Miss Buncle Married by D. E. Stevenson

Ah, Miss Buncle.  You cannot help but love her.  I recently reviewed Miss Buncle's Book, about how Barbara Buncle became a bestselling author but her book riled up her little village when they discovered someone had fictionalized the inhabitants, their quirks and motives with stunning detail.  

Miss Buncle's Book was such a delight that naturally I had to read Miss Buncle Married when I found out it was being reissued by Sourcebooks Landmark.  

In Miss Buncle Married, Barbara is now Mrs. Abbott.  Mr. & Mrs. Abbott are happily married and have a wide circle of friends.  But, their social life has become such a burden that they've decided that it's time to move.  Barbara busies herself with the task of finding a new home.  Eventually she discovers the perfect place, a wreck called The Archway House that has sat empty for many years.  Mr. Abbott is dismayed, but he's utterly unable to resist his wife's charming determination.  They buy the house for a song and Barbara sets about having it redone.

When Barbara first views the house, she is mistaken for a woman much older than herself, who has recently changed her will.  The mistake leads to a bit of inside information that Barbara promises to keep close.  That's a bit too complex to go into and you wouldn't want me to spoil the fun, anyway, would you?  

As they settle into their new home, the Abbotts gradually become popular in their new social circle in Wandlebury.  And, beyond that, there's just so much goofy fun that I can't even begin to describe it all. Somewhere in there, for example, is a little bit of intrigue about a fellow dressed up in Shakespearean garb and mistaken for a ghost.  Trust me, you just have to read it.  

I was slightly more entertained by Miss Buncle Married than I was by Miss Buncle's Book but, as I said in my review of the former, I think that has something to do with the fact that we were in the midst of a move.  Well, that and the huge cast of characters. Miss Buncle is charming and insecure in Miss Buncle's Book but in Miss Buncle Married, she begins to develop self-confidence.  She is a lovely, quirky, wonderful character.  

Miss Buncle Married was originally published in 1936.  Whilst perusing a list of D. E. Stevenson's books at Wikipedia, I discovered there's a book called The Two Mrs. Abbotts.  I hope that's another Barbara Buncle Book and that I can get my mitts on a copy.  I highly recommend Miss Buncle Married.  

Cover thoughts:

Love, love, love the covers of the both books.  I think they reflect the heroine's spirit perfectly.  

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson

Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson is one of those lovely older titles -- first published in 1936 -- that are being given a second life by publishers. My copy is from Sourcebooks, but I've been told Persephone also has published Miss Buncle's Book. Wahoo for both!

It's been a couple weeks since I finished Miss Buncle's Book, but it's unforgettable. Barbara Buncle is a single woman living in Depression-era Great Britain. Her income has trickled to nearly nothing, so with the idea of making money in mind, she has written a thinly-veiled account of life in her English village with a dash of fantasy in the form of a "golden boy" thrown in.

She meets with a cheery publisher and within a short time her book is selling well under the pseudonym "John Smith". But, there are complications. It doesn't take long for the villagers to discover the book, begin passing it around and wondering who has written about their lives. Most are angry about the way they've been portrayed, although a few think the book is simply entertaining.

While the villagers discuss the book and plot revenge, some of the book's fictional plotting begins to mysteriously come true. Is life imitating art? Or is Miss Buncle just unusually prescient? Will the villagers uncover the real name behind John Smith? And, isn't that cheery publisher charming?

Miss Buncle's Book started out as slow reading for me, although that may have something to do with the fact that I was in the thick of moving, at the time. Once the villagers became riled up and set out to find "John Smith" and teach him a lesson, I had difficulty putting the book down. What would become of Barbara Buncle, once the villagers found her out?

I don't think it's a spoiler to note that everyone in the village thought Miss Buncle couldn't possibly be the author of Disturber of the Peace. At least one person even claimed she was not clever enough to have written a book -- all of which made for some of the most interesting plot points toward the end of the book.

I loved Miss Buncle's Book. Barbara Buncle is a delightful character, her publisher is charming, there are plenty of villagers to love and at least two who are villainous enough to make you cheer when they get their just desserts. My only problem with the book was the fact that there are so many characters it's hard to keep them all straight. I finally reached the point at which I stopped trying to puzzle everyone out and just enjoyed the story. When I did that, the characters kindly stayed consistent and did a knock-out job of clarifying their individual stories so that eventually the cast was not so overwhelming.

Highly recommended to those looking for a good, breezy, old-fashioned tale. Miss Buncle's Book is a breath of fresh air. Light-hearted reading with a surprising plot, a lovable but slightly insecure heroine, a realistically large cast and a satisfying denouement. I will definitely be hunting down more books by D. E. Stevenson!

Miss Fiona says I've been posting too many photos of Isabel. Fi's turn!

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.