A Lot to Ask: The Life of Barbara Pym

The restraint and economy with which the author approaches her subject only enhance the richness of the work. With a wealth of detail,Hazel Holt sets the jewel of Pym's works in the setting of her life. For example, paraphrasing: "Hilary and I reckoned up the reasons people had left our parish church: Rome, Death, and Umbrage. Umbrage, of course, removed the greatest number." Those who have enjoyed Pym's work would do well to read this book before other secondary sources.