The Diary of a Provincial Lady

By: E. M. Delafield

Narrated by: Georgina Sutton

'Lady B. stays to tea. (Mem.: Bread-and-butter too thick. Speak to Ethel.) We talk some more about bulbs, the Dutch School of Painting, our Vicar's wife, sciatica, and All Quiet on the Western Front. (Query: is it possible to cultivate the art of conversation when living in the country all the year round?)'

If the question suggests a qualified answer, there is no doubt that the art of diary writing is alive and well and very, very funny in Devonshire in the 1920s. At least in the hands of E. M. Delafield. Though poles apart in many ways, Bridget Jones's Diary could not have existed without her sometimes arch, often lofty, but deeply English upper middle class forbear.

Diary of a Provincial Lady is a classic of its time, revealing the thoughts and concerns of a Lady embedded in family life and the mores of comfortable country life. She has a husband 'raised to the peerage', two children and servants; she is burdened by the superior Lady Boxe, the tiresome vicar's wife and the constant temptation to live beyond her monthly household allowance. But she soldiers on, recording her days with acute observation, wit, self-deprecation and colour.

A balance to the Bloomsbury intensity of the day, this is a classic that has never been out of print and now comes to life in this pitch-perfect reading by Georgina Sutton.

©2016 PD (P)2016 Ukemi Productions Ltd

A perfect gem

The Diary of a Provincial Lady is among my top lifetime favorites...greatly adored and re-read over and over for decades. At one point I translated the French (mostly from one character) into English, in ink in the margins of my first paperback copy. My paperbacks are falling apart, but I just listened to this version. Although I prefer the written version, I've heard this read by three different women and none sound like the Provincial Lady in my mind--though this was the best rendition. I certainly loved every word. It is beautifully penned, full of irony, humor, pathos, and quite a perfect period piece. It is endlessly interesting and diverting, so I chose it as the book to accompany me to the hospital when I delivered my child, oh so many years ago. Warmly recommended.

delightful

I enjoyed a glimpse into the past of an English family and their everyday life

Surprisingly good

I never would have thought I have anything in common with a British mother from a different time who had servants and a nanny but I was surprised by how some aspects of being a wife and mother are apparently universal. The characters were wonderful. The pastors wife always says she must go but will stand at the door for an hour talking and won’t go. I know someone like that. Also some of the things her husband says remind me of my own husband. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that so clearly describes everyday life from a woman’s point of view. It also is quite humorous.

Totally delightful

The perfect narrator for a book that made me laugh out loud repeatedly. Highly recommended.

So glad to hear E.M. Delafield’s work

Delightful account of the daily travails of an accomplished writer who managed to fit her career in the interstices of house, family, friends, lack of funds, and an array of demanding neighbors. It’s a pleasant escape from our own time.

Delightful treat

Wonderfully funny and surprisingly insightful little gem - enjoyed while baking and pottering around the home one day.

Pleasant and witty

Laced with honest assessments of a variety of domestic circumstances, which are expressed in humorous wit, this is a charming little read that livened up my daily commute. As this is a sequence of diary entries, no depth of plotline should be expected, other than the ups and downs of an anonymous woman's days in 1930s England, over the course of a year or so. I found it comforting and delightfully entertaining.

Drôle

Brilliantly narrated account of the endless challenges of everyday life for those of us blessed with neither riches nor narcissistic confidence. Husband Robert is as unresponsive to Provincial Lady’s reflections as my partner (reassuring). Complete joy.

delightful

a wonderfully fun and hilarious listen for the summertime. I the diary or journal narrative is fantastic and so funny.

Fantastic Surprise!

Thanks to Georgina Sutton, I have discovered E.M. Delafield. After listening to her wonderful narration of Vanity Fair, I had to have more by this narrator. I simply searched Georgina Sutton and found this. What a treat. As a lover of P.G. Wodehouse and Stella Gibbons, it was thrilling to find this gem. It is so wonderful to discover a new author from a period I love. Delafield is gloriously funny. Thanks you, Georgina Sutton for doing justice to this comic genius. I will be getting the next title, and I hope Sutton narrates the whole series.