Rose_F
Legacy LibrariesHelene Hanff
1930s (16) 2008 (6) 20th century (17) biography (4) British (27) British literature (12) classic (6) country life (4) diary (36) England (29) English (11) English literature (9) favorite (5) fiction (123) Folio (5) Folio Society (17) historical (4) humor (74) literature (7) memoir (8) novel (11) own (4) read (7) satire (5) to-read (19) unread (5) Virago (26) Virago Modern Classics (16) VMC (6) women (9)
  1. 20
    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (lydiabarr)
    lydiabarr: Austen and Delafield are often compared...both have shrewdly observational sense of humor and an elaborately deadpan style. I love them both.
  2. 10
    Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson (pamelad)
  3. 00
    And God Created the Au Pair by Benedicte Newland (mumoftheanimals)
    mumoftheanimals: Similar class and wit but set in England between WW1 and WWII.
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English (18)  Spanish (1)  All languages (19)
Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)
Quite amusing. But how different, how very different, from the home life of my own sister-in-law! (Who lives in one half of what was E. M. Delafield's house.) ( )
1 vote annesadleir | Oct 21, 2012 |
Diary of a Provincial Lady is just the absolutely most boring book. The first 80 pages or so, are kind of OK, from the historical point of view, as the reader gets a peek into the interbellum; Naturally, nothing ever happens in the life of a provincial lady, even one with literary aspirations, so the book is a chain series of gossip + husband + reading list. The provincial lady mainly reads a lot of second, and third-rate novels from the Edwardian era to her own time.

I wouldn't know what readers then or now could get out of it, except as a way of passing the time. ( )
  edwinbcn | Sep 7, 2012 |
Abandoned 1/3 of the way in. A lady finds life so confusing while having to deal with servants who make her life possible but insist on having their own opinions. When she writes about writers or writing she was perceptive and amusing. Otherwise, I kind of wanted to drown her. ( )
  Citizenjoyce | Aug 26, 2012 |
Written as a diary, this look into life 80 years ago shines brightly. She faces so much of what modern women face. Even though she is a housewife and mother with servents, I am certain she is busier than I am and I work full time too. Her thoughts tickle just right, especially about never looking to close at one's own motives as one may become uncomfortable. Or the lies we tell to be gracious. She is always reading something or the other, and I found myself making lists of her books to put on my TBR shelf. ( )
  BeckyMcW | Nov 25, 2011 |
The diary portrays the life of a middle-class suburbian woman as she tackles her household with all its eccentricities, bills, children and most importantly the snobby neighbors. Allows you to experience reality with a pinch of much needed humor. ( )
  Ashraks | Nov 21, 2011 |
Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
E. M. Delafieldprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Cooper, JillyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Watts, ArthurIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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November 7th.--Plant the indoor bulbs.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Note: This book, Diary of a Provincial Lady (Prion, 1853753688) (Virago, 1844085228) (Remploy, 0706610342) (Chicago, 0897330536) is NOT the same as the omnibus editions, The Diary of a Provincial Lady (Virago, 0860685225) and The Provincial Lady (Macmillan, pre-ISBN) which contain 4 stories: "Diary of a Provincial Lady"; "The Provincial Lady Goes Further", "The Provincial Lady in War Time"; and, "The Provincial Lady in America".
Please do not combine this work with The Diary of a Provincial Lady (Virago, 0860685225) or The Provincial Lady (Macmillan, pre-ISBN).
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Book description
Behind this rather prim title lies the hilarious fictional diary of a disaster-prone lady of the 1930s, and her attempts to keep her somewhat ramshackle household from falling into chaos: there's her husband Robert, who, when he's not snoozing behind The Times, does everything with grumbling reluctance; her gleefully troublesome children; and a succession of tricky servants who invariably seem to gain the upper hand. And if her domestic trials are not enough, she must keep up appearances. Particularly with the maddeningly patronising Lady Boxe, whom our Provincial Lady eternally (and unsuccessfully) tries to compete with.
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This is a gently self-effacing, dry-witted tale of a long-suffering and disaster-prone Devon lady of the 1930s. A story of provincial social pretensions and the daily inanities of domestic life to rival George Grossmith's "Diary of a Nobody".

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