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Barsetshire #1
High Rising
In Angela Thirkell's first Barsetshire novel, she sets the plot pattern which will be played out in most of her later books. She also introduces us to specific characters as well as 'types' who will appear and reappear in changing relationships as the years go by.
There is the middle-aged woman centrally involved in the events and activities around her; here, Laura Morland, a happily widowed author of very successful 'good bad books' (Thirkell herself?). A disappointed suitor and/or a brief, ill-conceived infatuation of younger man with older woman. At least two romances to work out—an older couple and a younger one—with mild crises along the way. A closing of ranks among the women vs the intruder nicknamed 'the Incubus' resolves both affairs to the satisfaction of all.
Especially delightful are the children, servants and other retainers; well defined characters in their own right; from motor-mouthed young Tony Morland and his model railways to housekeeper Stoker and her grapevine among the servants of the neighbourhood.
There is the middle-aged woman centrally involved in the events and activities around her; here, Laura Morland, a happily widowed author of very successful 'good bad books' (Thirkell herself?). A disappointed suitor and/or a brief, ill-conceived infatuation of younger man with older woman. At least two romances to work out—an older couple and a younger one—with mild crises along the way. A closing of ranks among the women vs the intruder nicknamed 'the Incubus' resolves both affairs to the satisfaction of all.
Especially delightful are the children, servants and other retainers; well defined characters in their own right; from motor-mouthed young Tony Morland and his model railways to housekeeper Stoker and her grapevine among the servants of the neighbourhood.
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
183 people are currently reading
3872 people want to read
About the author
Angela Thirkell
58 books257 followers Angela Margaret Mackail was born on January 30, 1890 at 27 Young Street, Kensington Square, London. Her grandfather was Sir Edward Burne-Jones the pre-Raphaelite painter and partner in the design firm of Morris and Company for whom he designed many stained glass windows - seven of which are in St Margaret's Church in Rottingdean, West Sussex. Her grandmother was Georgiana Macdonald, one of a precocious family which included among others, Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, and Rudyard Kipling. Angela's brother, Denis Mackail, was also a prolific and successful novelist. Angela's mother, Margaret Burne-Jones, married John Mackail - an administrator at the Ministry of Education and Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.
Angela married James Campbell McInnes in 1911. James was a professional Baritone and performed at concert halls throughout the UK. In 1912 their first son Graham was born and in 1914 a second son, Colin. A daughter was born in 1917 at the same time her marriage was breaking up. In November 1917 a divorce was granted and Angela and the children went to live with her parents in Pembroke Gardens in London. The child, Mary, died the next year.
Angela then met and married George Lancelot Thirkell in 1918 and in 1920 they traveled on a troop ship to George's hometown in Australia. Their adventures on the "Friedricksruh" are recounted in her Trooper to the Southern Cross published in 1934. In 1921, in Melbourne Australia, her youngest son Lancelot George was born. Angela left Australia in 1929 with 8 year old Lance and never returned. Although living with her parents in London she badly needed to earn a living so she set forth on the difficult road of the professional writer. Her first book, Three Houses, a memoir of her happy childhood was published in 1931 and was an immediate success. The first of her novels set in Trollope's mythical county of Barsetshire was Demon in the House, followed by 28 others, one each year.
Angela also wrote a book of children's stories entitled The Grateful Sparrow using Ludwig Richter's illustrations; a biography of Harriette Wilson, The Fortunes of Harriette; an historical novel, Coronation Summer, an account of the events in London during Queen Victoria's Coronation in 1838; and three semi-autobiographical novels, Ankle Deep and Oh, These Men, These Men and Trooper to the Southern Cross. When Angela died on the 29th of January 1961 she left unfinished the last of her books, Three Score and Ten which was completed by her friend, Caroline LeJeune. Angela is buried in Rottingdean alongside her daughter Mary and her Burne-Jones grandparents.
Angela married James Campbell McInnes in 1911. James was a professional Baritone and performed at concert halls throughout the UK. In 1912 their first son Graham was born and in 1914 a second son, Colin. A daughter was born in 1917 at the same time her marriage was breaking up. In November 1917 a divorce was granted and Angela and the children went to live with her parents in Pembroke Gardens in London. The child, Mary, died the next year.
Angela then met and married George Lancelot Thirkell in 1918 and in 1920 they traveled on a troop ship to George's hometown in Australia. Their adventures on the "Friedricksruh" are recounted in her Trooper to the Southern Cross published in 1934. In 1921, in Melbourne Australia, her youngest son Lancelot George was born. Angela left Australia in 1929 with 8 year old Lance and never returned. Although living with her parents in London she badly needed to earn a living so she set forth on the difficult road of the professional writer. Her first book, Three Houses, a memoir of her happy childhood was published in 1931 and was an immediate success. The first of her novels set in Trollope's mythical county of Barsetshire was Demon in the House, followed by 28 others, one each year.
Angela also wrote a book of children's stories entitled The Grateful Sparrow using Ludwig Richter's illustrations; a biography of Harriette Wilson, The Fortunes of Harriette; an historical novel, Coronation Summer, an account of the events in London during Queen Victoria's Coronation in 1838; and three semi-autobiographical novels, Ankle Deep and Oh, These Men, These Men and Trooper to the Southern Cross. When Angela died on the 29th of January 1961 she left unfinished the last of her books, Three Score and Ten which was completed by her friend, Caroline LeJeune. Angela is buried in Rottingdean alongside her daughter Mary and her Burne-Jones grandparents.
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January 22, 2014
I have had a selection of Angela Thirkell’s books on my shelves for a few years now, but I have been reluctant to read them. Because I knew that they were part of a series, albeit loosely linked, that it seemed would be difficult to collect in its entirety. Because I haven’t read Trollope’s Chronicles of Barchester – despite making a few attempts on the first book in the series – and I know that Angela Thirkell borrowed Trollope’s setting, and there are links and references for lovers of both authors to appreciate.
But my resolve weakened when Virago added a couple of Thirkells to the Modern Classics list, and then a couple more, and I believe there are another couple coming in the spring. Suddenly the books seemed more gettable. And I dismissed the Trollope argument. I’ve started the first of his Palliser novels – as a long, slow read – and I’m not prepared to let these lovely new editions sit unread while I work my way through the Palliser novels and then go back for another attempt at the Chronicles of Barchester. After all, there’s always the possibility of re-reading if I fall in love with both.
And the final, winning, argument to pick up ‘High Rising’ – Mrs Thirkell’s first Barchester novel – was that it was published in 1933. Both of my parents were born in that year, and so I wanted something special to fill that year in my Century of Books.
Now I have read ‘High Rising’ I can say, firmly and clearly that I did the right thing -I loved it!
