Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym - 4 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym - 4* - My Review

Set in a small English village in the late 1940s, the titular characters are Jane Cleveland, a vicar's wife, and Prudence Bates, a twenty-nine-year-old single woman. Jane was Prudence’s tutor in university. Prudence is an office assistant who daydreams about her married employer and reminisces about her past loves, but feels she is now drifting toward spinsterhood. Jane engages in a bit of match making by introducing Prudence to widower Fabian Driver, an attractive man known for his dalliances. Prudence dates Fabian rather half-heartedly. The storyline follows a small group of characters as they go about their daily lives.

This book is a comedy of manners focused on characterization. The dialogue is lively. The story includes subtle humor, which is embedded between the lines. This book will not be for everyone, especially not anyone looking for plot or action. At first it may seem like a book focused on a woman needing a man, but in fact it is the opposite – it contains an underlying message that Prudence will be fine, whether or not marries. I found it a relaxing and charming read.

“Must it not be rather depressing to embark on a love affair that one knew to be doomed from the start, and yet…, people were doing it all the time, plunging boldly in with no thought of future misery.”

PBT Comments: I found this book on Linda C's Subdue the Shelf Gameboard (Clerk Level #59). I read it due to my recent roll of 5,6.