Hazel Holt

This official biography of Barbara Pym, the writer, describes her upbringing in Oswestry and her life in Oxford. The author talks about the successes as well as the dark years in the writer's life when she was unpublished.

A Life of Barbara Pym

A Lot to Ask

Lisa Miller

I've read several, but not all, of Pym's novels and quickly became just as interested in the author as much as her work. So I read the few articles I could find online and then progressed to her memoir as that was easier to find. The memoir, A Very Private Eye, I believe is a selection of diary entries, journals and letters selected by Holt and Pym's sister posthumously, not Barbara Pym herself. The downside is that it's not a smooth reading experience as it's not looking back in retrospect so it has gaps but the upside is it's authenticity - definitely Pym. Which is why this book works exactly as the author hazel Holt intended - a companion biography filling in the gaps and rounding out the story. Even though Holt was a close friend she was able to honestly size Pym up: a great writer, a good friend, an Excellent Woman, an imperfect self-doubting artist. It was written for fans of Pym or at the very least those interested in her, it isn't meant to be an introduction to the author or for people to 'rediscover' the great author - that's already been done. It's a consolation prize for how much more Pym could have done had she the chance.

A Lot to Ask A Life of Barbara Pym

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