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2 Reviews
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
English country life at the hands of a master
A tongue in cheek, close-up look at the manners and mores of country life in England in the '30s. A modern-day Jane Austin, nothing much happens in any of her books, other than a marriage or christening. Sly, humourous and wittily observed - a perfect intro to the world of Barsetshire.
Published on June 29, 1999
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Not one of her best
Angela Thirkell's later books are on the whole not tightly plotted or written, and much then depends on how attractive the main characters are. She tends to fall in love with certain characters and to take against others for no particular reason. "The Duke's Daughter" is ostensibly about Lady Glencora Palliser (yes, for all Trollope fans, a descendent of Lady...
Published 21 months ago by Cleopatrai
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
English country life at the hands of a master,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Duke's Daughter (Angela Thirkell Barsetshire Series) (Paperback)
A tongue in cheek, close-up look at the manners and mores of country life in England in the '30s. A modern-day Jane Austin, nothing much happens in any of her books, other than a marriage or christening. Sly, humourous and wittily observed - a perfect intro to the world of Barsetshire.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not one of her best,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Duke's daughter (Mass Market Paperback)
Angela Thirkell's later books are on the whole not tightly plotted or written, and much then depends on how attractive the main characters are. She tends to fall in love with certain characters and to take against others for no particular reason.
"The Duke's Daughter" is ostensibly about Lady Glencora Palliser (yes, for all Trollope fans, a descendent of Lady Glencora Palliser (nee McCluskey) another heroine who failed to enchant me, and her courtship by Sir Cecil Waring. It also includes the further adventures of Tom Grantly who has failed to adjust to post-war England, the taming of Clarissa Graham by Charles Belton, and finally, as a throw-in the abbreviated whirlwind romance of Oliver Marling and Lady Maria Lufton all accomplished in about two chapters from meeting to engagement! These stories all actually could have been novels of their own - the themes are interesting. Lady Cora is herself hurt by World War II, she lost both her younger brother and someone she could have married, and at 30 plus has failed to find anyone else. Tom Grantly could have been a highly interesting study of the problems of readjustment for a young man after the war, but it is unfortunately taken up with Ms Thirkell's contempt for the new Britain and Grantly becomes a rather boring fence-sitter. Charles Belton was always truly annoying and Clarissa is a total Narcissist but somehow the author fails to see this and devotes far too much time to the unattractive couple. And how Clarissa ever got a scholarship to Girton College Cambridge is quite beyond me - after all standards were still high then! The only amusing couple Oliver Marling and Lady Maria get short shrift. Lady Maria is the (English) cocker spaniel breeder, very competent, efficient and self-sufficient who meets the ever whiney Oliver who is still mourning his lost love, Jessica Dean (who would have been totally unsuitable as his wife!) There are comic elements and both of them have quirky characters. And I would have liked to have read much more about the dogs! |
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The Duke's Daughter (Angela Thirkell Barsetshire Series) by Angela Mackail Thirkell (Paperback - January 1, 1995)
$12.95
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