The Provincial Lady in America

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!

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.