The Lovely Day

by Dorothy Evelyn Smith

The pilot, embittered and disfigured from the war, has designs on the innocent girl. Her farmer-lover feels his hands tied because his own family situation seems to forbid his offering her marriage. This drama unfolds, as do others, during the annual outing of the church choir-a jaunt by bus to the seashore on a brilliant summer morning -a day when everyone, for a while at least, hopes to toss aside his humdrum cares in the fun of a holiday. There is the vicar and his overburdened wife; there is Rose's young brother, whose current heart's desire is to own a dog; there is the spinster who still longs for love though she has almost lost hope; among many others from the village-all of whom are brought warmly and affectionately to life by one of the most satisfactory novelists.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Dorothy Evelyn Smith was born in Derby, England, the daughter of a Methodist parson. She first began to write successfully for English magazines while her husband was serving in the First World War. Thereafter her short stories and articles steadily reached a wide market, though her work was subject to interruptions from her growing daughter and son and their prodigious number of pets. In 1939, when most English magazines went off the market, Mrs. Smith began her first novel, interrupted this time by her war work. Often she wrote "on the end of the kitchen table with bombs falling around the house," and part of her first novel was finished while she was confined to bed with an injured leg.

Now that peace had come, Mrs. Smith wrote in her own small study in the three-hundred-year-old cottage in Essex.

Reviews

[Dorcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lovely day. This whole book encompasses ONE DAY.I don't think Ive ever read one like that before.
In a nutshell, a village choir group take a day's outing to the seaside on a bus. They go on the beach, drink tea, some go to the fun fair, others shop in the village etc and at the end of the day they sing for the villagers.

There's many characters: the old, the young, the mentally simple. Spinsters, young ones thwarted in love, older married couples who are not so happily married any more and widow/widowers who may be ripe for second chances. A young boy whose one and only wish is to own a puppy of his own and there's a facially disfigured war veteran, bent on making his miserable life more liveable or be done with the whole farce of life.I don't think the author left out one character type. They are literally all there, down to the parson and his wife.

I found it kind of a strange little book. It is compelling and the characters very true and unique and I think that some would give it five stars as its does everything it sets off to do; but for me it had a little too much going on in that there really is no character focal point. It does start off with one character and end on the same character but no one character is given more time than any other in the course of the writing.

I'm divided. It's pretty cool in a 'slice of life' sort of way but it's not exciting so you are forewarned.
Is it worth reading? Yes, I think so!

*UPDATE
I think I liked this book more than I at first thought. It is one that has stayed in my mind for the last three months and how many books can I say that about?

CONTENT:

SEX: None
VIOLENCE: None
PROFANITY: Pretty mild, D's and B's

MY RATING: G-PG

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather charming story about the annual outing of a village choir to the seaside. The entire story takes place during one day, and there is a variety of different characters, some pleasant and some not so pleasant,and you see their different stories unfold over the course of the day. Some people’s problems are solved, and they go home happier than they set out, for others there is no happy solution unfortunately. But everyone gets something out of the day, even the coach driver (an anxious expectant father). I liked most of the characters, though inevitably some have more interesting stories than others. But in general I found this an enjoyable and satisfying book.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming book I read through quite quickly. In the early '50s, a village choir heads out for their annual day trip, and we follow along with nearly every character over the course of the day. Lots of romance, a little sadness, and enough dysfunction to keep the story from being sticky sweet. Smith has a way with turns of phrase that kept me laughing out loud. There is definitely a time-disconnect in that some references were lost on me, though, such as dropping a key down your back when you have a nosebleed (!). Of course that added to the authenticity of escapism of being in England during the post-war period. I'm not sure if this is too pedestrian for Persephone Books, but in my mind it would make a nice addition to their collection.

(Found at Goodwill, of all places.)

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a beautifully vivid and descriptive book! Although the entire book takes place in one day, it still manages to be intriguing as it explores the feelings of the choir members.

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed look into the many members of a local choir and related businesses. The short book goes through the one day bouncing from character to character, from head to head. Every personality is represented here pretty much.
Interesting read but not quite a great read for me.
Some swearing and references to adult situations but most is hinted at, not explicitly drawn to insult discerning readers.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, the characters were hard to keep track of, but once I figured it out I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Love how it ended too, the characters seemed to end up where they really belonged which was very nice as real as they all seemed.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book because I'm such a big fan of one of her other books "O, the Brave Music". This was a nice book but was not as interesting or as beautifully written and executed as "O, the Brave Music".

[Dona]

The lovely day by Dorothy Evelyn Smith (1957), [1st ed.]

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many characters that I just couldn't connect with.