E. M. Delafield

1 volume ; 18 cm

In "the Pelicans" by E.M. Delafield, orphaned sisters Rosamund and Frances Caniper, living in a pastoral paradise, are whisked away by their dubious Cousin Bertha, and their lives are disturbed as they navigate a new reality. Here's a more detailed summary of the book. SETTING: The story unfolds against the backdrop of the River Wye and early 20th century England. CHARACTERS: The central figures are the orphaned sisters, Rosamund and Frances Caniper, who are taken from their peaceful existence by their cousin Bertha, a character with unclear intentions. PLOT: The novel explores the lives of the sisters as they are forced to leave their idyllic home and adapt to a new life, encountering challenges and changes along the way. THEMES: The story delves into themes of family, loss of innocence, and the disruption of a peaceful life.

A fictionalized account of the Edith Thompson and Fred Bywaters case.

Destinies can change in an instant.In 1935, privileged misfit Lorna meets the love of her life. Falling for a pennyless and bohemian artist, Matt, she abandons her stuffy Kensington existence in London and moves to a rustic cottage in Somerset. A baby, Molly, is born, but the coming war takes Matt – and Lorna's dreams – away ...Lorna's decisions and their unforeseeable consequences come to shape the stories first of her daughter, Molly, and then her granddaughter, Ruth.Consequences tells of three generations of women in their own twentieth-century times united by their shared experiences of love, pain, fate and happiness ...

Review from librarything dot com: "She could never, looking backwards, remember a time when she had not known that a woman’s failure or success in life depended entirely on whether or not she succeeded in getting a husband." In the opening scenes of Thank Heaven Fasting, Monica is getting ready to come out in society, under the watchful eye of her controlling mother, Imogen. Her ability to quickly land a husband is assumed and expected, and Monica quietly looks down upon long-time friends who have not been so lucky. And initially, things look promising for Monica: she has all the right accoutrements, and men queuing up to fill her dance card, but E.M. Delafield had something different in mind Delafield is best known for The Diary of a Provincial Lady, a witty satire of 1930s life in the English provinces. I approached Thank Heaven Fasting expecting a similar tone, and was initially amused by Imogen’s attempts to provide all the best accoutrements for her daughter, and coach her in proper behavior. I was somewhat concerned I would have to read about balls, gowns, and young men for 200+ pages, but the novel became more poignant as Delafield showed how very few options women had at this point in history. The final sentence hammered that point home, while leaving me wondering what was next for Monica."

The goal of the provincial lady is to maintain 'niceness', whether it be in the home, relationships or personal behaviour. 'The Diary of a Provincial Lady' first published in the 1930s is a witty celebration of the suburban British housewife between the wars.

Claire, a Sotheby's art specialist, must arrange a career-making auction of 19th-century paintings, reconsider the loss of her marriage and negotiate the possibilities of new romance.

The provincial lady finds an apartment in London, visits nightclubs and casinos, and meets the intellectuals and eccentrics of London society.

