Yes, I know I should be engrossed in Evelina, but somehow this week I ended up reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (thank you, Angus). It's easy to be snobby about a first novel by a bored Englishwoman in New York who enrolled for creative writing classes (in fact, I'm full of admiration and no little envy) which is promoted by the Richard & Judy Book Group and which has reviews from Easy Living (who?) and the Daily Mail on its back cover. In truth, however, it is a gentle, amusing and ultimately uplifting read. A quintessentially English comedy of manners which features cultural clashes, late love, a get rich quick City son, an American who wants to buy up the countryside, the wise and delightful Mrs Ali and the kind, charming and throughly decent Major Pettigrew who is fighting a rearguard action against the erosion of traditional good manners. Despite his background, Major Pettigrew is far more open minded and culturally aware than those around him, including of course the residents of the stylised and idealised (unless people really live like this in English villages?) village of Edgecombe St Mary in Sussex. If you have enjoyed Alexander McCall Smith's novels, you will enjoy this. And to be fair to Helen Simonson, it is now a New York Times best seller. And now.......back to Evelina.
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