Excellent women

The Rediscovery-of-Barbara-Pym, a year or two old in England but begun here with the arrival of her new novel Quartet in Autumn (p. 773), now continues with the reissue of her most widely admired work, first published in 1952. Again the lightly satiric focus is on loneliness bravely borne, the bearing up being done here by that excellent woman Mildred Lathbury, a 35-ish spinster who becomes embroiled with the vicar, the neighbors, the neighbors' lodgers, and a few hopeless gentleman friends. Though more cleanly crafted, more consistently dry in tone than the comic/pathetic Quartet in Autumn, this 25-year-old novel, dated but of too recent a vintage for nostalgic charm, is less accessible to a broad audience, more of a special treat for lovers of the high, wry style. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.