Description: Folio Society - DIARY OF A PROVINCIAL LADY by E. M. Delafield In the late 1920s, E. M. Delafield, already a successful novelist, was asked to write something for Time and Tide magazine. The result was a comic delight that has remained in print ever since. Diary of a Provincial Lady recounts the trials and tribulations of an upper-middle-class housewife ‘of the class so frequently referred to as “leisured”’ – though the narrator would plead that her life is no such thing. Hers is a hectic round of persuading austere cooks to reconsider their resignations; enduring the insufferable Lady Boxe; evading the bank manager; collecting ‘Curious Beaks’ for her son Robin; and trying – with desperate kindness – to bid farewell to guests, from her eccentric schoolmate Cissie Crabbe to Our Vicar’s Wife, who never leaves: ‘At eleven Our Vicar’s Wife gets as far as the hall door. There we talk about forthcoming village concert, parrot disease and the bishop of the diocese …’ In her introduction, Jilly Cooper praises the sheer joy of this, her favourite book, and its deceptive simplicity that conceals considerable art: ‘Here is a very subtle and deliberate talent at work, naturally satirical, with a marvellous ear for dialogue and an unerringly accurate social sense.’ This Folio edition, in a pleasingly portable Narrow Demy format, contains charming line illustrations by the cartoonist Nicolas Bentley, who shared the author’s sense of humour. As Jilly Cooper writes, ‘One likes to think in some afterlife, they are still having a gentle laugh together at all our extravagances.’ DESCRIPTION: Introduction by Jilly Cooper. Drawings by Nicolas Bentley. Bound in cloth printed with a design by the artist. Set in Bell. 176 pages. 16 line drawings. Coloured page tops. 8¾" × 4¾" CONDITION: Book is NEW and SEALED in the publisher’s original SHRINK WRAP (see photos). Photos 1 to 6 are of the actual book that is listed. Whilst photos 7 to 10 are stock photos Postage will be by Royal Mail Tracked 48 with Signature service costing £4.95 All items are sent at cost price whether purchasing a single or multiple items. Due to size, weight and value considerations it is not possible to accurately calculate combined postage automatically. Always feel free to ask or if purchases require immediate payment I will refund any difference. All items must be sent to the address stipulated during the payment process. All items are sent via recorded delivery unless they are of little monetary value. Virtually all my items are available through the global shipping program (GSP) to designated countries outside the UK. Please note I have no control over international postage costs. I do not set these, eBay's GSP does, I send the items to an address in the UK and am not even aware of the country for which they are destined. Items purchased through the GSP must be sent via the GSP shipping centre. For multiple purchases, I cannot combine postage after items are purchased but if you contact me before buying I can try combining multiple items into a single listing which is usually less expensive. Please ask any questions before buying 70PC
Price: 29.99 GBP
Location: UK
End Time: 2025-01-10T15:11:33.000Z
Shipping Cost: 33.57 GBP
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Binding: Hardback
Language: English
Subject 2: Contemporary Fiction
Illustrator: Nicolas Bentley
Subject 1: Fiction Classics
Fiction Subject: Humourous Fiction
Author: E. M. Delafield
Publisher: Folio Society