I really can’t think of another author who has mixed charm, wit, cosiness and sparkle to such wonderful effect.
The lynch-pin of the story is Laura Morland, the widowed mother of four sons. Three have grown and flown the nest, leaving just young Tony, who is the very model of an enthusiastic, infuriating, schoolboy at home to entertain and frustrate his mother. When her husband died she took up writing middlebrow novels to support her family.
She achieved a level of success that left her very comfortably off.
I was so taken with Laura; I found her warm-hearted, thoughtful, capable in the very best of ways, but not to much so. She is fallible, she is self-deprecating, and it is so easy to feel that she is a friend.
The story comes from an outsider being thrown into – or I really should say elbowing her way into – a settled society in High Rising and the neighbouring Low Rising.
There’s Miss Todd, who cares for her elderly mother who is physically and mentally frail, and who makes pin money as Laura’s secretary. There’s Laura’ maid, Stoker, who is loyal, seemingly incurious but actually all knowing There’s George Knox, a successful biographer, a wonderful raconteur, and a dear friend of Laura. There’s his daughter Sibyl, who Laura views as the daughter she never had, and who is smitten with Laura’s publisher, Adrian Coates. As he is with her ….
A whole raft of wonderful characters.
The outsider is Miss Grey, who becomes secretary to Mr Knox. She is wonderfully capable, she can be charming, but she has set her sights on becoming Mrs Knox, and will use whatever means she can to achieve her objective. Some are fair but most are foul, and George’s friends are quick to label her ‘The Incubus’ and he himself is completely oblivious.
It falls to Laura to sort out the problem of Miss Grey, and to bring Sibyl and Adrian together.
It’s a simple story, but it plays out beautifully, because it is adorned with so many lovely dialogues, so many interesting incidents; and because everything works beautifully with the characters and their situations.
I do so hope that I will meet some of those characters again, in other books in the series.
I can’t say that ‘High Rising’ is perfect. The story is uneven; there are one or two racial references that would have been acceptable then, but not now; and there were one or two moments when I realised that Angela Thirkell could only see the world from the perspective of her own class. But none of those faults were unforgivable, especially in an early novel, and I am so looking forward to reading more stories set in Barsetshire.
It’s a wonderful recipe: charm, wit, cosiness and sparkle!
But my resolve weakened when Virago added a couple of Thirkells to the Modern Classics list, and then a couple more, and I believe there are another couple coming in the spring. Suddenly the books seemed more gettable. And I dismissed the Trollope argument. I’ve started the first of his Palliser novels – as a long, slow read – and I’m not prepared to let these lovely new editions sit unread while I work my way through the Palliser novels and then go back for another attempt at the Chronicles of Barchester. After all, there’s always the possibility of re-reading if I fall in love with both.
And the final, winning, argument to pick up ‘High Rising’ – Mrs Thirkell’s first Barchester novel – was that it was published in 1933. Both of my parents were born in that year, and so I wanted something special to fill that year in my Century of Books.
Now I have read ‘High Rising’ I can say, firmly and clearly that I did the right thing -I loved it!
I really can’t think of another author who has mixed charm, wit, cosiness and sparkle to such wonderful effect.
The lynch-pin of the story is Laura Morland, the widowed mother of four sons. Three have grown and flown the nest, leaving just young Tony, who is the very model of an enthusiastic, infuriating, schoolboy at home to entertain and frustrate his mother. When her husband died she took up writing middlebrow novels to support her family.
She achieved a level of success that left her very comfortably off.
I was so taken with Laura; I found her warm-hearted, thoughtful, capable in the very best of ways, but not to much so. She is fallible, she is self-deprecating, and it is so easy to feel that she is a friend.
The story comes from an outsider being thrown into – or I really should say elbowing her way into – a settled society in High Rising and the neighbouring Low Rising.
There’s Miss Todd, who cares for her elderly mother who is physically and mentally frail, and who makes pin money as Laura’s secretary. There’s Laura’ maid, Stoker, who is loyal, seemingly incurious but actually all knowing There’s George Knox, a successful biographer, a wonderful raconteur, and a dear friend of Laura. There’s his daughter Sibyl, who Laura views as the daughter she never had, and who is smitten with Laura’s publisher, Adrian Coates. As he is with her ….
A whole raft of wonderful characters.
The outsider is Miss Grey, who becomes secretary to Mr Knox. She is wonderfully capable, she can be charming, but she has set her sights on becoming Mrs Knox, and will use whatever means she can to achieve her objective. Some are fair but most are foul, and George’s friends are quick to label her ‘The Incubus’ and he himself is completely oblivious.
It falls to Laura to sort out the problem of Miss Grey, and to bring Sibyl and Adrian together.
It’s a simple story, but it plays out beautifully, because it is adorned with so many lovely dialogues, so many interesting incidents; and because everything works beautifully with the characters and their situations.
I do so hope that I will meet some of those characters again, in other books in the series.
I can’t say that ‘High Rising’ is perfect. The story is uneven; there are one or two racial references that would have been acceptable then, but not now; and there were one or two moments when I realised that Angela Thirkell could only see the world from the perspective of her own class. But none of those faults were unforgivable, especially in an early novel, and I am so looking forward to reading more stories set in Barsetshire.
It’s a wonderful recipe: charm, wit, cosiness and sparkle!
July 29, 2019
I loved this cover.
Just charming. I didn't love much else about this book.
I think I was expecting too much from this early work. Very few authors are immediately brilliant. But for me there were a lot of characters at the start, a lot of not much happening in the middle & a predictable ending that wrapped things up a bit too tidily.
I don't think Alexander McCall Smith's introduction of my edition added much to my understanding. However, Wikipedia's biography of Mrs Thirkell is fascinating https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_.... Her own life would have coloured some of her own views - for example that marriage isn't always necessary for a middle aged woman who can support herself. These ideas would have been revolutionary for the time.
I liked how our heroine loved her son Tom but didn't always like him. I wasn't so fond of the digs at Jews
I'm going to assume Thirkell improves and hopefully some of my friends at Retro Reads will join me for a group read of
later in the year.
Just charming. I didn't love much else about this book.I think I was expecting too much from this early work. Very few authors are immediately brilliant. But for me there were a lot of characters at the start, a lot of not much happening in the middle & a predictable ending that wrapped things up a bit too tidily.
I don't think Alexander McCall Smith's introduction of my edition added much to my understanding. However, Wikipedia's biography of Mrs Thirkell is fascinating https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_.... Her own life would have coloured some of her own views - for example that marriage isn't always necessary for a middle aged woman who can support herself. These ideas would have been revolutionary for the time.
I liked how our heroine loved her son Tom but didn't always like him. I wasn't so fond of the digs at Jews
I'm going to assume Thirkell improves and hopefully some of my friends at Retro Reads will join me for a group read of
later in the year.
