Angela Thirkell

In Angela Thirkell's first Barsetshire novel, she sets the plot pattern which will be played out in most of her later books. She also introduces us to specific characters as well as 'types' who will appear and reappear in changing relationships as the years go by. There is the middle-aged woman centrally involved in the events and activities around her; here, Laura Morland, a happily widowed author of very successful 'good bad books' (Thirkell herself?). A disappointed suitor and/or a brief, ill-conceived infatuation of younger man with older woman. There are at least two romances to work out, an older couple and a younger one with mild crises along the way. A closing of ranks among the women vs 'the Incubus' resolves both affairs to the satisfaction of all. Especially delightful are the children, servants and other retainers; well defined characters in their own right; from motor-mouthed young Tony Morland and his model railways to housekeeper, Stoker, and her grapevine among the servants of the neighbourhood.

High Rising

In this delightful summertime comedy from Angela Thirkell's classic 1930s Barsetshire series, Oxford student Richard Tebben is won over by the dashing Dean familyIt is August in the Barsetshire village of Worsted, and Richard Tebben, just down from Oxford, is contemplating the gloomy prospect of a long summer in the parental home. But the numerous and impossibly glamorous Dean family—exquisite Rachel, her capable husband, and six of their nine brilliant children—have come for the holidays, and their hostess Mrs. Palmer plans to rope everyone into performing in her disastrous annual Greek play. Surrounded by the appealing, irrepressible Deans, Richard and his sister Margaret cannot help but have their minds broadened, spirits raised, and hearts smitten.

August Folly

A witty romp through English Country-house life at its most delightfully absurd. At Rushwater House in West Barsetshire, Lady Emily Leslie and her family are entertaining an assortment of house guests, hangers-on, and French monarchists. Amid a perfect welter of rapturous embraces and moonlight madness, a marriage is finally arranged. A glittering summer party provides an hilarious climax to the various intrigues.

Wild Strawberries

Misunderstandings and romantic mishaps abound in The Brandons, Angela Thirkell's farcical novel set in the English county of Barsetshire, where guests are not so much invited to lunch as commanded, where friendship means being included in another's will, and where deceased relatives make convenient scapegoats for just about anything.

The Brandons

In the summer of 1838, seventeen-year-old Fanny Harcourt journeys to London for the six weeks of festivities marking the coronation of the young Victoria, plunging into the marriage mart and the awkward dance of courtship

A Novel

Coronation Summer

The denouement of Philip Winter's ill-begotten engagement to featherbrained Rose Birkett is enacted in full view of Southbridge School's extended family during a holiday break. Everyone, including her parents, is rooting for Philip's escape which occurs when Rose breaks it off as the utter dullness of being engaged overwhelms her. Along the way, we enjoy the tea party where Rose, "through sheer want of personality bring(s) the talk to her own level" and confounds her audience by insisting that Hamlet and Shakespeare are both names of plays (and probably the same one). As in many of Thirkell books, the characters refer to a body of literature, both classic and modern, with a casualness that would be improbable today; the assumption of a shared background and culture having been lost. The ceremony of the "Cleaning of the Pond" by Lydia, Eric Swan and a much improved Tony Morland brings the holiday to a satisfactory conclusion as does a match between Kate Keith and Everard Carter.

Summer Half

En esta comedia romántica ambientada en los años treinta, la atractiva pero empobrecida Mary Preston acude como invitada a la espléndida finca de su tía Agnes en Rushwater. Allí, Mary perderá la cabeza por el apuesto seductor David Leslie, al mismo tiempo que Agnes y su madre, la excéntrica lady Emily, planean emparejarla con otro hombre muy diferente, al que consideran un buen partido. En el espectacular baile de Rushwater, la felicidad de Mary, suspendida entre los imperativos del corazón y las maquinaciones de su familia, penderá de un hilo.

Fresas silvestres

Jack Middleton is not an easy man to get on with. Fortunately, the only person who can is Mrs Middleton. Jack's sister Lilian and her two stepchildren Daphne and Denis have planned to spend the summer in the house next door and, true to form, Jack is dreading it. Daphne is far too lively for his taste and Denis is not lively enough. When the trio arrive, however, they captivate the Barchester village with their wit, charm and music. In no time many of the local residents - not least of all Lord and Lady Bond, Lord Stoke and a great many more - are in the palms of their hands. Even Jack himself is ripe for conversation. Before Lunch is a delightful social comedy of village life before the war.

Before Lunch

An exclusive, never-before-collected selection of sparkling stories by Angela Thirkell that will charm, delight, and entertainOriginally published in the 1930s and 1940s and never before collected, these stories by the incomparable Angela Thirkell relate merry scenes of a trip to the pantomime, escapades on ice, a Christmas Day gone awry, and an electrifying afternoon for Laura Morland and friends at Low Rising, not to mention the chatter of the arty set at a London private view. Charming, irreverent, and full of mischievous humor, they offer the utmost entertainment in any season of the year.

