Mrs. Tim Gets a Job

How had I forgotten how enjoyable Hester Christie was? D.E. Stevenson's Mrs. Tim novels recount ordinary life -- if during trying times; consequently, not a lot happens in Mrs. Tim Gets a Job. But, I promise, it won't matter.

Naturally, as per the title, Hester takes a position as an assistant manager at a manor-turned-small hotel near Edinburgh. During the course of the novel, one marriage breaks up while another seems imminent, thanks to some help with what seemed to be a doomed romance. The Christie children, Bryan and Betty, seem terribly grown up. Hester crosses paths again with the lovelorn Tony Morley, now a brigadier general. But all in all, the enjoyment for the reader comes from the delightful and realistic characters and the show more small but amusing incidents that happen in the course of everyday life. If that sounds dull, I promise you, it's not! I devoured the novel's 282 pages in less than two days!

Those who have read the previous Mrs. Tim books will understand: Some of the situations are funny, some sad, but I was so enthralled that I began the next -- and, sadly, final -- book in the series, Mrs. Tim Flies Home, as soon as I finished this one. show less

This is the third in the Mrs. Tim books and was published in 1947. The four very successful Mrs. Tim books grew out of the author's diaries from this period and reflect her experiences as an army wife. This one sees Hester on her own with her husband stationed in Egypt and her children at boarding school. Although the war has ended, times are still tight, with continued rationing. Deciding that she must keep busy and needed a place to live after her current lease expires, Hester decides to take a job helping to run an inn in the Scottish borderlands. Tocher House is a private estate owned by a single woman needing to take in guests in order to keep her home. Hester learns to adapt to the crotchety owner while observing the inn guests show more with her usual wit (and matchmaking skills).

I continue to enjoy the series for its comfortable, relaxing reads about a strong woman faced with ordinary, homey problems. I still can't understand her love for her husband, whom we rarely see or hear from, when she is obviously best friends with the inestimable Tony Morley. She writes so much more about Tony than Tim. I keep hoping that she and Tony will get together, but according to her biography, that is a vain hope. show less

The war is over but Tim has not been sent home. Instead he's stationed in Egypt. Bryan is at boarding school & with Betty at school all day, Mrs. Tim is at loose ends. Then her landlord notifys her that he wants his house back early! Hester's friend, Grace, decides that what Hester needs is a job - one in Scotland helping crusty Miss Clutterback run her hotel.

As with Mrs. Tim Carries On, nothing much happens. But what does happen is so utterly charming that the reader wants the book to go on forever.

An introduction to the Mrs Tim books was written by Alexander McCall Smith and in it he says, "Some books can be prescribed for anxiety - these are in that category." I could not agree more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs Tim and her very grumpy new boss, Erica Clutterbuck. On the other hand I could have done without the lengthy visit with Tony the womanizer, who does not seem to mind if the woman in question is married to his good friend or not.

Hester's husband is stationed in Egypt (World War II is over), and her two children are safely off to boarding school. What is she to do to while away her days? A friend tells her that a woman named Miss Clutterbuck has been forced to turn her family home into a hotel to make ends meet, and she badly needs an assistant. Hester takes up the job, but with many misgivings. This book is a fun look at how she gets to know her eccentric employer, try to patch up the lives of Major Elden and Miss McQueen (an engaged couple for whom things are not going well), and accustom herself to her children growing up.
There is a cute scene where Miss Clutterbuck elects to read aloud to a sewing circle. They fawn over "a scene from Jane Austen," but show more clearly they are fans in name only, for they fail to recognize that the scene and the characters are absolutely nowhere to be found in the Austen canon. Miss Clutterbuck wrote up the excerpt herself, just for amusement, and because she feels that Jane Austen is too good for the likes of them.
Enjoyed this book--possibly the strongest of the Mrs. Tim books so far. There are only 4 (I think). show less

Catches and lobs forward Hester Christie's narrative of her life, post-war, when she decides to take a job in Scotland as an assistant to a gruff hotelier. As charming as Mrs. Tim of the Regiment.