November 26, 2023
Una novela divertida y encantadora, comedia de enredos sencilla y previsible pero entretenida a más no poder.
'Bienvenidos a High Rising' nos presenta a Laura, escritora de cierto éxito, independiente y resuelta que, durante la Navidad, deja su piso de Londres para instalarse en su casa de campo. Viuda desde hace años (y encantada de haberse librado del soso de su marido) y con tres hijos ya crecidos y otro en el colegio, pasa sus días escribiendo con la ayuda de su secretaria, asistiendo a reuniones con su editor y participando activamente en la vida social de High Rising.
Y la novela es sencillamente eso, ver los días pasar en el típico pueblecillo inglés lleno de sirvientas mandonas, secretarias malvadas, viudos intelectuales y jóvenes enamorados.
Diría que esta historia me gustó incluso más que 'Fresas silvestres' (segundo libro de la saga pero con diferentes personajes), quizá porque el romance tiene menos peso y los personajes aquí me resultaron más carismáticos. Además, Laura es tremenda xD
Una novela perfecta si lo que buscas es una historia ligera, divertida y muy inglesa.
'Bienvenidos a High Rising' nos presenta a Laura, escritora de cierto éxito, independiente y resuelta que, durante la Navidad, deja su piso de Londres para instalarse en su casa de campo. Viuda desde hace años (y encantada de haberse librado del soso de su marido) y con tres hijos ya crecidos y otro en el colegio, pasa sus días escribiendo con la ayuda de su secretaria, asistiendo a reuniones con su editor y participando activamente en la vida social de High Rising.
Y la novela es sencillamente eso, ver los días pasar en el típico pueblecillo inglés lleno de sirvientas mandonas, secretarias malvadas, viudos intelectuales y jóvenes enamorados.
Diría que esta historia me gustó incluso más que 'Fresas silvestres' (segundo libro de la saga pero con diferentes personajes), quizá porque el romance tiene menos peso y los personajes aquí me resultaron más carismáticos. Además, Laura es tremenda xD
Una novela perfecta si lo que buscas es una historia ligera, divertida y muy inglesa.
September 7, 2017
Well-written, mildly amusing novel of small-town, upper-middle-class English people having interactions and conversations. Dull romances and petty rivalries. Could have used more plot and less boys talking about trains. I'll most likely read another of her books sooner or later.
This edition has quite a lot of typos, of the sort that are almost certainly the fault of careless production -- missing punctuation, accidental unneeded paragraph spacing, that sort of thing.
This edition has quite a lot of typos, of the sort that are almost certainly the fault of careless production -- missing punctuation, accidental unneeded paragraph spacing, that sort of thing.
November 16, 2021
When The Times of London reviewed this book (I dunno when) they called it ‘A delightful comedy of gentle irony and grave absurdity’ and in many respects it was. This was written in 1933 by a British author whose books I have not read, but who I wanted to give it a try. This is because I came across a list last week, the Complete Virago Modern Classic Collection (https://www.virago.co.uk/imprint/lbbg...). And I’ve read a number of Virago Classics and liked them lots, and lately I have been getting disappointed by new books of fiction, and I reasoned what the hell there are so many old good books out there, I should give them a go. And they listed a lot of Thirkell’s books so I tried her out.
She is overall not my cup of tea, or at least this book was not. I understand this was 1933 and I understand it was Great Britain but the racist prose that she used at times was just too blatant and ugly at times where in 2021 I couldn’t shrug it off. Here is an example and it really disturbed me — that people were laughing at this.
• “And why should we not kiss?” asked George Knox, and did not wait for answer. “Kissing has in many ages been recognized a form of salute. Savages, it is true, rub their noses together, a repellent action, but then savages are repellent, grossly so, and the less we hear of their customs the better. If savages, who after all have been just as long on the earth as we have, have got no further than knocking their front teeth out, and in general leading a life of dirt, ignorance, and an abject fear of all natural phenomena, they should have made better use of their time. The marriage customs, my dear Laura, of the Arunta tribe, are alone enough to justify their extirpation by rum, missionaries, or any other destroying element. 😕 🙁 ☹️ 😣
Terrible!!!
The book has a bunch of rich people and some servants and maids in the background, and four people who are not married at the beginning of the book are going to get married at the end of the book and two more will probably get married…and that’s about it. But the writing was OK…she knows how to write to be sure. I just had a problem with the racist verbiage that popped up every now and then.
Well, in finishing my review I googled ‘Angela Thirkell and racism’ and see gratefully I am not the only one disturbed by what I read. I guess one can hate the sin and love the sinner (or something like that). Here is what one reviewer said about “High Rising” and “Wild Strawberries” which she liked overall:
• However, I should include the warning that there are some repugnant racist views and language expressed in both books which, although short-lived, are really horrible. (https://madamebibilophilerecommends.w... )
She is overall not my cup of tea, or at least this book was not. I understand this was 1933 and I understand it was Great Britain but the racist prose that she used at times was just too blatant and ugly at times where in 2021 I couldn’t shrug it off. Here is an example and it really disturbed me — that people were laughing at this.
• “And why should we not kiss?” asked George Knox, and did not wait for answer. “Kissing has in many ages been recognized a form of salute. Savages, it is true, rub their noses together, a repellent action, but then savages are repellent, grossly so, and the less we hear of their customs the better. If savages, who after all have been just as long on the earth as we have, have got no further than knocking their front teeth out, and in general leading a life of dirt, ignorance, and an abject fear of all natural phenomena, they should have made better use of their time. The marriage customs, my dear Laura, of the Arunta tribe, are alone enough to justify their extirpation by rum, missionaries, or any other destroying element. 😕 🙁 ☹️ 😣
Terrible!!!
The book has a bunch of rich people and some servants and maids in the background, and four people who are not married at the beginning of the book are going to get married at the end of the book and two more will probably get married…and that’s about it. But the writing was OK…she knows how to write to be sure. I just had a problem with the racist verbiage that popped up every now and then.
Well, in finishing my review I googled ‘Angela Thirkell and racism’ and see gratefully I am not the only one disturbed by what I read. I guess one can hate the sin and love the sinner (or something like that). Here is what one reviewer said about “High Rising” and “Wild Strawberries” which she liked overall:
• However, I should include the warning that there are some repugnant racist views and language expressed in both books which, although short-lived, are really horrible. (https://madamebibilophilerecommends.w... )
November 30, 2021
High Rising is about as substantial as a soufflé, but who doesn’t enjoy a soufflé when the mood is right?
Angela Thirkell (1890-1961) wrote many works of fiction and non-fiction. Her fictional books, which include 29 novels set in the fictional county of Barsetshire, were very popular in their day. High Rising is the first of the Barsetshire novels and was originally published in 1933. It was republished as a Virago Modern Classic in 2012.
