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Diary Of An Ordinary Woman
Margaret Forster presents the 'edited' diary of a woman, born in 1901, whose life spans the twentieth century. On the eve of the Great War, Millicent King begins to keep her journal and vividly records the dramas of everyday life in a family touched by war, tragedy, and money troubles. From bohemian London to Rome in the 1920s her story moves on to social work and the buil...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
March 4th 2004
by Vintage
(first published 2003)
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I did not have high expectations of this book: the title and the author's reputation persuaded me in advance that it would be light reading. And indeed it was. However, I have to admit to enjoying it far more than I expected.
The author claims at the start that she met the diarist, Millicent King, at her request so that she could re-write the diaries she'd kept throughout most of the twentieth century. From then on we get edited highlights of the diaries interspersed with summaries or commentari...more
The author claims at the start that she met the diarist, Millicent King, at her request so that she could re-write the diaries she'd kept throughout most of the twentieth century. From then on we get edited highlights of the diaries interspersed with summaries or commentari...more
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Aug 05, 2011
Danielle Lentz
added it
Write a review...I loved and thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an interesting slice of social history that spanned over several decades of great social, economic and technological changes. Though this was entitled Diary of an Ordinary Woman-Millicent King was far from ordinary-she was a free thinker always looking for the new and a desire to be more than what was considered the acceptable life. She was a woman of extra-ordinary courage who faced a lot of personal trials and tribulations. Some...more
Millicent King was just an ordinary woman who lived through two world
wars and the devastating loss that entails, into the age of
anti-nuclear, anti-war, feminist protests and marches of the 1960's and
1970's and even beyond. She was an early feminist, in her own way, who
lived an unconventional, independent life, having a few lovers, and a
long-term relationship outside the bounds of marriage. She seems to
have been an incredibly strong woman. In other words, not so ordinary,
but extraordinary....more
wars and the devastating loss that entails, into the age of
anti-nuclear, anti-war, feminist protests and marches of the 1960's and
1970's and even beyond. She was an early feminist, in her own way, who
lived an unconventional, independent life, having a few lovers, and a
long-term relationship outside the bounds of marriage. She seems to
have been an incredibly strong woman. In other words, not so ordinary,
but extraordinary....more
1 like · like · see review
My mom recommended this and I absolutely loved it. It's the diaries of a woman growing up through the wars in England, and spanning (like 'Any Human Heart') her whole life. Clearly there's something about the diary/memoir style that I really love! Anyway, this book really showed me what things were like to be an ordinary person experiencing the wartime, the depression and all the cultural changes that followed 100 times better than a history lesson. It really gets you to understand the values an...more
An extraordinary account of an ordinary woman's life through pre-WWI England, right up to the millennium. Margaret Foster's fictionalized account is so plausible, complete with boring entries, omissions that are never explained, and periodic obsessions that exclude any description of supposedly important events of the time, that you actually do forget that these are not real diaries, and the account of the author being invited by the writer of the diaries is also a part of the fiction. I was rem...more
I started reading this book in July 2012. I finished it mid-February 2013. This probably tells you a lot about my relationship with it.
In any normal circumstance I would never have picked Diary Of An Ordinary Woman up, I only chose to read it as part of my Day Zero challenge to read 5 books recommended to me by other people. To me, the title sounds dull and there is nothing I enjoy less than reading about people. Real people, I mean, with real lives. They're insufferably boring, even when what's...more
In any normal circumstance I would never have picked Diary Of An Ordinary Woman up, I only chose to read it as part of my Day Zero challenge to read 5 books recommended to me by other people. To me, the title sounds dull and there is nothing I enjoy less than reading about people. Real people, I mean, with real lives. They're insufferably boring, even when what's...more
I picked up a used copy of this in the UK (in Blackwell's in Oxford, I think), solely on the basis of having liked Lady's Maid and Forster's biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I'm glad I picked it up, because it's very good and happened to hit exactly the mood I was in.
The novel is in the form of a diary kept by a woman born in 1901, whose life spans almost the entire twentieth century; Forster writes a long introduction in which she meets Millicent King and agrees to edit her diary for p...more
The novel is in the form of a diary kept by a woman born in 1901, whose life spans almost the entire twentieth century; Forster writes a long introduction in which she meets Millicent King and agrees to edit her diary for p...more
This book was an enjoyable read. I loved to get a view of Milly's life and her experiences even though some have been very painful for her. The decription of war time was very interesting for me because I have never read an acount of the war from the perspective of a British citizen and therefor this was an eye opener. I was also suprised to find out how feministic and indepent Milly was her her time and therefor I found the end of the novel very shocking.
