WHAT DID IT MEAN?

Barsetshire #23

by Angela Thirkell

...A fictional stretch of English countryside in which a large and recurring cast of characters play out—in stylish and comic comfort—the conversations that determine the destiny of a community. The plot is set spinning when the forthright and capable Lydia Merton is asked by a deputation of distinguished ladies to chair the local committee, whose charge it is to plan festivities to mark Coronation Day (Queen Elizabeth II). As Thirkell wittily reveals, there's no better place to observe the affections and jealousies, the pettiness and grace of a community and its individual members than in the hothouse of a volunteer committee. Familiar characters are woven into the narrative web as plans progess, and, as always, romance is never far from Thirkell's sight.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Romance, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Angela Margaret Mackail was born on January 30, 1890 at 27 Young Street, Kensington Square, London. Her grandfather was Sir Edward Burne-Jones the pre-Raphaelite painter and partner in the design firm of Morris and Company for whom he designed many stained glass windows - seven of which are in St Margaret's Church in Rottingdean, West Sussex. Her grandmother was Georgiana Macdonald, one of a precocious family which included among others, Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, and Rudyard Kipling. Angela's brother, Denis Mackail, was also a prolific and successful novelist. Angela's mother, Margaret Burne-Jones, married John Mackail - an administrator at the Ministry of Education and Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.

Angela married James Campbell McInnes in 1911. James was a professional Baritone and performed at concert halls throughout the UK. In 1912 their first son Graham was born and in 1914 a second son, Colin. A daughter was born in 1917 at the same time her marriage was breaking up. In November 1917 a divorce was granted and Angela and the children went to live with her parents in Pembroke Gardens in London. The child, Mary, died the next year.

Angela then met and married George Lancelot Thirkell in 1918 and in 1920 they traveled on a troop ship to George's hometown in Australia. Their adventures on the "Friedricksruh" are recounted in her Trooper to the Southern Cross published in 1934. In 1921, in Melbourne Australia, her youngest son Lancelot George was born. Angela left Australia in 1929 with 8 year old Lance and never returned. Although living with her parents in London she badly needed to earn a living so she set forth on the difficult road of the professional writer. Her first book, Three Houses, a memoir of her happy childhood was published in 1931 and was an immediate success. The first of her novels set in Trollope's mythical county of Barsetshire was Demon in the House, followed by 28 others, one each year.

Angela also wrote a book of children's stories entitled The Grateful Sparrow using Ludwig Richter's illustrations; a biography of Harriette Wilson, The Fortunes of Harriette; an historical novel, Coronation Summer, an account of the events in London during Queen Victoria's Coronation in 1838; and three semi-autobiographical novels, Ankle Deep and Oh, These Men, These Men and Trooper to the Southern Cross. When Angela died on the 29th of January 1961 she left unfinished the last of her books, Three Score and Ten which was completed by her friend, Caroline LeJeune. Angela is buried in Rottingdean alongside her daughter Mary and her Burne-Jones grandparents.

Reviews

[Susan in NC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just an ok entry in this beloved long-running series — I sometimes feel like certain books are just placeholders, which the author used to trot out old familiar characters for an update. Here, all the county favorites are involved in plans for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, as the author notes at the beginning, “The whole of England was now in an orgy of Coronation Committees.”

As good a reason as any to trot old favorites like Lydia Merton (née Keith), famous actress Jessica Dean, her husband, theater producer Aubrey Clover, and Lord and Lady Pomfret and their children, particularly the painfully shy, awkward eldest, Lord Mellings, apparently a cardboard copy of his shy, awkward father (much is made of Lord P’s melancholy eyes, how overworked he is, not robust, not strong, etc., etc.).

If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Thirkell cut and pasted those references throughout these weaker books! It was especially obvious when compared to an earlier book (August Folly), which I took a break from this book to reread with the Retro Reads group. Thirkell’s humor and affection for her characters are on display in both books, but the earlier effort just felt fresher and funnier.