Successful novelist Laura Morland, and her boisterous young son Tony, set off to spend Christmas at her country home in the sleepy surrounds of High Rising. Laura's wealthy friend and neighbour George Knox has taken on a scheming secretary whose designs on marriage to her employer threaten the delicate social fabric of the village. How will Laura resolve these and other issues facing the inhabitants of High Rising?
I was bored and unamused by the opening chapters and thought the characters snobbish and judgemental. My negativity was not helped by the odd bit of casual racism (which features in many books from this era and reflected the prevailing social attitudes of the era). However, I am very glad I stuck with the book as it became steadily more enjoyable and entertaining. By the time I approached the end of the book I was completely entranced - charmed by the quirky and idiosyncratic characters - and I did not want the book to end. I am disappointed to learn that very few of these characters feature in the other books in the series.
In summary, High Rising is a light, amusing and enjoyable book which provides some great insights into the life of English middle class households during the early 1930s and gets progressively better with each passing chapter. I look forward to reading more books by Angela Thirkell.
3/5
Angela Thirkell (1890-1961) wrote many works of fiction and non-fiction. Her fictional books, which include 29 novels set in the fictional county of Barsetshire, were very popular in their day. High Rising is the first of the Barsetshire novels and was originally published in 1933. It was republished as a Virago Modern Classic in 2012.
Successful novelist Laura Morland, and her boisterous young son Tony, set off to spend Christmas at her country home in the sleepy surrounds of High Rising. Laura's wealthy friend and neighbour George Knox has taken on a scheming secretary whose designs on marriage to her employer threaten the delicate social fabric of the village. How will Laura resolve these and other issues facing the inhabitants of High Rising?
I was bored and unamused by the opening chapters and thought the characters snobbish and judgemental. My negativity was not helped by the odd bit of casual racism (which features in many books from this era and reflected the prevailing social attitudes of the era). However, I am very glad I stuck with the book as it became steadily more enjoyable and entertaining. By the time I approached the end of the book I was completely entranced - charmed by the quirky and idiosyncratic characters - and I did not want the book to end. I am disappointed to learn that very few of these characters feature in the other books in the series.
In summary, High Rising is a light, amusing and enjoyable book which provides some great insights into the life of English middle class households during the early 1930s and gets progressively better with each passing chapter. I look forward to reading more books by Angela Thirkell.
3/5
July 29, 2025
Como una tarde templada de invierno o un té humeante en buena compañía, Bienvenidos a High Rising ofrece consuelo, agudeza y un humor que no subraya. Angela Thirkell nos regala personajes entrañables —en especial la perspicaz Laura Morland— y una madeja de relaciones que se deshilacha con inteligencia tranquila. Aquí no hay giros espectaculares, sino una armonía narrativa que abraza y entretiene, como si la novela supiera justo lo que necesitas. Un placer menor en tamaño, mayor en encanto.
📚 Análisis completo en @__entre.libros__
📚 Análisis completo en @__entre.libros__
January 3, 2016
Oh, how odious! The pompously verbose but good-hearted author George Knox has hired a loathsome new secretary who seems determined to manipulate him into marriage. This causes no end of trouble, irritating his good friend and fellow author Laura Morland. The lovely but quite happily widowed Mrs. Morland tries to set things right, but she’s often distracted by her energetic train-obsessed youngest son or her lovestruck publisher or the tribulations and/or celebrations of one of her fellow residents of High Rising.
Mrs. Morland thinks of herself as an author of good “bad” books--lively, highly popular but lowbrow stories set in the fashion world. Along with Laura Morland, who returns in several of Thirkell’s later books, other characters in High Rising include rambunctious children, loyal but opinionated servants, devoted secretaries who nevertheless have their own agendas, an unflappable schoolmaster's wife, an infatuated doctor, and several hopeful but undeclared lovers both young and old.
High Rising is the first of Angela Thirkell’s witty and entertaining Barsetshire novels, which borrow their fictional setting in the English countryside from Anthony Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire. Thrikell’s books are loosely connected stories with overlapping characters, most of them written at about the time they take place--in this case High Rising was set and written between the two world wars.
Thirkell may have seen herself as something of a Mrs. Morland. After leaving two husbands behind, Thirkell supported herself and her sons by writing a book a year, successful books that she felt compared unfavorably to her beloved Proust, Austen and Dickens and that she didn’t expect (or want) her cultured, well-educated friends to read. I, however, find her books great fun. No one can write diverting “lowbrow” literature like a classics-steeped highbrow author (see also Dorothy Sayers.)
Mrs. Morland thinks of herself as an author of good “bad” books--lively, highly popular but lowbrow stories set in the fashion world. Along with Laura Morland, who returns in several of Thirkell’s later books, other characters in High Rising include rambunctious children, loyal but opinionated servants, devoted secretaries who nevertheless have their own agendas, an unflappable schoolmaster's wife, an infatuated doctor, and several hopeful but undeclared lovers both young and old.
High Rising is the first of Angela Thirkell’s witty and entertaining Barsetshire novels, which borrow their fictional setting in the English countryside from Anthony Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire. Thrikell’s books are loosely connected stories with overlapping characters, most of them written at about the time they take place--in this case High Rising was set and written between the two world wars.
Thirkell may have seen herself as something of a Mrs. Morland. After leaving two husbands behind, Thirkell supported herself and her sons by writing a book a year, successful books that she felt compared unfavorably to her beloved Proust, Austen and Dickens and that she didn’t expect (or want) her cultured, well-educated friends to read. I, however, find her books great fun. No one can write diverting “lowbrow” literature like a classics-steeped highbrow author (see also Dorothy Sayers.)
March 28, 2023
4 stars
A cosy, charming read. I didn't like it as much as "Pomfret Towers", but I definitely prefer it to "Before Lunch".
Also warning about a few comments where the Jewish origins of a publisher are referred to in a deprecatory way which will offend modern readers.
A cosy, charming read. I didn't like it as much as "Pomfret Towers", but I definitely prefer it to "Before Lunch".
Also warning about a few comments where the Jewish origins of a publisher are referred to in a deprecatory way which will offend modern readers.
January 8, 2015
This was a flat-out delight with a few very mild drawbacks.
I enjoyed the setting immensely and the characters were a delight (with one exception, but not for the reason you'd think). Laura, the chief viewpoint character, is funny and kind but with a biting wit when she wants one. Her friends in their small community are good companions in every way that matters and it took no time at all to become wrapped up in their lives and concerns.
