An Unsuitable Attachment

A witty comedy of manners reminiscent of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Barbara Pym's An Unsuitable Attachment is an elegant tale set in 1950s England. 'The day comes in the life of every single man living alone when he must give a dinner party.' The arrival of the charming bachelor Rupert Stonebird sets the parish of St Basil, on the fringes of North Kensington, aflutter. The local matchmakers are convinced he'll make a perfect match for the vicar's wife's sister, Penny, or perhaps the librarian Ianthe Broome. But Ianthe finds herself drawn to her new library assistant, John, a man of questionable background with nary a penny to his name. As an unsuitable attachment forms, the cosy village life becomes rife with humour and romantic entanglements. Acclaimed author Barbara Pym, whom Philip Larkin called 'the most underrated novelist of the century', delivers a delightful and witty classic novel that will charm fans of the genre. 'Barbara Pym is one of my most favourite novelists. Few other writers have given me more laughter and more pleasure' – Jilly Cooper, author of The Rutshire Chronicles 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' – Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club

About the Author :
Barbara Pym (1913-1980) was a British novelist best known for her series of satirical novels on English middle-class society. A graduate of St Hilda's College, Oxford, Pym published the first of her nine novels, Some Tame Gazelle, in 1950, followed by five more books. Despite this early success and continuing popularity, Pym went unpublished from 1963 to 1977. Her work was rediscovered after a famous article in the Times Literary Supplement in which two prominent names, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated Pym as the most underrated writer of the century. Her comeback novel, Quartet in Autumn, was nominated for the Booker Prize.

Review :
The most underrated novelist of the century . . . The subtlest of her books – the sparkle on first acquaintance has been succeeded by the deeper brilliance of established art I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym [Pym] makes me smile, laugh out loud, consider my own foibles and fantasies, and, above all, suffer real regret when I reach the final page. Of how many authors can you honestly say that? A splendid, humorous writer Barbara Pym has a sharp eye for the exact nuances of social behaviour The wit and style of a twentieth-century Jane Austen Barbara Pym’s unpretentious, subtle, accomplished novels are for me the finest examples of high comedy to have appeared in England during the past seventy-five years . . . Spectacular Very funny and keenly observant of the ridiculous as well as the pathetic in humanity Beneath the gentle surfaces of [Pym’s] novels is a slow-building comedy, salt wit in a saline drip . . . Her work offers the reassurance that we are all as bad and as good, as prickly and as resilient, as any Evensong attendee. It is a useful gratification in grating times Barbara Pym is one of my most favourite novelists. Few other writers have given me more laughter and more pleasure