This book had some funny scenes of coronation committee meetings and rehearsals that anyone who’s volunteered on a committee can appreciate, and it was lovely to get to spend time with the grownup Deans and Keiths and Pomfrets, and various other Barsetshire inhabitants as they prepared to celebrate the new queen. However, I found myself skimming the last several chapters, and I’m glad to put this one aside and move on to the next in the series. It just didn’t hold my interest, as I read several other books over the same pandemic period! I hope the next book is more entertaining - but I know I can continue to revisit the earlier books to recapture the pleasure and fun!

[Oolookitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this was not one of Thirkell's best. Most of her least desirable traits are on display here: her irritation at the post-war shift in culture that meant vastly wealthy people could no longer just sit around being vastly wealthy, her anger at the new Health Service that meant poor people could actually go to the doctor instead of hoping that the local villagers would "subscribe" so that they could have needed surgery, etc. Thirkell can be very entertaining and amusing, but this book -- in which the village and the gentry get together to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Day -- is entirely meandery and not very satisfying. There's no driving through line, which gives Thirkell little to do except bitch about how hard the gentry work as opposed to people in unions, and how slutty the village girls are with all their baby-having -- it would be SO MUCH BETTER if they were still all scullery maids getting up at 3 to light the bedroom fires of the rich, because then they'd have no time to be doing all those baby-making things.

I love Thirkell, but her later books do have a tendency to become bitch-fests. If you haven't read her yet, start with something earlier -- once you've falle n in love with her wit and humor and her often wonderful characters, it's easier to forgive her for her "things were better when the lower orders knew their places" rants.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book centers around Barsetshire preparations for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Lydia Merton finds herself chairman of a planning committee and Ludovic Pomfret (Lord Mellings) gets a shot of self-confidence from Aubrey Clover and Jessica Dean. Subplot concerns the relationship between Miss Pemberton, Mr. Downing, and Mrs. Turner (who reappears in this book.)

[Cera · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books from the end of Thirkell's career are not what I'd call good, but I enjoy reading them in much the same way I enjoy catching up with old friends on Facebook.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm working my way through Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire novels. When I read one of her novels after a long hiatus, I remember all over again how much I enjoy her prose style: wry and ironic, not too sarcastic. Set in the English countryside, the characters are very nostalgic about the war years (WWII) and they all remember the past as being better than the current time.

There is a synopsis of this story at http://www.angelathirkell.org/compan/... ... lots of information about Angela Thirkell also.

Bits I like in this book - page number references are to the Pyramid Books paperback edition, 1973:

p. 62 - [Lydia Merton about not wanting to go swimming] "... I am very happy on dry land and don't in the least want to have to undress and then get wet and then dry myself and then get dressed again."

p. 75 - "... Miss Hopgood's Aunt, who could look through a telescope without shutting or covering the eye that wasn't being used ..."

p. 99 - "The bottle of Brassishine, which preparation she [Palmer, Lydia's housekeeper] considered more highly than Brassiglow or Brassglitter (all of which were made by the same firm and contained the same ingredients), was standing on a newspaper on the hearth rug."

p. 129 - "Summer Time [equivalent of United States Daylight Saving Time] had come cranking in as usual and everyone said as usual (a) did one put the clocks on or back (b) how on earth did they arrange about the trains, and (c) anyone but a fool would know the cows don't like it and how could you start mowing before the sun had dried the dew from the grass, and (d) that they didn't seem to have seen the piece in the paper about it and couldn't think why the trains were so funny."

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, but definite feeling that Angela Thirkell is starting to become tired and struggling to come up another variation on the theme of her Barsetshire series
Not as good as the earlier books in the series but I am trying to complete the full set of her ‘Barsetshire Chronicles ‘

Another re-read as I am making my way through the series in order.
I enjoyed catching up with various well - known characters; no really new characters except for the vicar at St Sycorax who has replaced Tubby Fewling. The other new-ish character is Ludovic, Lord Mellings who has been mentioned in last books as a child but now that he is 16 has joined the grownups.