Which is good because the novel is firmly ensconced in a pretty narrow band of concerns—chiefly the shifting-though-solid relationships amongst the small-town setting in a fictional district near enough London for day-trips. Thirkell has a very evocative style that is anchored in the lives of her fascinating characters. Think P.G. Wodehouse, though with Wooster and Jeeves combined into a single character who is competent and wise, but prone to sentimentality and matchmaking.
Three things to note that may harm your enjoyment, however.
First, this book has a female villain who is hard to take by being both irrational an relentless. She was kind of a caricature and I hated every scene that included her in it. It was fortunate that she was mostly an off-screen foil, making her presence a light one for all she was forever spoiling things. To be clear, it's not that she was a villain or that she was pretty much the only character opposed to Laura and her confidantes. My problem was, rather, that she was so one-dimensional and hardly a worthy opponent at all.
Second, any book written so long ago will have stylistic patterns that feel foreign to modern readers and this is no exception. Thirkell is really close in time to P.G. Wodehouse and her style is frankly similar. I don't know if that's deliberate on Thirkell's part or if it's merely an artifact of being more proximate in time (and thus reading tastes). I didn't have a hard time with it (and rather enjoyed it), but it bears mentioning if you plan on giving it a try. The biggest disconnects I noticed were the tendency to take short jags into random viewpoints and the occasional jaunts into backstory.
Third, the edition I read is a very bad joke. Moyer Bell (the listed publisher) should be ashamed of the truly poor copy editing this book received (which is assuming it received any). It's obviously derived from an OCR scan of some previous printing but if a human looked at it before they went to press, that human was blind or illiterate. Stray periods dot the paragraphs, as do the occasional stray colons and quotes and apostrophes—always after letters that might have, through fading, left strong points in likely positions. And some vowels get transfigured, mainly a's for o's as in "far" in place of "for". The story was engaging enough that I plowed through it, but any lesser author would have been much harder to get through. I made sure this review is tied to the correct cover image and publisher, so if you see that image, know you have the inferior edition and look for a better one (if you can find it).
Anyway, I'm sure I'll start working my way through Thirkell's oeuvre, now. She was wonderfully prolific and I understand they all share the same setting. I only hope they have better publishers. I may have to start collecting editions if all the ones in the library are by these same jokers...
I enjoyed the setting immensely and the characters were a delight (with one exception, but not for the reason you'd think). Laura, the chief viewpoint character, is funny and kind but with a biting wit when she wants one. Her friends in their small community are good companions in every way that matters and it took no time at all to become wrapped up in their lives and concerns.
Which is good because the novel is firmly ensconced in a pretty narrow band of concerns—chiefly the shifting-though-solid relationships amongst the small-town setting in a fictional district near enough London for day-trips. Thirkell has a very evocative style that is anchored in the lives of her fascinating characters. Think P.G. Wodehouse, though with Wooster and Jeeves combined into a single character who is competent and wise, but prone to sentimentality and matchmaking.
Three things to note that may harm your enjoyment, however.
First, this book has a female villain who is hard to take by being both irrational an relentless. She was kind of a caricature and I hated every scene that included her in it. It was fortunate that she was mostly an off-screen foil, making her presence a light one for all she was forever spoiling things. To be clear, it's not that she was a villain or that she was pretty much the only character opposed to Laura and her confidantes. My problem was, rather, that she was so one-dimensional and hardly a worthy opponent at all.
Second, any book written so long ago will have stylistic patterns that feel foreign to modern readers and this is no exception. Thirkell is really close in time to P.G. Wodehouse and her style is frankly similar. I don't know if that's deliberate on Thirkell's part or if it's merely an artifact of being more proximate in time (and thus reading tastes). I didn't have a hard time with it (and rather enjoyed it), but it bears mentioning if you plan on giving it a try. The biggest disconnects I noticed were the tendency to take short jags into random viewpoints and the occasional jaunts into backstory.
Third, the edition I read is a very bad joke. Moyer Bell (the listed publisher) should be ashamed of the truly poor copy editing this book received (which is assuming it received any). It's obviously derived from an OCR scan of some previous printing but if a human looked at it before they went to press, that human was blind or illiterate. Stray periods dot the paragraphs, as do the occasional stray colons and quotes and apostrophes—always after letters that might have, through fading, left strong points in likely positions. And some vowels get transfigured, mainly a's for o's as in "far" in place of "for". The story was engaging enough that I plowed through it, but any lesser author would have been much harder to get through. I made sure this review is tied to the correct cover image and publisher, so if you see that image, know you have the inferior edition and look for a better one (if you can find it).
Anyway, I'm sure I'll start working my way through Thirkell's oeuvre, now. She was wonderfully prolific and I understand they all share the same setting. I only hope they have better publishers. I may have to start collecting editions if all the ones in the library are by these same jokers...
November 29, 2023
I was interested in starting this series that takes place in Barsetshire. It’s a book that is funny at times and sweet and saccharine at times. I was interested enough to finish it, but I am not compelled to continue this series.
Many love this book and author, but I don’t think she is for me.
Published: 1933
Many love this book and author, but I don’t think she is for me.
Published: 1933
June 25, 2017
This first novel in the Barsetshire series was definitely entertaining and full of mundane intrigues, but it wasn't as engrossing as I had been hoping for. I found the characters to be somewhat dull, and while I did see the humour in the characters and the situations they found themselves in, I did not find the story that hilarious.
This is one of those books that didn't really leave me with much feeling or thought. I just feel like it was "okay" and have no strong emotions about it. Therefore, this review is rather short, but rest assured that this novel was interesting, indeed - just not interesting enough for me to continue on reading this series in the future.
This is one of those books that didn't really leave me with much feeling or thought. I just feel like it was "okay" and have no strong emotions about it. Therefore, this review is rather short, but rest assured that this novel was interesting, indeed - just not interesting enough for me to continue on reading this series in the future.
March 27, 2016
I enjoyed this book more and more as it progressed and I got to know the characters. I really liked Thirkell's style, lovely language and sense of hunour. A lovely era to escape into. So pleased Angela Thirkell has written one or two more !
November 13, 2022
A wonderful comedy.
A language and humor of Thirkell is simply splendid. It is a great example of an intelligent comedy.
Marvellous characters which reader meets in one period of their life. There is a little romance but for me the novel is built of two things:
1. perfectly chosen and described characters
2. parts with child's point of view.
I love Tony ;-)
I have had such a good time with this book. I am happy that there are many other Thirkell's novel which I haven't read yet.
For more information I recommend Jane's review.
PS I have found out right now, that The Demon in the House is about the adventures of Tony ;-) I must read it as soon as I find a copy.
Like most healthy men he thought that any illness was death.
So he dismissed her from his mind, where indeed she had never held any very prominent place
A language and humor of Thirkell is simply splendid. It is a great example of an intelligent comedy.
