Customer Reviews

Provincial Lady In Russia The (Provincial Lady Series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being a tremendous fan of EM Delafields "Diary of a Provincial Lady", "The Provincial Lady Goes Further", and the two subsequent novels, I was very excited to discover this previously unknown book in the series.

However when I read it, I discoverd that "The Provincial Lady in Russia" is NOT a novel and it is NOT about "Time and Tide" magazine's "Provincial Lady".

It is, actually, a fascinating factual account of EM Delafield's visit to communist Russia in the 1930's. It has been re-titled in the last 20 years by the publisher, presumably to cash in on the current popularity of "The Provincial Lady" series.

Please DO buy this book if you are interested in social history, English attitudes to communist Russia in the 30's, and witty, erudite, informative writing.

But do NOT buy this book if you are looking for more tales about the Provincial Lady, her husband, their two children, Mademoiselle, the vicar's wife and Lady B!

I find it insulting to the memory and work of EM Delafield (and tremendously insulting to us, her readers) that this book has been "re-branded" in such a cynical way.

My beautifully articulated 1937 Harper and Brothers Publishers (NY and London) hardbound edition is titled "I Visit the Soviets: The Provincial Lady Looks at Russia", and contains the stirring pen and charcoal drawings of Leo Manso, a colored version of which appears to make up the cover of this edition. Delafield's book on her experiences living in a Soviet commune and indeed traveling throughout much of Russia is a treat, no matter which edition you connect with. A smart, connected prose style amplifies some extraordinary scenes of Russia burgeoning even at the end of the first flush after the revolution. The shadowy presence of Stalin wanders obliquely menacing through the revealing prose of a very capable reporter, who to her credit takes her task seriously and scores with a novelist's discerning eye for vital detail. I've read the book a number of times. It has the same hypnotic power as 'Searching for Icons in Russia' - a brilliant picture of a specific, consuming experience told with power and surprise. Anyone interested in the subject will be rewarded with tremendous fortune encountering this one-of-a-kind document of extraordinary events.