English Country Life in the Barsetshire Novels of Angela Thirkell

(Hardback)

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Description

After the publication in 1932 of Angela Thirkell's first Barsetshire novel, her fans eagerly awaited a new book in the series, and they were rewarded annually for the next 27 years. Drawing upon the entire body of Barsetshire novels (set in Trollope's imaginary county whose seat, Barchester, is a cathedral town), Laura Collins shows Angela Thirkell's larger purposes in chronicling the daily lives of the rural English. English Country Life demonstrates Thirkell's conviction that loyalty to family, county, and country is the essential bond that strengthens middle-class culture; her close acquaintance with the English countryside, her high regard for the wit and wisdom of its people, and her firm conviction that the strong family unit is the backbone of the nation, are recurrently illustrated in the Barsetshire series. Collins traces the development of representative county families and their responses to the forces of political and economic decline. The book conveys Thirkell's mastery of detail in recreating life on the county's estates and farms, and in towns and villages, reflecting the cultural changes forced upon all social classes by the two World Wars and their aftermath. Collins shows how Thirkell's own life is reflected in her county chronicles. Perhaps most significantly, Collins believes Thirkell's own experiences as a daughter and as a mother to three sons is reflected throughout the novels, revealing largely in hindsight the touching ironies as well as the comedy of these relations. In the course of these narratives, her sharp sense of human nature is seen at its best when she introduces readers to the many babies, toddlers, and adolescents who grow up in Barsetshire. Making extensive use of the series, Collins demonstrates convincingly that Thirkell presents an authentic record of upper middle-class English country life. For public libraries and research collections where Angela Thirkell's novels are read, enjoyed, and studied.

Reviews

"For readers familiar with Angela Thirkell's oeuvre, this well-written, well-researched study will be a delight. As long as readers like Laura Collins are around, the English novel of manners isn't dead."- Robert L. Perry, Professor of English Prestonsburg Community College
"For the many readers who may have enjoyed one or two novels by Thirkell, it will constitute a powerful motive to continue through the series, for Laura Collins builds her defense of Thirkell not on praise of individual novels, but from a deep appreciation of Thirkell's total achievement as a novelist over three decades."- Carol McGuirk, Professor, English Florida Atlantic University
"In her analysis of the ways in which Thirkell nostalgically documents the decline and passing of a gentler way of life, Collins firmly establishes Thirkell's importance as a commentator on the changing social scene in 20th-century England. Highly recommended."-Lorrayne Y. Baird-Lange, Ph.D. Retired Professor of English Youngstown State University
"Laura Collins has written a perceptive and thorough analysis of Thirkell's Barsetshire, concentrating on its residents, many of whom are descendants of Trollope's characters. This social history of a small corner of rural England should encourage readers to discover or rediscover the worlds of Anthony Trollope and Angela Thirkell."- William Coyle, Professor Emeritus Florida Atlantic University
"Laura Collins has written a study as charming as the Barsetshire novels themselves -- witty, perceptive, and wise. The book is indispensable to those who already know and love the works of Angela Thirkell, and it is a perfect guide to those readers who are just entering the world of her delightful and insightful novels."-Carol Wershoven, Professor Palm Beach Community College
"Laura Roberts Collins has written a very useful guide to some aspects of both the work and life of the late Angela Thirkell. While not pretending to be comprehensive, it fills a much needed gap in the understanding of an authoress who is much more important both to literature and its history than the amount of scholarship about her might indicate."- Thomas Thirkell, vice president Angela Thirkell Society, United Kingdom
"Ms. Collins brings welcome-and much appreciated-attention to the often neglected work of Angela Thirkell, who used Trollope's fictional Barsetshire as the setting for most of her thirty-odd novels. Every reader of Angela Thirkell should make this book a part of their library."- Jimmy Alan Newcomer, bulletin editor Angela Thirkell Society, No. American Branch

Author Bio

LAURA COLLINS is a retired senior instructor, English Department of Palm Beach Community College South.