Marvellous characters which reader meets in one period of their life. There is a little romance but for me the novel is built of two things:
1. perfectly chosen and described characters
2. parts with child's point of view.
I love Tony ;-)
He suffered from what his mother called a determination of words to the mouth, and nothing except sleep appeared to check his flow of valueless conversation.
"Why didn't you come when I called you?" asked the justly indignant Laura.;-)
"I didn't hear you till the third time."
I have had such a good time with this book. I am happy that there are many other Thirkell's novel which I haven't read yet.
For more information I recommend Jane's review.
PS I have found out right now, that The Demon in the House is about the adventures of Tony ;-) I must read it as soon as I find a copy.
May 28, 2015
I had a hard time slogging through this book. I don't know if I'm just getting past my love affair with the cozy British novel or what, but I couldn't find a thing to like about any of the characters in this book. And the constant negative references to Jews, as well as a couple random comments about "Indians" and South Americans, wore on me. I read a lot of fiction from the late 19th and early 20th century, so I know racism was common and I generally roll my eyes inwardly and move on, but Thirkell used it more than I've seen it just about anywhere. I'm surprised more people haven't commented on it.
About 1/3 of the way it, I was ready to give up, but other reviewers said the second half gets much more interesting. Two-thirds in, I began to wonder if they meant the last third is where it gets better. Finally, I was so close to the end, I just finished the damn thing. I'll never read another Thirkell. What a cast of snobby, self-involved, insular, boring players worried about things that just don't matter. I was reminded though of a novel I enjoyed much more, that was actually funny and lampooned village "types" instead of racial ones, and had a similar main character of woman trying to make a living as a writer and finding a good friend in her editor. If you want to read a better book than High Rising, written nearly the same year, consider Miss Buncle's Book.
Oh, and if you are going to read High Rising despite my negative review, make SURE you avoid the version I had (November 1st 2007 by Moyer Bell), which had at least 100 periods, commas, uppercase letters, and line breaks placed randomly in the middles of sentences, which made for difficult parsing.
About 1/3 of the way it, I was ready to give up, but other reviewers said the second half gets much more interesting. Two-thirds in, I began to wonder if they meant the last third is where it gets better. Finally, I was so close to the end, I just finished the damn thing. I'll never read another Thirkell. What a cast of snobby, self-involved, insular, boring players worried about things that just don't matter. I was reminded though of a novel I enjoyed much more, that was actually funny and lampooned village "types" instead of racial ones, and had a similar main character of woman trying to make a living as a writer and finding a good friend in her editor. If you want to read a better book than High Rising, written nearly the same year, consider Miss Buncle's Book.
Oh, and if you are going to read High Rising despite my negative review, make SURE you avoid the version I had (November 1st 2007 by Moyer Bell), which had at least 100 periods, commas, uppercase letters, and line breaks placed randomly in the middles of sentences, which made for difficult parsing.
January 22, 2024
Wonderful - my first experience with Angela Thirkell and now I'm a huge fan. I adore her way of writing, her dry sarcasm and her gentle eccentricities. A charming read.
May 21, 2020
3 Stars. Disappointed.
Although this is clever and well written, the protagonist, Laura Moreland is such a smug, high handed, bigoted, mean spirited woman that it spoiled the story for me. She spends the entire book affectedly playing with her hair and hair pins, saying vicious things about others, snapping at her son, and nastily putting people in their place. It's a mystery to me why the other characters worship her and think she's wonderful. The ending is ridiculous;
I'm going to read the second book in the series, which features new characters, to see if they're less obnoxious.
Although this is clever and well written, the protagonist, Laura Moreland is such a smug, high handed, bigoted, mean spirited woman that it spoiled the story for me. She spends the entire book affectedly playing with her hair and hair pins, saying vicious things about others, snapping at her son, and nastily putting people in their place. It's a mystery to me why the other characters worship her and think she's wonderful. The ending is ridiculous;
I'm going to read the second book in the series, which features new characters, to see if they're less obnoxious.
December 13, 2019
La Navidad está a punto de llegar al pequeño pueblecito de High Rising y Laura Morland, exitosa escritora de novelas de suspense, espera disfrutar de un poco de paz, alejada del tumulto londinense.
No parece que vaya a ser tarea fácil, pues la acompaña el parlanchín Tony, el más pequeño de sus cuatro hijos, y un séquito de amistades dotadas de una fascinante capacidad para meterse en problemas.
Primera entrega de las crónicas de Barsetshire, 'High Rising' es un título representativo de esa comedia de costumbres británica, que floreció en los años de entreguerras.
Comedia de enredos, con su irresistible toque de humor y excentricidad británica, 'High Rising' procura un entretenidísimo momento de lectura y resulta ser una ventana abierta a la vida de la buena sociedad inglesa, o al menos a su cara más amable.
Leí una vez en una reseña que ciertas novelas podían compararse a un soufflé: parecen insustanciales, pero ¡qué delicioso momento procuran durante su degustación!
Eso es exactamente lo que me ha ocurrido con 'High Rising'. Laura Morland, su protagonista, es una mujer adorable y carismática, aunque ni ella misma sea consciente de ello. Su carácter y sus circunstancias me han recodado tanto a mi querida Dama de Provincias...💕 Un marido que no sirve para 'casi' nada (bueno, en este caso y para su alegría porque está muerto); unos hijos exasperantes; un servicio que habla por los codos (para regocijo de los lectores) y un grupo de amistades que uno no sabría si calificar como excéntricas o como regaderas andantes.
En este primer volumen tenemos a un erudito viudo que está a punto de ser cazado por una astuta secretaria; a una joven casadera que en ciertos momentos no sabe si elegir entre sus perros o un posible pretendiente; a una abnegada hija que vive bajo el yugo de una madre enfermiza (que nunca se decide a morir) y a un doctor de mediana edad que nunca encuentra el buen momento para declararse. ¿Podrá Laura poner orden y ayudar a sus amigos entre tanto embrollo?
•
Os invito a que lo descubráis por vosotros mismos. ¡Bienvenidos a High Rising!
No parece que vaya a ser tarea fácil, pues la acompaña el parlanchín Tony, el más pequeño de sus cuatro hijos, y un séquito de amistades dotadas de una fascinante capacidad para meterse en problemas.
Primera entrega de las crónicas de Barsetshire, 'High Rising' es un título representativo de esa comedia de costumbres británica, que floreció en los años de entreguerras.
Comedia de enredos, con su irresistible toque de humor y excentricidad británica, 'High Rising' procura un entretenidísimo momento de lectura y resulta ser una ventana abierta a la vida de la buena sociedad inglesa, o al menos a su cara más amable.
Leí una vez en una reseña que ciertas novelas podían compararse a un soufflé: parecen insustanciales, pero ¡qué delicioso momento procuran durante su degustación!
