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Recommendations based on Diary of a Provincial Ladyby E.M. Delafield
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Excellent Women
by Barbara Pym
A shy spinster's journey of self-discovery, exploring the limitations of life as a single woman in 1950s England.
The book details the everyday life of its narrator, Mildred Lathbury, , a spinster in her thirties in 1950s Britain. Perpetually self-deprecating, but with the sharpest wit, Mildred is a part-time ... (Wikipedia)
The Custom of the Country
by Edith Wharton
A woman's rise to the top of high society, exploring the cut-throat world of New York.
The Spraggs, a family of midwesterners from the fictional city of Apex who have made money through somewhat shady financial dealings, arrive in New York City at the prompting of their beautiful, ... (Wikipedia)
Wives and Daughters
by Elizabeth Gaskell
A story of growth, love, and values in a rural English village.
The novel opens with young Molly Gibson, who has been raised by her widowed father, Dr. Gibson. During a visit to the local aristocratic 'great house' of Lord and Lady Cumnor, Molly loses her way in ... (Wikipedia)
The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton
A romantic drama set in the high society of 19th century New York, exploring the limits of love and longing.
Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York City's most illustrious families, happily anticipates his highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. Yet he ... (Wikipedia)
A God in Ruins
by Kate Atkinson
An exploration of the life of a World War II pilot and the effects of trauma on his family.
The novel is about the life of Teddy Todd (younger brother of Ursula Todd, the protagonist of the companion work,, Life After Life, ). Events in his life are not revealed in chronological order. The ... (Wikipedia)
The Five Red Herrings
by Dorothy L. Sayers
A Scottish murder mystery where the victim is an unpopular artist. Lord Peter Wimsey must solve the case amidst a group of suspicious artists.
During a painting retreat, a killer takes a creative approach to the ancient art of murder... The majestic landscape of the Scottish coast has attracted artists and fishermen for centuries. In the ... (Goodreads)
The Remains of the Day
by Kazuo Ishiguro
A butler reflects on his past, grappling with the lost opportunities of a life devoted to service.
The novel tells, in first-person narration , the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens ... (Wikipedia)
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
by Winifred Watson
An unemployed governess embarks on a day of transformation in 1930s London.
Set in London just prior to World War II , the film is about a middle-aged, straitlaced vicar 's daughter and governess Guinevere Pettigrew ( Frances McDormand ), who has been fired from her fourth ... (Wikipedia)
Brideshead Revisited
by Evelyn Waugh
A nostalgic reflection on a wealthy family and the enduring power of love.
The novel is divided into three parts, framed by a prologue and epilogue. The prologue takes place during the final years of the Second World War . Charles Ryder and his battalion are sent to a ... (Wikipedia)
Lord Peter Views the Body
by Dorothy L. Sayers
A collection of short stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey solving various murder mysteries with his wit and intelligence.
In this delightful collection of Wimsey exploits, Dorothy L. Sayers reveals a gruesome, grotesque but absolutely bewitching side rarely shown in Lord Peter's full-length adventures. Lord Peter views ... (Goodreads)
Hotel du Lac
by Anita Brookner
A woman's journey of self-discovery, confronting her past and discovering her identity.
Edith reaches Hotel du Lac in a state of bewildered confusion at the turn of events in her life. After a secret and often lonely affair with a married man and an aborted marriage, she is banished by ... (Wikipedia)
Katherine
by Anya Seton
A historical romance novel set in 14th century England, following the life of Katherine Swynford and her love affair with John of Gaunt.
Katherine tells the true story of Katherine de Roet, born the daughter of a minor Flemish herald , later knight . Katherine has no obvious prospects, except that her sister is a waiting-woman to ... (Wikipedia)
Pygmalion
by George Bernard Shaw
The transformation of a poor flower girl into an elegant society lady.
George Orwell claimed that "The central plot of Shaw's play, Pygmalion , is lifted out of Peregrine Pickle [by Tobias Smollett ], and I believe that no one has ever pointed this out in print, which ... (Wikipedia)
Started Early, Took My Dog
by Kate Atkinson
Private investigator Tracy Waterhouse rescues a child and buys a dog, leading to a complex web of secrets and lies.
The main story takes place over a few days in present-day (2010) Leeds, England and vicinity. There are frequent flashbacks to 1975, when the mystery being investigated originated. ... (Wikipedia)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino
An exploration of the nature of storytelling, as two readers attempt to uncover the lost story of the novel's title.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly back to the great age of narration—"when time no longer seemed stopped and did not yet seem to ... (Goodreads)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
by Maggie O'Farrell
Story of two women's struggle to uncover a dark family secret and reclaim their freedom.
