Before Lunch [MP3 Audio] [Audio CD]

Angela Mackail Thirkell (Author), Nadia May (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

The Middletons and the Stoners unite with Lady Bond and Lord Pomfret to stop the erection of a teashop and garage on unspoiled Pooker's Piece. The young and the not-so-young all fall in love, not always with the right person, and sort out their affairs in a hilarious welter of cross-purposes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As the title of this bright, unashamedly nostalgic novel suggests, Angela Thirkell had a genius for the quotidian. Published in 1939, Before Lunch was the last of Thirkell's books published before the darkening shadow of World War II made her glittering, reassuring portrait of the English countryside (embodied in "Barsetshire," her own Yoknapatawpha County) seem more and more anachronistic. The minor Thirkell renaissance currently proceeding has produced no more blessedly uplifting heroine than Lilian Stoner, the heroine of Before Lunch. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

In Thirkell's clearly demarcated, well-protected fictional province there are no shocking catastrophes and no unmanageable threats. -- The New Yorker, Hermione Lee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; MP3 Una edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786191171
• ISBN-13: 978-0786191178
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,225,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I think this is her best, September 18, 2011

By 

Dave "Dave" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Before Lunch (Paperback)

I like British county novels from the first half of the 20th century, which is, depending on the author, a pretty guilty pleasure, and Thirkell is among the guiltiest. But sometimes they are the perfect escape from today, and they are comforting: By and large, the decent people wind up doing fine. Yes, they are classist, and all of that, and in so being reflect their culture and time.

However, many of them are just too ridiculous for words, so much so that exasperation overcomes one.

But if I had to recommend just one Thirkell to someone, "Before Lunch" would be it. It's the best of Thirkell.