Eso es exactamente lo que me ha ocurrido con 'High Rising'. Laura Morland, su protagonista, es una mujer adorable y carismática, aunque ni ella misma sea consciente de ello. Su carácter y sus circunstancias me han recodado tanto a mi querida Dama de Provincias...💕 Un marido que no sirve para 'casi' nada (bueno, en este caso y para su alegría porque está muerto); unos hijos exasperantes; un servicio que habla por los codos (para regocijo de los lectores) y un grupo de amistades que uno no sabría si calificar como excéntricas o como regaderas andantes.
En este primer volumen tenemos a un erudito viudo que está a punto de ser cazado por una astuta secretaria; a una joven casadera que en ciertos momentos no sabe si elegir entre sus perros o un posible pretendiente; a una abnegada hija que vive bajo el yugo de una madre enfermiza (que nunca se decide a morir) y a un doctor de mediana edad que nunca encuentra el buen momento para declararse. ¿Podrá Laura poner orden y ayudar a sus amigos entre tanto embrollo?
•
Os invito a que lo descubráis por vosotros mismos. ¡Bienvenidos a High Rising!
January 20, 2015
Social comedy at its most entertaining, in that most ‘charmed’ period of hindsight: twentieth century British upper-middle class rural England between the Wars.
Mr Knox employs Miss Grey as his secretary; socially a difficult position for her, provoking any amount of razor-sharp questioning requiring serious deliberation. Unconnected to that, Laura Morland’s young son Tony, a caricature of a boy if ever there was one, writes a highly amusing Valentine to his mother.
Exploring off-piste elucidates that at his prep-school, the “shrimp-like” Master Wesendonck shares his unusual surname with Richard Wagner’s song cycle, the Wesendonck Lieder, written whilst Wagner was engaged in composing Tristan und Isolde. Sure enough, much of the utterly delectable social comedy within ”High Rising” is founded upon conflicts of flesh and of spirit.
An incubus works afoot (or ought that be a succubus?); all ultimately ends with comforting hot water bottles, tea and satisfying the village thirst for talk. Yet I wouldn’t class this as a ‘cozy’ novel. The humour inherent within Thirkell’s razor-sharp observation and timing lifts this book far above any possible accusation of pot-boiler. How sadly isolated present-day online social interaction appears by comparison.
This is fiction that will reward re-reading (good value for money). Surely it cannot be long before “High Rising” is adapted for stage and television?
Mr Knox employs Miss Grey as his secretary; socially a difficult position for her, provoking any amount of razor-sharp questioning requiring serious deliberation. Unconnected to that, Laura Morland’s young son Tony, a caricature of a boy if ever there was one, writes a highly amusing Valentine to his mother.
Exploring off-piste elucidates that at his prep-school, the “shrimp-like” Master Wesendonck shares his unusual surname with Richard Wagner’s song cycle, the Wesendonck Lieder, written whilst Wagner was engaged in composing Tristan und Isolde. Sure enough, much of the utterly delectable social comedy within ”High Rising” is founded upon conflicts of flesh and of spirit.
An incubus works afoot (or ought that be a succubus?); all ultimately ends with comforting hot water bottles, tea and satisfying the village thirst for talk. Yet I wouldn’t class this as a ‘cozy’ novel. The humour inherent within Thirkell’s razor-sharp observation and timing lifts this book far above any possible accusation of pot-boiler. How sadly isolated present-day online social interaction appears by comparison.
This is fiction that will reward re-reading (good value for money). Surely it cannot be long before “High Rising” is adapted for stage and television?
October 15, 2017
2.5 stars
Laura Morland is a harried woman. Not only is she mother to Tony, an indefatigable, talkative, train-obsessed child, she writes silly best-selling novels to support her family. With the older boys grown and Tony in school, Laura is looking forward to finishing her next book. She enjoys a friendly relationship with her publisher Adrian Coates, and he pays her well enough to have a holiday home in the village of High Rising in Barsetshire, England. One of her neighbors, George Knox, is also a writer, of serious historical biography. His grown daughter Sybil lives with him and keeps house while George writes. George keeps trying to lure away Laura's secretary, Miss Anne Todd, but Anne is busy caring for her dying mother and helps Laura out of personal motive. George must look elsewhere for a secretary and hires the efficient Miss Grey. Village gossip notes Miss Grey's changeable moods, erratic behavior and jealous nature. They read the signs easily-Miss Grey is out to trap Mr. Knox into marriage! His friends can't let that happen!
This is the first of Thirkell's Barsetshire novels and not her best. It introduces the Morland family, the Birkett family, the Knoxes, Dr. Ford and Anne Todd who will appear in later novels. The plot is bogged down by lengthy speeches by young Tony. He reminded me too much of my car/truck/train obsessed young nephew (who isn't that precocious or articulate yet). I skipped most of Tony's dialogue and found myself skimming most of George's as well. The central romantic plots were more interesting and I had a hard time putting it down. The other thing that made me knock down my rating is the anti-Semitic comments that pop up frequently in this first edition. Laura makes comments "like a Jew," "you're a Jew" and "part Jew" which I believe is used as a synonym for cheap. I'd make allowances for attitudes from the past but those comments don't have any relevance to the plot whatsoever and "cheap" could have been used easily enough. There's also some anti-Irish sentiment here but that may be a reflection on the character Miss Grey than on Irish people as a whole.
I kind of like Laura. I've met her before in other novels. She's vague, talks a lot about nothing and has no idea how she writes her trashy novels. I feel sorry for her being Tony's mother. I liked her best when she was focused though I didn't quite understand her hatred towards Miss Grey at first. Tony needs to stay in school and not be on page so often. His silent friend "Donks" is better because he never speaks. How could he? He doesn't get a word in edgewise. The only one who can control Tony is the headmaster's wife, Mrs. Birkett. I like Laura's relationship with her publisher. Adrian has a good sense of humor and he appreciates the money Laura's silly novels make him without being snotty about it. He's compared to George's high brow publishers and shown to be not as snobbish as they are. I liked him but didn't buy the outcome of his plot. It was too quick and easy.
Anne Todd is lovely in the beginning. I felt bad she was caring for an ill mother. Mrs. Todd seems to have dementia and heart disease. I hated that they kept calling her "mad" and "potty" and didn't seem to understand dementia yet in the 1930s. Then Anne turns annoying and overly stereotypically feminine at the very end. I didn't like that.
