Middle-aged Catherine Middleton, married to an obtuse but endearing older man, is the still center of a swirl of two generations of "gentry" on the brink of WW II. The activities of youngsters and contemporaries go on around her and it is only gradually that one sees how, without conscious manipulation, nothing happens without her. The characters are subtly and humorously drawn--keep an eye on the hypochondriac and self-absorbed Miss Starter who displays a shrewd gift for defining the essentials and deflating the fatuous. At the end, youngsters and oldsters are properly sorted out and paired off, mostly as expected, after several false starts. Alistair, the older man who sets off after the 'ingénue' is nudged back into place with Catherine's sister-in-law (his contemporary). She, in turn, sees 'her young man' off to seek his dream, leaving her bereft of the companions of her mind and heart -- duty and honor intact, with the notion of 'self-fulfillment at all costs' decades away.
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Book Description
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.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
I think this is her best,
By Dave "Dave" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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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.
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