But there was no personal friend or relation in the whole world who knew or cared whether Miss Pettigrew was alive or dead. Miss Pettigrew joined the throng, a middle-aged, rather angular lady, of medium height, thin through lack of good food, with a timid, defeated expression and terror quite discernible in her eyes, if any one cared to look.
Pedestrians hastened to reach their destinations and get out of the depressing atmosphere as quickly as possible. Her coat, of a nondescript, ugly brown, was not very thick. It was a cold, grey, foggy, November day with a drizzle of rain in the air. Outside on the pavement Miss Pettigrew shivered slightly. This next quote perfectly captures Miss Pettigrew’s situation as she sets out in search of a suitable role. If she doesn’t secure a new position that day, Miss Pettigrew may well find herself with nowhere to go but the poorhouse as her landlady has threatened to evict her. As the novel opens, Miss Pettigrew is in urgent need of a new job as a governess or a children’s nanny. Set in London in the 1930s, Watson’s book captures an extraordinary day in the life of Miss Guinevere Pettigrew, a rather timid, down-at-heel spinster who has fallen on hard times. Also, as it was originally published in 1938, it qualifies as my contribution to Karen and Simon’s 1938 Club which is running all this week – there’s a link here if you’d like some more information about the event. It’s an utterly enchanting take on the Cinderella story, one full of warmth, wit and charm.
Winifred Watson’s novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, also falls into this category of ‘fun’ books. When I put together my reading list for the Classics Club back in December, I wanted to include a few light-hearted books, witty novels such as Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women, which I reviewed here, and Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, which I’ve yet to read.
0 kommentar(er)