As other have said ,this is not the book Thirkell book to start with as no significant plot and the main interest / charm of the book is meeting up with familiar characters, who reminisce about episodes in previous books , especially the wartime books which were set in Northbridge.
The weaknesses of the later books are only slight at present but already a lot of time spent on reminiscing and the occasional errors creeping in , but not enough to spoil the book if the reader has already developed a fondness for Barsetshire and it’s inhabitants.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not for anyone new to Thirkell. But, if you have read the Barsetshire series up till now and become attached to Thirkell's cast of characters, then you will enjoy this. Everyone's planning for the Coronation and that's not much plot - just enough for the author to amuse us with her usual brand of humor.
It is extremely satisfying the way that she always brings her aged, poor or downtrodden characters to a good end. Well really, all her characters. You can depend on Angela Thirkell. She has" the root of the matter" in her, to use her character, Sir Edmund Pridham's, phrase.
If it seems your own world has gone insane, it is infinitely soothing to see another world arranged carefully, sensibly and happily for a group of people that you have come to care for.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers that this is a less engaging entry in the series. I still enjoyed it of course, but the plot is pretty darn loose. We spend a lot of time with the Mertons and Pomfrets (both of whom are great families/characters) in the first 3/4s and then the narrative switches to focus more on Miss Pemberton, Mr. Downing, and Mrs. Turner in the final fourth. I don't care about those characters as much, but there are so many characters in this series that that's just how it goes.

My favorite parts of this were seeing Colin and Lydia Keith reunited (my favorite siblings!) and the plotline with Ludo Pomfret, Lord Mellings, the gangly 16-year-old son of Lord and Lady Pomfret who is 'so like his father' (we heard that about 100 times in the novel!). Lord Pomfret and his heir are the highly sensitive/introvert types whereas the normal 'Pomfret' is the extrovert who wreaks well-meaning and amusing havoc on the world (i.e. Ludo's two younger siblings Giles and Emily). I love that Lydia, Aubrey, and Jessica take real interest in Ludo and can see past the gangliness of youth to Ludo's sensitive and caring self.

The other notable thing about this entry in Thirkell's Barsetshire is how intensely nostalgic the characters are for life pre-WWII. The main (very large) cast of characters in Thirkell's world are basically all gentry (and some nobility) and their way of life is dying very decidedly after WWII. Thirkell is obviously mourning the loss of this old way of life and being. Lydia Merton spends a good bit of the book wondering if the past was really better than the present, and she longs for her carefree youth when the world seemed more ordered. It's interesting to read this through 21st century American eyes. On the one hand, no matter how many British novels I read, the class system is always a puzzler to me, so in that respect, Thirkell's nostalgia feels outdated and strange. On the other hand, I have sympathy for Thirkell and her characters because it is hard to lose what was familiar. I've been learning that moving into adulthood and growing older means grappling with a lot of loss of various kinds. The trauma of WWII still lingers for the characters, too.

A final note that I would love to see the three Keith siblings and their families at this seaside Devonshire cottage.

[Wynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be my third reading of the novel and it gets an extra star. Currently reading my way through Trollope's Barsetshire chronicles and therefore the allusions from Mrs. T. have more meaning. There are several in this novel. And in the last chapter, where there are a number of literature and musical references, I found the internet helpful. "Oh, of course, that is the name of that familiar tune".
The novel begins with two of Mrs. T's favorite characters, Lydia Keith Merton and her husband Noel. The plot hangs on a village celebration of the coronation of Elizabeth II. It is 1953 and Mrs. T is bemoaning the loss of manners, country ways and civilization as she likes it. But eventually the more middle and working classes become central to the plot. There is a "middle age" love story. But since both of the couple have silver hair, one would guess they were closer to 65 than 55. I enjoy the humor and acceptance of human behavior. There are the Bunce sisters and their multiple "children of shame", Lord Pomfret and his family sinking into poverty but rescued by the kind but crude Mr. Adams; two women who are clearly more than "dearest friends"; and Miss Pemberton who is dying with a grace she did not always display in life.
It helps to have read other novels in the series, but this was a summer visit with an old friend.

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. Angela Thirkell shows us how Barsetshire celebrated her 1953 coronation with church services, processions, and performances -- most of which were preceded by tiresome committee meetings and rehearsals. Thirkell's narration sparkles as usual, but this book (in defiance of the author's rule that every one of her books is exactly the same) is not quite like the others. Romance takes a back seat to patriotism and the unraveling of an ancient Barsetshire saying:

Twoscore year and add thirteen,
Then a Crowning will be seen,
Crowning of a Queen so good,
Mountain, steed, frost, fire, and flood.

