Excellent Women / Barbara Pym

 

5 out of 5 stars 

2026 Re-Read

This was the very first Barbara Pym novel that I ever read and it completely sold me on her. I ordered as many of her books as my local bookshop had available. What a treat to revisit this delightful novel.

There were so many details that I missed on my first pass. Of course, I had no idea who Archdeacon Hoccleve was, when he appeared in Mildred's local church to give a Lenten sermon. Now I can appreciate this character from Some Tame Gazelle showing up again here.

I had also forgotten Everard Bone's mother's hatred of birds:
"I eat as many birds as possible," said Mrs. Bone when we were sitting down to roast chicken. "I have them sent from Harrod's or Fortnum's, and sometimes I go and look at them in the cold meats department. They do them up very prettily with aspic jelly and decorations. At least we can eat our enemies."
My youngest sister would thoroughly approve, having had a bird phobia all of her life and delighting in eating them!

This time, I took more notice of the number of men buzzing around Mildred, our excellent woman. First there is her clergyman friend, Julian, who takes her absolutely for granted. Then there is Rocky Napier, the downstairs neighbour, who is fighting with and separating from his wife. He is willing to be charming to get Mildred's household assistance. There is William, the civil servant and brother of Mildred's former roommate. They lunch occasionally and platonically. Plus, there is Everard Bone, the anthropologist that Mildred meets via the Napiers.

Julian's engagement to Allegra Grey startles everyone—apparently everybody in the church assumed that he would eventually marry Mildred. So the evening when Mildred finds both Julian and Rocky in her livingroom for tea, and the two men start to resent each other's claim on her attention, is hilarious. She retreats to the kitchen sink to get away from them, and when that isn't enough, she goes downstairs and washes the Napiers' dishes.

Pym was such a sharp observer of people, just as Mildred is. I love her spinster characters and feel like I am one of them.