In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
by Agatha Christie
A classic murder mystery, uncovering the truth behind a suspicious death.
On the morning of 18 July, the household at Styles Court wakes to the discovery that Emily Inglethorp, the elderly owner, has died. She had been poisoned with strychnine . Arthur Hastings, a soldier ... (Wikipedia)
One Good Turn
by Kate Atkinson
A series of interconnected events that slowly unfold the truth of an unsolved crime.
Reviews were mostly positive. Justine Jordan of, The Guardian, enjoyed the novel, saying Liesl Schillinger of the, New York Times, said, "Kate Atkinson shows again, in her inimitable bleakly funny ... (Wikipedia)
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
An unconventional family living in a crumbling castle navigate life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.
The novel takes place between April and October in a single year in the 1930s. The Mortmain family is genteel, poor, and eccentric. Cassandra's father is a writer suffering from writer's block who ... (Wikipedia)
Goodbye to Berlin
by Christopher Isherwood
A portrait of the vibrant Weimar-era Berlin, with its array of characters and cultural clashes.
Here, meine Damen und Herren, is Christopher Isherwood's brilliant farewell to a city which was not only buildings, streets, and people, but was also a state of mind which will never come around ... (Goodreads)
An American Tragedy
by Theodore Dreiser
A young man's ambition leads him to commit a heinous crime, and he must face the consequences of his actions.
Ambitious, handsome, but poorly educated, naïve, and immature, Clyde Griffiths is raised by poor and devoutly religious parents to help in their street missionary work. As a young adult, Clyde must, ... (Wikipedia)
I Let You Go
by Clare Mackintosh
A mother's heartbreaking journey of grief and guilt as she struggles to come to terms with the death of her son.
THE, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER,One of, The New York Times Book Review’,s 10 Best Crime Novels of 2016!,Now in paperback—the next blockbuster thriller for those who loved, The Girl on the Train, and, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Right Ho, Jeeves
by P.G. Wodehouse
A humorous adventure of a young man and his loyal valet, as they attempt to outwit a nefarious scheme.
Bertie returns to London from several weeks in Cannes spent in the company of his Aunt Dahlia Travers and her daughter Angela. In Bertie's absence, Jeeves has been advising Bertie's old school ... (Wikipedia)
A Kiss Before Dying
by Ira Levin
A young man's quest to uncover the truth behind the death of his lover.
Bud Corliss is a young man with a ruthless drive to rise above his working-class origins to a life of wealth and importance. He serves in the Pacific in World War II, and upon his honorable discharge ... (Wikipedia)
Cold Comfort Farm
by Stella Gibbons
A young woman moves to the countryside to bring order to the chaotic lives of her relatives.
Following the death of her parents, the book's heroine, Flora Poste, finds she is possessed "of every art and grace save that of earning her own living". She decides to take advantage of the fact ... (Wikipedia)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
by Dai Sijie
Two city boys discover the beauty of the countryside, and the power of art, during the Cultural Revolution.
The novel, written by Dai Sijie, is about two teenage boys during the Chinese Cultural Revolution , Luo, described as having "a genius for storytelling", , and the unnamed narrator, "a fine ... (Wikipedia)
Tales of the City
by Armistead Maupin
A warm and comedic exploration of 1970s San Francisco and its colorful inhabitants.
San Francisco, 1976. A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts ... (Goodreads)
The Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
Detective investigates the mystery of King Richard III, uncovering the truth behind his reputation.
Alan Grant, Scotland Yard Inspector (a character who also appears in five other novels by the same author) is feeling bored while confined to bed in hospital with a broken leg. Marta Hallard, an ... (Wikipedia)
Death of an Expert Witness
by P.D. James
A detective investigates a suspicious death in a hospital laboratory, uncovering a sinister conspiracy.
Dr. Lorrimer appeared to be the picture of a bloodless, coldly efficient scientist. Only when his brutally slain body is discovered and his secret past dissected does the image begin to change. Once ... (Goodreads)
Gaudy Night
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater to solve a mystery, while grappling with her feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey.
Harriet Vane returns with trepidation to her, alma mater, , Shrewsbury College, Oxford to attend the Gaudy dinner. Expecting hostility because of her notoriety (she had stood trial for murder in an ... (Wikipedia)
