The Provincial Lady in America (Provincial Lady Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Margaret Freeman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . for those who have sniffed the literary scene and can identify the landmarks, it will have the added interest that gossip about one's friends has. -- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Her humor is much like . . . a good light comic 'Masterpiece Theatre' series. -- CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

Product Description

The third in the delightful "Provincial Lady" series finds our pungently witty English lady travelling the United States. Her two earlier books were set in Devonshire and London respectively, where she set down her observations of life and letters as they affected her and her menage of husband, two children and assorted servants, friends and acquaintances.

In this volume she comes to America on a literary tour. She visits New York, Cleveland, Chicago and the World's Fair of 1932, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, among other cities-confiding to her diary as she goes her shrewd and barbed thoughts and queries. Here is no British What's-Wrong-with-America, but rather a delightful See-Yourselves-as-the-Others-See-You: a challenge to the American sense of humor.

Readers of Diary of a Provincial Lady and The Provincial Lady in London will be further amused and charmed by their favorite diarist's trans-Atlantic adventures.

Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers (October 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897331109
• ISBN-13: 978-0897331104
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,827,855 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Trials Of A Provincial Lady, March 16, 2002

By	Gabrielle Page "Stitchy Rat" (Essex UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Elisabeth just longs for the time and space to write something other than laundry lists and read anything other than household accounts. It is apparent that the earnings from her writing and speaking tours are the only thing keeping the wolf or the bailiff from the door. Robert her husband is not supportive, preferring to see these things as a distraction from the real business of the day which in his view should be ensuring that meals are on time and plentiful, the children to be seen but not heard, no animals in the house and absolutely no conversation at breakfast. And if possible no visitors, and particularly not ones who stay. In this attitude he is rather like many men that one knows.
She is constrained on all sides by the demands of the unspeakable Lady Box who happens to be her husband's employer, the state of her overdraft, local difficulties with the servants, the house, the laundry, the women's institute. In other words she is of another time and place, on the cusp of the second world war when everything is beginning to change. Many things for the better, others with less happy outcomes.
Through all the vissitudes that life throws at her Elisabeth copes as best as she can, seeing the humour to be had and best of all allowing the reader to join in. Women juggling with work, husband and family is as current today as it was then and I must conclude that little changes. Still women are left fixing up dental appointments, taking the dog to the vet, the kids to the doctor, booking the baby-sitter, arranging visits to and from relations, and of course endless boring household shopping.
It doesn't matter that this was written 50 years ago, it is still fresh and very funny.
EM Delafield endured much sadness before she died, her only son was killed in a questionable shooting accident in the gunroom and she died of cancer a few years later in her early fifties. Her prolific output stands as a testament to her.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provincial Lady spreads her wings, November 5, 2003

By	Megami (Darwin, Australia) - See all my reviews

Our lucky Provincial Lady has had a book published (when did she find the time to write it in between dealing with servants, bills and children?) so is off to America to do a book tour. This book contains many characters from the original Provincial Lady Diary, as well as some new ones, as the Provincial Lady shares her views of American hospitality (wonderful, if cocktail laden), travelling (not at night if possible), American food (under-rated and vastly superior to English food) and other important details.

Though now over 60 years old, this is still a fantastically good book, both funny and insightful. A word of warning - a lot of it may not make much sense if you have not read Diary of a Provincial Lady, as it refers to many characters that you are already assumed to know, but if you are up on the series, you are sure to find this one a delight!

2.0 out of 5 stars lazy day read, April 15, 2009

By	Zeldie Stuart "a bubbie" (fort lee, nj USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Provincial Lady in America (Paperback)

The Provincial Lady series are enjoyable easy reads for a day in the sun or just lazing in on sunday. or best before bedtime. Best of the lot is the first one "diary of a provincial lady" the rest just follow the same vein so it gets a bit too familiar.