Really enjoyed the book, "edited" diary entries with the necessary information filled in was a very good format and well done. Was extremely interesting and absorbing, star knocked off because I don't believe it is clear enough to the reader that it's a novel. I too missed that small wording on the cover, and think that it really should have been stated at the front of the book not at the end.
Compelling (Forster is such a good writer), & of course the woman is not very ordinary. I wss reduced to tears a couple of times and inspired to re-visit the little hotel in Pigalle where I stayed on my first trip to Paris. Compare this with Colm Toibin's Brooklyn and it comes out on top. Same sort of details but with engagement and soul. Some weakness near the end, but hey,that's life!
I have just finished this ebook on my Kindle. It was not identified at the front of the ebook, or anywhere on Amazon's intro on my Kindle, that it is in fact a novel. Had I known this from the start I would have rated it as 4 star as it is well written and interesting, but I feel I was misled by Amazon and downgrade my score to 3 stars. A disappointing end to a book I had found quite compelling.
This is nothing like an ordinary woman. Millicent through her diaries takes us from the start of WWI until she is 94. It makes you live her life with her and you really experience all she goes through from the ordinary and mundane to the dramatic such as her times in WWII. Although she is often alone she is never apparently lonely, living a very full life. It definitely deserves a wider audience.
Oct 10, 2011
Leslee
added it
Very good fiction but I was duped into thinking it was a real diary.
Millicent King cancelled the meeting with Margaret Foster and never read any of the diary.
Only on the very last page did she admit to this. A real let down.
Millicent King cancelled the meeting with Margaret Foster and never read any of the diary.
Only on the very last page did she admit to this. A real let down.
I though this was a beautifully written - and totally believable story. In fact, it's hard to believe that it is ficticious. Millicent was a real character, and made me wonder about my grandparents story!
Will definitely look out for other Margaret Forster books.
Will definitely look out for other Margaret Forster books.
I somehow didn't notice the word 'novel' on the front cover and assumed the story was real. This only slightly changed my opinion on the book - still an interesting book but I would have loved her to have been real.
This book is the diary of a women living in England from the early 1900's until she died in 2000. Her daily account of what was going on around her, especially the two World Wars is like nothing else I have ever read. It is very lucky these were saved by her family. Her experiences really puts our day to day struggles in perspective.
Declaring literary blogging bankruptcy as I'm now eight months behind on logging books read and I would like to get back into the swing of things without dropping further behind!
I loved this book! The character's life as described in her diary echoes the experience and feelings of independent women as they find their way through life.
An unexpectedly good read ...traces the life of a woman in England through the 20th century and reveals a good deal about world history in the process.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Not sure why, although it may have been the impression given by the horrible cover. Compulsive and strongly written. A great read.
Jun 11, 2012
Ann-Marie
added it
She was arguably ordinary even if the times she lived through were undeniably not. The question, however, is was it a diary?
Was so cross when I realised it wasn't real that I couldn't read another page - I had been gripped until that point!
Intriguing read. Disappointing that it is not the actually diary but beautifully written nonetheless.
Deceptively simple in the way it's written. It really made me think about the terrible loses inflicted on ordinary families in times of war. Actually pretty depressing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was surprised how much I liked the main character and felt I got to know her and how life may seem ordinary but really when we think about it, we all do amazing things but maybe forget or just don't realise.
I loved it! A great book from one of my all-time favourite writers: Margaret Forster.
I found this book fascinating, realising that there really isn't something like an ordinary life. Each life is unique and full of twists and turns. Well worth the read.
a work of fiction but reads as very believeable - like it alot
I like Margaret Forster's book and this was excellent.
Read this ages ago, but I still think about it now.
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Margaret Forster was educated at the Carlisle and County High School for Girls. From here she won an Open Scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford where in 1960 she was awarded an honours degree in History. The day after she finished her final exams, she married the writer Hunter Davies, whom she met and fell in love with at the age of 17.
Since 1963 Margaret Forster has worked as a novelist, biog...more
More about Margaret Forster...
Since 1963 Margaret Forster has worked as a novelist, biog...more
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