What did it mean?

***

In 2022, I started reading this book shortly after the Queen passed away.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the Thirkells. Dry wit and spot-on observations.

[LDuchess · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mertons (Lydia & Noel), the Pomfrets (Lord & Lady, plus Ludo), during Coronation spring, 1952.
(Moyer Bell--once belonged to Edith Jeude)

[Classic reverie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela Thirkell’s book 23 of the Barsetshire series, “ What Did It Mean” is basically all about the new queen’s coronation which has all of the kingdom celebrating. Mrs. Lydia Merton takes charge of her area’s celebrations with the help of Mrs. Paxon and Miss Pemberton. I found this a bit tedious, yet I liked hearing about the characters, especially the eldest of Lord Pomfret’s children, the one most like himself, who takes things a bit too much and his personality towards shyness. Lydia helps the young 16 year old blossom with her special care in bringing himself out of himself. The Aubrey Clovers help this out by the acting part put forward for Ludo. The families of many married couples expanding which is interesting. Thirkell has a tendency to rehash old news for the reader to be reminded or told of past events which can be trying at times, Miss Pembertion and her male border, Mr. Downing who helps with expenses as well as they have a work relationship with a book research. I always enjoy the Leslies young boys, especially Leslie minor.

❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌ spoiler alert


Miss Pembertion starts to become ill which has her old boarder to worry about her though he has become secretly engaged to Mrs. Turner, whose company with her nieces he frequented during the war years. Miss Pemberton tells him though it seems she did not know of this engagement, he better marry Mrs. Turner for she preferred the boarder of the nurse, Miss Heath who took a liking to the older lady. Noel Merton is knighted. It seems that the liking Noel had for the then widowed, Peggy Arnotbut will cause a delayed riff, even though Peggy has been out of the picture. It seems some kind of future affair will come their way.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lydia Keith Merton chairs Barsetshire’s coronation committee in this 23rd(?) installment of Thirkell’s series. I can’t help wondering if a tight timeline to get the book published soon after Queen Elizabeth’s coronation put undue pressure on the author. The book contains lots of repetition — e.g., Noel Merton’s (apparently chaste) flirtation with Mrs. Arbuthnot, which so upset his wife in a previous book, is mentioned at least 5 times in the first 100 pages. At a later point we have the Pomfrets giving not one but two (long) tours of Pomfret Towers to curious guests, which felt like the writing equivalent of killing time. And Lydia is flat and fairly dull here (although AT has struggled before with writing an adult Lydia).

There are some sweet subplots—especially Jessica Dean and Aubrey Clover taking the painfully shy Lord Mellings under their collective wing. And the sole engagement involves an older couple who almost got together previously—another sweet idea, if quite rushed and under developed.

Overall WDIM reads like a book written to meet a deadline before the author had really fleshed out a story. We see flashes of AT’s wit, but not otherwise a particularly memorable work.

[Gypsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 23rd novel in the Barsetshire series, and follows the residents of one of the county villages as they prepare to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. As I have come to expect from Thrikell, it's witty, intelligent, a bit snarky, and fully enjoyable.

(note: This series must be read in order to appreciate the complex relationships of the characters.)

[Libraryassistant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 3.5? I adored Wild Strawberries and was looking for more Thirkell— this one was a little harder to get into, very rambling with loads of different characters at the beginning. But I did become very attached to Lydia and her Noel, as well as the Pomfrets. And some of the very British quips and quirks are delightful!

[Christine McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly amusing account of planning for local celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Northbridge. Some of my favorite characters, Lydia Merton and Mrs. Villars, are deeply involved, as well as the Pomfrets. Although there is an elegiac tone for the past days of aristocratic life, there is a lot less of the bitterness that was present in the early post war books in the series.

[Joanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lydia is one of my favorite characters so I was happy to see her again but I got very tired of the Coronation meetings. I know our author didn't like all the changes as time went marching on through her life but I'm no fan of current tastes and times.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating fictional look at rural England during the Coronation-the only one in my lifetime so far.

[Carolyn Agosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

As lovely as all of Ms. Thirkell's books are.

[Kay Robart · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023...