No Fond Return of Love

In No Fond Return of Love, three people converge on an academic conference at a girls' school: Dulcie Mainwaring, a middle-aged spinster living in the London suburbs; Viola Dace, an indexer; and Aylwin Forbes, a lecturer and editor, with whom Viola is in love. Dulcie soon finds herself becoming mildly obsessed with the handsome Aylwin; and looks him up in books at the local library and even walking past his mother-in-law's house. Oh, if only the internet had been around in the 1950s, when this novel is set! Later, Dulcie's niece, Laurel, moves in with her in order to attend a secretarial course; Viola, after an argument with her landlady, moves in not long after. Laurel soon finds herself being the object of Aylwin Forbes's affection, even as Viola continues to be in love with him. What's the levelheaded, eager-to-please Dulcie to do? No Fond Return of Love is a sweet, gentle romance, much in the way that Jane Austen's works are (and indeed, this novel has been compared to Persuasion). Pym does a wonderful job, in all of her works, of exposing her characters' foibles. Dulcie is a bit of a saint, but not in the holier-than-thou or pedantic way, which I thought was delightful. In a way, Pym's work is a lot like Muriel Spark's, but I've found that I much prefer Pym. Her work is so much more genteel than Spark's is.

My only question about Dulcie is, where is her social group? She seems not to have any friends prior to Viola Dace. Surely that's not possible?

I thought I had read all of Pym's novels, but then realized that I had somehow missed No Fond Return of Love. After making up for my mistake, I would have to say that No Fond Return of Love has become my very favorite Pym work. That the story revolves around the incredibly patient and self-effacing folks who compose academic bibliographies (in the days when it was all done by hand), is a stroke of comic genius. Aside from the usual wit and depth of insight, it has the most wonderfully intricate plot and the most fleshed-out and real characters of all her fine books. Dulcie Mainwaring is a saint! And, a very real person. Everyone gets what she wants in this novel, and although the reader may disagree with the main characters' choices, they are THEIR choices and totally believable. This is also the sunniest and funniest of all the Pym novels, and I found myself literally laughing out loud at the many human failings and foibles Pym reveals in her most kind, generous, and forgiving manner. Pym is always compared to Jane Austen, but No Fond Return of Love seems to me a finer work than anything of Miss Austen's. I enjoyed every single moment of this book and look forward to a re-reading of it quite soon.

Everyone knows the story of Barbara Pym, of how she was suddenly faced with a publisher who no longer wanted her work. She was praised by Philip Larkin as his favorite novelist and she began to write and publish once more. Dulcie Mainwaring and Viola Dace are attending a conference about editing and indexing. Dulcie has just come to realize that her suitor does not want to marry her. At the conference one of the speakers is Alwyn Forbes, someone known previously to Viola. Dulcie's niece is going to be moving into her house in the suburbs. Laurel is ten or more years younger and her point of view is used by the author to convey a jaundiced and knowing view of some of the actions of the characters. In time Viola moves into another room in Dulcie's house. She is doing an index for Alwyn Forbes's book gratis. Dulcie determines where Alwyn's mother-in-law lives and at a nearby jumble sale she sees his estranged wife. She knows that she is playing a sort of game. She hears that Alwyn's brother is a clergyman and finds out his name. His church is located near the house of her Uncle Bertram and Aunt Hermione, a brother and sister pair. Alwyn and Maurice, the former fiance, attend a dinner planned by Dulcie. The five present include the younger person, Laurel. There are endless complications and permutations in this amusing tale. Viola and Aunt Hermione both end up engaged to marry as it is suggested that it is possible Dulcie and Maurice will reunite.

the tale of dulcie mainwearing and her adventures with a number of academic types. barbara pym wrote with a sharp eye for the eccentricities of her characters. but she did not make any of her characters black and white stick figures. read it and laugh!