Really liked Mrs. Villars in this book. She's the wife of a schoolmaster turned clergyman. Everyone is constantly trying to protect her from being overtired, which she evidently looks all the time, but is not really. Although social situations and difficult people do wear on her, in other ways she and the other women of this book seem to be typical stiff-upper-lip, everyone-do-their-bit wartime matrons. Hysterics lurk somewhere below the surface at times but don't really get out. Very interesting look at the way that rural Britain handled World War II.
The thing that stands out most about Angela Thirkell's books is the irony and satire; yet, her characters (almost all of them) also get moments of sympathy and depth from her pen.
Not much plot; the war looms large. The main things happening are that Mr. Downing, an intellectual and an author, is boarding with Miss Pemberton (an older woman in the community), and she constitutes herself his companion, proofreader, adviser, best friend, landlady, etc., and jealously tries to keep all female neighbors away from him, viewing them as distractions and snares.
Also a bunch of officers are quartered at the rectory with Mr. and Mrs. Villars; the weekend visit of the major's wife is a total nightmare because she is kind of a loon.
Then there are Mrs. Turner and her nieces ("Betty" and "The Other Niece"), who are hilarious and sweet. Betty's claim to fame is her overuse and corruption of the word "actually." Ackcherly. ( )

Northbridge Rectory is Angela Thirkell at her strongest, even if the wartime setting doesn’t lend itself to the same blithe humour found in some of her earlier novels. It has a strong sense of place and atmosphere, nuanced characterisation, surprising developments, and in spite of ostensibly being plotless, is tightly focused.

The story revolves around the Northbridge Rectory, particularly the rector’s wife, Mrs Villars, but it is also about Mrs Turner and her nieces at The Hollies and Miss Pemberton and her lodger at Pushions. The younger characters occupy the edges of the story (to the point where one of Mrs Turner’s nieces remains unnamed).

I enjoyed Mrs Villar’s observations, appreciated her self-aware commentary on her mixed reactions to being idolised by a young officer, and kept bookmarking quotes I liked.

She thought of a dull and not very accurate comparison of her friends to oysters, avoiding careless talk and busy smothering their irritations and unease in coatings of habit; but rejected it, for the resulting pearls were not very obvious, unless trying to be well-behaved and obedient under perpetual pin-pricks and nettles in one’s bed was a pearl; perhaps it was. Everyone she knew was jumbled up with strange companions on a raft, a tossing sea about them, and yet somehow not disheartened, not too unhappy. The great thing was not to think of the end, for that was as confusing as the thought of infinity or eternity, but to trust a good deal and see that all the guests at one’s party had enough to drink and someone to talk to. ( )

Read during: Fall 2001

Bright Young Things during WWII. Well, not completely. Very few Lords and Ladies, mostly Brittish country life with the usual assortment of odd characters. Extremely enjoyable, very satirical. I think I will have to read everything she has written now. It also was very good to read to completely take me away from everyday life.

Very enjoyable! Gentle humor reminds me of Jane Austen ( )