The Provincial Lady in America

E.M. Delafield (pen name of Elizabeth Dashwood) uses her third book to chronicle her North American tour. She doesn’t get further west than Chicago, and her only Canadian stopover is Toronto, but our narrator has a wonderful time and meets a gratifying number of fans.

While Delafield delights when describing her domestic life, she equally shines when she’s away from hearth and home. How is her name not better known? I’ll take her over Erma Bombeck or Jenn Mann any day of the week! I loved, loved, loved this book — perhaps best of all.

Note: I had read that these books were mostly autobiographical, but I blew that off, as I do with David Sedaris. But, lo and behold, the main characters really do come from Delafield’s own life. show more They’re identified here. Don’t miss this link if you’re a fan! show less

A funny take on America in the 1930s, as experienced by a self-deprecating Englishwoman. It’s very odd to read this light piece of humor, in which new dresses and huge cars figure prominently, and realize it was written during the Depression. The Englishwoman, by the way, loves Chicago the best.

Our lucky Provincial Lady has had a book published (when did she find the time to write it in between dealing with servants, bills and children?) so is off to America to do a book tour. This book contains many characters from the original Provincial Lady Diary, as well as some new ones, as the Provincial Lady shares her views of American hospitality (wonderful, if cocktail laden), travelling (not at night if possible), American food (under-rated and vastly superior to English food) and other important details.
Though now over 60 years old, this is still a fantastically good book, both funny and insightful. A word of warning - a lot of it may not make much sense if you have not read Diary of a Provincial Lady, as it refers to many show more characters that you are already assumed to know, but if you are up on the series, you are sure to find this one a delight! show less

At a mere 107 pages, The provincial lady in America is the least substantial part of E. M. delafield's tetralogy The Diary of a Provincial Lady. This is the result of the diary starting on July 7.

This volume starts with the receipt of a contract for the issuing of "the provincial lady's" book in the United States, and an invitation to travel to the States at the invitation of her publisher. The publication of a book marks the next step in her career, a natural progression from the previous volume in the series, The provincial lady goes further.

In The provincial lady in America, the author (character) remains her same old naive, modest self, and the diary consists of much of the same chatter as the previous volumes. However, the American show more diary is a bit more readable than the previous installments, because the author's travel itinerary provides a sense of narrative structure.

Like the previous volumes in the tetralogy, The provincial lady in America can be read as a still frame of life in the United States at the time, in the late 1930s, specifically with the regard to the literary scene, as the reader can follow through the author's reading. There are some minor references to the developing political situation in Europe. show less

So wonderful!!