Cheerfulness Breaks in

By Angela Thirkell

Book Overview

'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York Times It is summer 1939 and the social event of the year is about to take place: Rose Birkett, a flighty beauty with a penchant for breaking engagements and hearts, is finally getting married, and the whole village - especially her parents - breathes a sigh of relief. By autumn, however, summer weddings seem a distant memory as war reaches Barsetshire. While the younger generation throws itself into the war effort with cheerful aplomb, older residents remember the last war keenly, and are fearful. When an entire London school of evacuees arrive, as well as a number of refugees, the village rallies round to accommodate them. Some inhabitants, though, fail to welcome the newcomers with open arms. First published in 1940, this is a humorous and poignant picture of wartime in a rural community.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0349013411
• ISBN13: 9780349013411
• Release Date: August 2021
• Publisher: Virago Press (UK)
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.9" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

For Those Who Like This Sort of Thing...

For those who like this sort of thing, it's just the sort of thing they would like. I just happen to be one of those people! Thirkell is reactionary, pro-aristocracy, and writes about the tragedy of the gently fading county gentry in Britain, and how awful it is that they can't maintain their great houses and get servants anymore. I'm not with her politically, but she tells charming tales, mostly about young people falling in love and everybody surviving the War and post-War years. I read "High Rising" first, which is cackle aloud hilarious, assuming the rest would be. They're not, but they're very pleasant.