Christmas at High Rising

Pomfret Towers, Barsetshire seat of the earls of Pomfret, was constructed, with great pomp and want of concern for creature comforts, in the once-fashionable style of Sir Gilbert Scott's St Pancras station. It makes a grand setting for a house party at which gamine Alice Barton and her brother Guy are honoured guests, mixing with the headstrong Rivers family, the tally-ho Wicklows and, most charming of all, Giles Foster, nephew and heir of the present Lord Pomfret. But whose hand will Mr Foster seek in marriage, and who will win Alice's tender heart? Angela Thirkell's classic 1930s comedy is lively, witty and deliciously diverting.

A Virago Modern Classic

Pomfret Towers

Miss Bunting

Wild Strawberries: a Novel

August Folly is one of Angela Thirkell's standard slice-of-life social comedies set among the rural British lower gentry between the wars. The Tebben family have their little country abode, badly managed by Mrs. Tebben, from which Mr. Tebben commutes to a humble job. Their son, Richard, has just finished the university education for which his parents scrimped and sacrificed but he failed to achieve great glory with it. Richard is spending the summer nominally reading for the law or another profession, but he has little drive. His sister, Margaret, is overlooked and underappreciated, and the investment made in her brother's future precludes any investment in hers. What is the fate of the family?

Middle-aged lady devotes her life to the care of her ailing and elderly parents.

Jutland Cottage

Pretty, impecunious Mary Preston, newly arrived as a guest of her Aunt Agnes at the magnificent wooded estate of Rushwater, falls head over heels for handsome playboy David Leslie. Meanwhile, Agnes and her mother, the eccentric matriarch Lady Emily, have hopes of a different, more suitable match for Mary. At the lavish Rushwater dance party, her future happiness hangs in the balance . . .

"Miss Bunting" is a captivating social comedy of village life set in Trollope's fictional English county of Barsetshire during World War II. Miss Bunting, a governess to generations of Barsetshire aristocracy, has been coaxed out of retirement by Sir Robert and Lady Fielding to groom their daughter Anne, sixteen years old, who lacked confidence. Several events follow after she takes up the job.

« Charmant et extrêmement drôle » - Alexander McCall Smith Mary Preston, jolie jeune fille sans fortune, est invitée par sa tante Agnès à passer l'été dans sa splendide propriété familiale, au cœur de la campagne anglaise. À Rushwater House, la saison s'annonce pleine de surprises, de frivolités et d'insouciance. Mais le cœur de Mary sera mis à rude épreuve face au séduisant et séducteur David Leslie, l'artiste de la famille qui navigue entre Londres et Rushwater... Cependant, Agnès et sa mère, la sémillante Lady Emily, espèrent persuader la jeune femme de faire un tout autre mariage, bien plus convenable. Entre les balades au clair de lune dans les jardins resplendissants et le grand bal organisé à Rushwater, cet été comblera-t-il les espérances romantiques de Mary ? Publié pour la première fois en 1934, Le parfum des fraises sauvages est une éblouissante comédie romantique, dont les personnages sont aussi farfelus qu’extrêmement attachants.. « Là où Trollope vous tire un gloussement, Angela Thirkell vous provoque un fou rire. » - Kirkus Review

Le parfum des fraises sauvages

In her second Barsetshire novel, Thirkell continues the saga of the irrepressible Tony Morland. An actual boy must be lurking somewhere in the background as it would be impossible to make up such a monumental Pest. Grown ups and children alike are ground into submission by his everlasting chatter and overweening 'self-esteem'. Only Dr Ford, whose conversation with Tony is confined to the phrase 'Shut up' and Sylvia Gould, the swimming instructor, who exposes Tony's vaunted diving ability as phoney, come anywhere near even temporarily quashing him. Tony and his silent friend Donk (but how could he be otherwise around Tony?) are referred to as the 'little boys' at age thirteen and Rose, age fourteen, is comforted by Mrs Morland while holding her on her lap; how times have changed! Perhaps brought together by a common exasperation towards Tony, Dr Ford and Sylvia appear headed for the altar. It would now be PC to describe Tony as inherently loveable; but I won't.

The Demon in the House

Invitée à passer l’été chez sa tante Agnès dans la splendide propriété de Rushwater, Mary Preston, jolie jeune fille sans fortune, tombe follement amoureuse du séduisant David Leslie. Cependant, Agnès et sa mère, l’excentrique Lady Emily, espèrent persuader Mary de faire un tout autre mariage, beaucoup plus convenable. C’est lors d’un bal somptueux organisé à Rushwater que va se décider le bonheur de Mary... Publié pour la première fois dans les années trente, Le parfum des fraises sauvages est une éblouissante comédie romantique.

'There is always in our minds the hope that we may find again those golden unhastening days and wake up and dream' In this beautifully nostalgic memoir, eminent author Angela Thirkell recalls in rich detail the three houses in which she grew up. Focusing first on 'The Grange', where her grandfather, the celebrated painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones, set the cultivated tone, Thirkell also reminisces about her parents' home in Kensington Square and the Burne-Jones' seaside retreat, where Angela's cousin, Rudyard Kipling, lived across the green. A tale of forbidden explorations, Punch and Judy shows, and adventures in the garden, Three Houses is beautifully evocative of the innocent quality of childhood. From the busy literary centre of London to the English coast, this stunning memoir is both reminiscent of the golden days of youth and an interesting vision of a writer and the early influences that informed her later work.

Angela Thirkell

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