RONNIE CORBETT: Introduction P.G. WODEHOUSE: 'The Voice from the Past' RING LARDNER: Mr and Mrs Fix-It H.F. ELLIS: Lent Term 1939 The Man Faggott (from The Papers of A.J. Wentworth, BA) FREDERIC RAPHAEL: Chinatown MARK TWAIN: A Restless Night KEITH WATERHOUSE: A Family Breakfast (from Billy Liar) BARRY PAIN: The Insult ANONYMOUS: The Simple Story of G. Washington PAUL THEROUX: Algebra NATHANIEL GUBBINS: Gubbins Goes to War JAMES HERRIOT: Tristan's Romance (from Vet in a Spin) BRET HARTE: A Jersey Centenarian A.C. GAMES: Russell's Fantasy ROBERT J. BURDETTE: First-class Snake Stories BOB LARBEY: New Jobs for Old (from A Fine Romance) OSCAR WILDE: The Canterville Ghost RING LARDNER: A Day with Conrad Green SEAN O'FAOLAIN: The Woman Who Married Clark Gable JEROME K. JEROME: I Become an Actor DAVID NOBBS: Chlistmas (from The Better World of Reginald Perrin) BARRY PAIN: The Unsuccessful Sinner GIOVANNI GUARESCHI: Crime and Punishment (from The Little World of Don Camillo) JAMES HERRIOT: The Butcher (from Vets Might Fly) DOROTHY PARKER: You Were Perfectly Fine ARNOLD BENNETT: Raising a Wigwam (from The Card) W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM: The Facts Of Life STEPHEN LEACOCK: Mr Plumter, BA, Revisits the Old Shop (from Happy Stories) ROB BUCKMAN: Jogging from Memory (from Jogging from Memory) ALASDAIR GREY: The Problem (from Unlikely Stories, Mostly) JOYCE GRENFELL: Canteen in Wartime (from Turn Back the Clock) ART BUCHWALD: Coward in the Congo (from I Chose Caviar) SAKI: The Story-teller JOHN VERNEY: Tea at the Embassy (from Verney Abroad) HARRY SECOMBE: Goon Away — Try Next Door (from Goon for Lunch) JOHN WYNDHAM: Pawley's Peepholes (from The Seeds of Time) JEAN DAVIS: Trees and Tribulations GROUCHO MARX: A Blind Date Can Be a Pig in a Poke Bonnet (from Memoirs of a Mangy Lover) DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND: The Gentleman at Home (from The English Gentleman) P.G. WODEHOUSE: 'The Great Sermon Handicap' (from The Inimitable Jeeves) GEORGE & WEEDON GROSSMITH: Diary of a Nobody (from Diary of a Nobody) ART BUCHWALD: My Favourite Tourists (from I Chose Caviar) IRIS MURDOCH: The sale of the Artemis (from The Flight from the Enchanter) ARTHUR MARSHALL: Take A Pew (from I'll Let You Know) JAMES THURBER: The Day the Dam Broke (from My Life and Hard Times) C. NORTHCOTE PARKINSON: Nonorigination (from In-laws and Outlaws) DOUGLAS ADAMS: April Showers (from So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish) JAMES THURBER: A Sequence of Servants (from My Life and Hard Times) JOHN MOLE: The Monogamist RUDYARD KIPLING: A Friend's Friend FRAN LEBOWITZ: Writing: A Life Sentence (from Metropolitan Life) PETER USTINOV: Schooldays (from Dear Me) PATRICK CAMPBELL: East is West PHYLLIS BENTLEY: At the Crossing (from More Tales of the West Riding) O. HENRY: Memoirs of a Yellow Dog BASIL BOOTHROYD: Coming to Grips (from Let's Move House) A.C. GAMES: The Concerns of Angus Daines ROBERT ROBINSON: The Middle-aged Philistine Abroad (from The Dog Chairman) SUE TOWNSEND: A New School Year (from The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole) GROUCHO MARX: Speed the Parting Guest (from Memoirs of a Mangy Lover) SAKI: The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope NEIL BOYD: One Sinner Who Will Not Repent (from A Father Before Christmas) DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND: The Gentleman and the Opposite Sex (from The English Gentleman) DAMON RUNYON: The Big Umbrella ROBERT ROBINSON: Our Betters (from The Dog Chairman) JOYCE GRENFELL: Antique Shop (from Turn Back the Clock) W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM: The Escape GEORGE S. KAUFMAN: School for Waiters ARTHUR MARSHALL: Cold Comfort Cottage (from I'll Let You Know) MAX APPLE: Carbo-loading (from Free Agents) ROB BUCKMAN: Gray's Anatomy in a Country Churchyard (from Jogging from Memory) BARRY PAIN: The Recitation ART BUCHWALD: Alone in No Man's Lapland (from I Chose Caviar) GERALD DURRELL: The Human Animal (from Encounters with Animals) E.F. BENSON: The Party (from Lucia's Progress) AUBERON WAUGH: Inflammable Nighties (from Consider the Lilies) DAVID NIVEN: 'The Emperor' (from Bring on the Empty Horses) G.K. CHESTERTON: The Singular Speculation of the House Agent (from The Club of Queer Trades) NANCY MITFORD: Castle Life (from Love in a Cold Climate) GEOFFREY WILLANS and RONALD SEARLE: How to Succeed as a New Bug (from How to be Topp) GERALD DURRELL: A Porcupine in the Parish (from Menagerie Manor) E.M. DELAFIELD: Foreign Climes (from The Provincial Lady Goes Further) JOHN VERNEY: Top of the Morning (from Verney Abroad)

This story follows a group of women all employed at the same war office. The majority of the workers live together in a hostel, while the director is from a higher class and lives on the family estate away from the town. The director, her family, and one of the workers are the main characters of the story, though all characters involve get their lime light. The story is a great character study, while being entertaining and giving you a glimpse of how those on the home front doing war work in WWI lived their lives.