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And yet the greatness of the novel is that it is about each one of us: all of human life is here in the seemingly simple description of the family’s annual holiday. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"endpaper-caption\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEndpaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"endpaper-caption\"\u003eEndpapers taken from 'Dahlias', a 1931 design for a dress silk by Madeleine Lawrence\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"R. C. Sherriff","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44960221659183,"sku":"9781903155578","price":1599.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0743\/6428\/9071\/files\/fortnight.png?v=1775724717"},{"product_id":"miss-buncles-book","title":"Miss Buncle's Book","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0743\/6428\/9071\/files\/Persephone.png?v=1775729186\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe storyline of \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMiss Buncle's Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e (1934) is a simple one: Barbara Buncle, who is unmarried and perhaps in her late 30s, lives in a small village and writes a novel about it in order to try and supplement her meagre income.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere are some serious moments, for example when the doctor’s children are, very briefly, kidnapped (as a way of trying to force their mother to admit that she wrote the book; which she did not). But the seriousness is minimal – mostly this is an entirely light-hearted, easy read, one of those books \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewhich can be recommended unreservedly to anyone looking for something undemanding, fun and absorbing that is also well-written and intelligent.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eD.E. Stevenson had an enormously successful writing career: between 1923 and 1970, four million copies of her books were sold in Britain and three million in the States. Like E.F. Benson, Ann Bridge, O. Douglas or Dorothy L. Sayers (to name but a few) her books are funny, intensely readable, engaging and dependable. \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMiss Buncle's Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e was the most popular of her novels because it has a completely original plot and a charming and delightful central character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEndpaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"endpaper-caption\"\u003e'Flower vase lit by rays from a table lamp', a screen-printed cotton and rayon designed by Vanessa Bell for Allan Walton Textiles in 1934 (V\u0026amp;A Museum).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DE Stevenson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44960222216239,"sku":"9781903155714","price":1599.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0743\/6428\/9071\/files\/missbuncle_sbook.png?v=1775723097"},{"product_id":"miss-buncle-married","title":"Miss Buncle Married","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0743\/6428\/9071\/files\/Persephone.png?v=1775729186\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMiss Buncle Married \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eis the sequel to\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/lunabooks.in\/products\/miss-buncles-book?_pos=2\u0026amp;_psq=miss+buncle\u0026amp;_ss=e\u0026amp;_v=1.0\"\u003eMiss Buncle's Book\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e  which is about a woman who writes a novel about Silverstream, the village where she lives, under the pseudonym John Smith, and is then involved in the comedy as her neighbours try to discover the identity of the viper in their midst. Eventually she is forced to leave, and having married her publisher Arthur Abbott, moves to his house in Hampstead. The Abbotts then move out of London, which is when \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMiss Buncle Married,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e begins. Early on Arthur thinks: ‘But I really hope, in a way, that [Barbara] won’t want to write ... because this place is delightful – simply charming – and if she starts writing about our neighbours, we shall most probably have to leave Wandlebury – just as she had to leave Silverstream – in a hurry.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDE Stevenson’s great-granddaughter Fiona Bevan writes in the Persephone Afterword: ‘It is the truthful depiction of people, and the exposure of their faults, that makes Barbara’s writing dangerous.’ For, although witty and readable, DE Stevenson can be sharp and caustic, indeed occasionally verges on the cruel when she lampoons some of her characters. However, she is also intensely sympathetic to the less fortunate, for example the reader knows that Miss Foddy, the governess to the neighbouring children, faces a bleak future where ‘it is so extremely difficult for a woman of my age and uncertified qualifications to find a post‘ and DE Stevenson never forgets ‘the potentially bleak outlook for women who cannot marry into a secure life.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet despite moments of seriousness, \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMiss Buncle Married\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e is overall a funny, touching and interesting novel that most Persephone readers will enjoy very much. (We also publish the third installment in the trilogy, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/lunabooks.in\/products\/the-two-mrs-abbotts?_pos=1\u0026amp;_psq=two+mrs+abbotts\u0026amp;_ss=e\u0026amp;_v=1.0\"\u003eThe Two Mrs Abbotts\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEndpaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA 1936 Liberty's printed cotton crepe dress fabric.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"D. E. 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