E.M. Delafield's Provincial Lady comes in five volumes. The Timeless Wisdom Collection is a reprint on kindle where you can have them all for just US$0.99.
I particularly enjoyed Books 1 and 2, which cover our Provincial Lady’s family life between the Wars - struggling to make ends meet, raise and educate two children, live the social life of a ‘lady’ in her English village, and develop her own writing career. She doesn’t always get it right and often feels ineffectual.
Book 3, In America as a successful author, was interesting enough but didn’t have the humourous details of the earlier two.
Book 4, in Wartime, was as tedious to read as it was to live. This is set in the lead up to the war, when everyone was called on to volunteer but there was nothing for them to do. Everyone is asking everyone else ‘do you have some work for me’. Our Provincial Lady ended up working part time in a canteen for ambulance drivers, etc until something more suited to her talents came along.
Book 5, In Russia, where she is sent to gather information. An interesting look at the country and its inhabitants at that time. Russians believed they were living the only way possible as a socialist country, but no one seemed happy.
The books are somewhat disjointed and more context and connection would have been nice, but enjoyable readings of the period nonetheless.
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