#barsetshire

It was a bit on the nose when Angie and Aidan announced that they were living in Barsetshire.

Synopsis: 

High Rising was written by Angela Thirkell and was published in 1933. It is the first book in her Barsetshire series of novels. This book follows a writer named Mrs. Morland who has a country house in High Rising. When she visits one Christmas holiday with her little son Tony she gets tangled up in various dramas and romances of her neighbors. 

Storyline: 

This was such a fun story! There wasn’t really a big over arching plot, more like a series of storylines going on in various character’s lives and all gets resolved in the end. I didn’t know what to expect, but this novel turned out to be quite funny! All the different storylines were amusing. Lots of various romances in particular and I quite enjoyed getting lost in this book. 

Setting: 

The English country village setting was a good one. I don’t know what it is about books set in an English village in the first half of the 20th century, but I always tend to enjoy them. 

Characters: 

The characters were all so delightful! A lot of caricatures to be sure, but so fun. Mrs. Morland is obviously based on Angela Thirkell, which was cool. She’s a writer who doesn’t want to get married again and is raising sons just like Thirkell. Her youngest son Tony ( the others we don’t get to meet) is hilarious. He is so exuberant and obsessed with trains. He talks a mile a minute about his beloved topic of trains and drives the adults mad. George Knox, a friend of Mrs. Morland and writer of historical biographies was a hilarious character as well. He loves to hear himself talk and is oblivious to the fact his secretary is trying to marry him. Sibyl his daughter was sweet, but hilarious. A dim witted, but pretty and nice girl who ends up having a good romance. Then there was Anne Todd, Mrs. Morland’s secretary who is a 40 year old spinster who has to take care of her mother. She doesn’t seem like the type, but oddly enough everyone wants to marry her! There were other great characters as well. All of them funny and delightful. 

Did I Like It?: 

I loved this book! It was such an enjoyable and fun read. I’ll definitely be continuing to read this series over time as I think it will be an escapist, comedy favorite. 

Do I Recommend it?: 

Yes! If you like comical, English country village type novels from the first half of the 20th century I would totally check this out. 

The Warden -::- Anthony Trollope

The Warden -::- Anthony Trollope lands on the shelves of my shop.

London, Sydney, Toronto & Bombay: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1949, Hardback in dust wrapper.

Contains: Colour plates; Colour frontispiece; Title page vignette;

From the cover: Trollope enthusiasts who have formed their own mental pictures of events and personalities in The Warden, will be especially interested in Mrs Harraps…

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