At Mrs Lippincote's
The blog stalker reading project rolls on. This time it is At Mrs Lippincote's by Elizabeth Taylor. The reading list said anything by Elizabeth Taylor, and I assume it meant this mid twentieth century author, not the actress.
Anyway, what a wonderful book. not earthshattering, but completely absorbing and pleasant. Maybe it helped that I read it last weekend while being stuck in O'Hare airport for NINE hours. I had planned on reading the book on the outward and return trip, but ended up reading the whole book before we even got on our plane to New York, then had to buy multiple magazines (Outside, Vogue, Elle, In Style, Consumer Reports, and Wired) to keep myself occupied for the rest of the trip, including the three hours we were delayed on the way back. Ahh, summertime flying.
Anyway, in the introduction, Elizabeth Taylor is compared to Jane Austen. Someone who wrote wonderful books about a very limited sphere. This book is about Julia, the wife of a military man during WWII. They are stationed somewhere in England during the war, and they rent a house (Mrs Lippincote's house) so they can be together while he is stationed away from home. They have a little boy, Oliver, and the husband's (Roddy) cousin Eleanor also lives with them. The book is just about a small period of time ( a year maybe) during which they are stationed there. The main tension in the book, and the main plot, comes from examining how Julia tries to be the perfect wife and mother, while chafing at the idea that a woman exists merely to be a perfect wife and mother.
The book did a wonderful job of giving insight into a particular time and place as well as a particular class of person, rich enough to not need to work, but not able to easily have an independent existence. Also, since it was in the twentieth century, the role of women was changing, making it even harder for a woman to know her "proper place". I felt that their lives were realistic and fully drawn, as if these people really existed.
Of course, it was set in England...... I am still in love. Lots of period detail about tinned food, wartime raids, mahogany furniture, hand delivered goods, servants' back doors, pubs, and british politeness and stiff-upper lips.
Overall, I would recommend it, and may even try to read some of her other novels. It is only about 200 pages, so a huge investment of time is not needed.
Anyway, what a wonderful book. not earthshattering, but completely absorbing and pleasant. Maybe it helped that I read it last weekend while being stuck in O'Hare airport for NINE hours. I had planned on reading the book on the outward and return trip, but ended up reading the whole book before we even got on our plane to New York, then had to buy multiple magazines (Outside, Vogue, Elle, In Style, Consumer Reports, and Wired) to keep myself occupied for the rest of the trip, including the three hours we were delayed on the way back. Ahh, summertime flying.
Anyway, in the introduction, Elizabeth Taylor is compared to Jane Austen. Someone who wrote wonderful books about a very limited sphere. This book is about Julia, the wife of a military man during WWII. They are stationed somewhere in England during the war, and they rent a house (Mrs Lippincote's house) so they can be together while he is stationed away from home. They have a little boy, Oliver, and the husband's (Roddy) cousin Eleanor also lives with them. The book is just about a small period of time ( a year maybe) during which they are stationed there. The main tension in the book, and the main plot, comes from examining how Julia tries to be the perfect wife and mother, while chafing at the idea that a woman exists merely to be a perfect wife and mother.
The book did a wonderful job of giving insight into a particular time and place as well as a particular class of person, rich enough to not need to work, but not able to easily have an independent existence. Also, since it was in the twentieth century, the role of women was changing, making it even harder for a woman to know her "proper place". I felt that their lives were realistic and fully drawn, as if these people really existed.
Of course, it was set in England...... I am still in love. Lots of period detail about tinned food, wartime raids, mahogany furniture, hand delivered goods, servants' back doors, pubs, and british politeness and stiff-upper lips.
Overall, I would recommend it, and may even try to read some of her other novels. It is only about 200 pages, so a huge investment of time is not needed.
posted by Shelly at 6:03 AM
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