George Knox is a pompous windbag. He talks way too much and makes too many obscure references. I skimmed his speeches and still understood the plot just fine. He changes his personality a bit towards the end and though I guessed the ending, it didn't seem plausible. His daughter Sybil is a lovable widgeon, as Georgette Heyer's Regency characters would say. She's not too bright but is very sweet and kind. Miss Grey or the "Incubus" as she is known, isn't as demonic as the characters make her out to be. She's a sad, lonely, delusional woman who just wants to be loved and appreciated. Her methods are rather wanting though. She's not a very good villain and makes herself obvious to all the women. The confrontation and outcome was a bit of a surprise. I sort of hope she'll pop up again!
This story lacks the obvious social satire of Thirkell's other Barsetshire novels. The references are too obscure and the passages of inane dialogue too long. Skip this one and move ahead. You won't really miss anything.
The first edition contains typos/name changes .
Laura Morland is a harried woman. Not only is she mother to Tony, an indefatigable, talkative, train-obsessed child, she writes silly best-selling novels to support her family. With the older boys grown and Tony in school, Laura is looking forward to finishing her next book. She enjoys a friendly relationship with her publisher Adrian Coates, and he pays her well enough to have a holiday home in the village of High Rising in Barsetshire, England. One of her neighbors, George Knox, is also a writer, of serious historical biography. His grown daughter Sybil lives with him and keeps house while George writes. George keeps trying to lure away Laura's secretary, Miss Anne Todd, but Anne is busy caring for her dying mother and helps Laura out of personal motive. George must look elsewhere for a secretary and hires the efficient Miss Grey. Village gossip notes Miss Grey's changeable moods, erratic behavior and jealous nature. They read the signs easily-Miss Grey is out to trap Mr. Knox into marriage! His friends can't let that happen!
This is the first of Thirkell's Barsetshire novels and not her best. It introduces the Morland family, the Birkett family, the Knoxes, Dr. Ford and Anne Todd who will appear in later novels. The plot is bogged down by lengthy speeches by young Tony. He reminded me too much of my car/truck/train obsessed young nephew (who isn't that precocious or articulate yet). I skipped most of Tony's dialogue and found myself skimming most of George's as well. The central romantic plots were more interesting and I had a hard time putting it down. The other thing that made me knock down my rating is the anti-Semitic comments that pop up frequently in this first edition. Laura makes comments "like a Jew," "you're a Jew" and "part Jew" which I believe is used as a synonym for cheap. I'd make allowances for attitudes from the past but those comments don't have any relevance to the plot whatsoever and "cheap" could have been used easily enough. There's also some anti-Irish sentiment here but that may be a reflection on the character Miss Grey than on Irish people as a whole.
I kind of like Laura. I've met her before in other novels. She's vague, talks a lot about nothing and has no idea how she writes her trashy novels. I feel sorry for her being Tony's mother. I liked her best when she was focused though I didn't quite understand her hatred towards Miss Grey at first. Tony needs to stay in school and not be on page so often. His silent friend "Donks" is better because he never speaks. How could he? He doesn't get a word in edgewise. The only one who can control Tony is the headmaster's wife, Mrs. Birkett. I like Laura's relationship with her publisher. Adrian has a good sense of humor and he appreciates the money Laura's silly novels make him without being snotty about it. He's compared to George's high brow publishers and shown to be not as snobbish as they are. I liked him but didn't buy the outcome of his plot. It was too quick and easy.
Anne Todd is lovely in the beginning. I felt bad she was caring for an ill mother. Mrs. Todd seems to have dementia and heart disease. I hated that they kept calling her "mad" and "potty" and didn't seem to understand dementia yet in the 1930s. Then Anne turns annoying and overly stereotypically feminine at the very end. I didn't like that.
George Knox is a pompous windbag. He talks way too much and makes too many obscure references. I skimmed his speeches and still understood the plot just fine. He changes his personality a bit towards the end and though I guessed the ending, it didn't seem plausible. His daughter Sybil is a lovable widgeon, as Georgette Heyer's Regency characters would say. She's not too bright but is very sweet and kind. Miss Grey or the "Incubus" as she is known, isn't as demonic as the characters make her out to be. She's a sad, lonely, delusional woman who just wants to be loved and appreciated. Her methods are rather wanting though. She's not a very good villain and makes herself obvious to all the women. The confrontation and outcome was a bit of a surprise. I sort of hope she'll pop up again!
This story lacks the obvious social satire of Thirkell's other Barsetshire novels. The references are too obscure and the passages of inane dialogue too long. Skip this one and move ahead. You won't really miss anything.
The first edition contains typos/name changes .
May 6, 2016
3.5
How often are you attracted, or repulsed, by a book cover? Quite a lot as it happens when you don't know the author. The art style and colours of this one just called to me. I hadn't heard of Angela Thirkell but after reading the blurb at the back, I was interested.
The story focuses on Laura Morland, a 45-year-old widow with four sons, three of which fully grown, who turned to writing novels, or "good bad books" as she says, in order to pay her boys' school fees. We follow her from London to High Rising, as she interacts with her friends, Amy Birkett, headmaster's wife of said school, and the unmarried Anne Todd, who doubles as her secretary. Add to this her chattering and train-obsessed younger son, Tony, and the colourful inhabitants of the village. The plot is very simple and centers on one of her friends, George Knox, another author, and his daughter, Sybil. It seems his new secretary, who is disliked by all, has designs to ensnare her employer into matrimony, to the horror of the village. Cue hilarious situations and discussions.
Laura is a very likeable character and one cannot resist her way of dealing with people and events. Her opinion on her writing is also charming, but I particularly liked her love for the independence this work affords her. One that she is not prepared to relinquish.
High Rising has plenty of humour and is the perfect read for those days when you just want to cuddle with a book.
How often are you attracted, or repulsed, by a book cover? Quite a lot as it happens when you don't know the author. The art style and colours of this one just called to me. I hadn't heard of Angela Thirkell but after reading the blurb at the back, I was interested.
The story focuses on Laura Morland, a 45-year-old widow with four sons, three of which fully grown, who turned to writing novels, or "good bad books" as she says, in order to pay her boys' school fees. We follow her from London to High Rising, as she interacts with her friends, Amy Birkett, headmaster's wife of said school, and the unmarried Anne Todd, who doubles as her secretary. Add to this her chattering and train-obsessed younger son, Tony, and the colourful inhabitants of the village. The plot is very simple and centers on one of her friends, George Knox, another author, and his daughter, Sybil. It seems his new secretary, who is disliked by all, has designs to ensnare her employer into matrimony, to the horror of the village. Cue hilarious situations and discussions.
Laura is a very likeable character and one cannot resist her way of dealing with people and events. Her opinion on her writing is also charming, but I particularly liked her love for the independence this work affords her. One that she is not prepared to relinquish.
High Rising has plenty of humour and is the perfect read for those days when you just want to cuddle with a book.
June 16, 2008
This is so delicious. And there are 30 books! I am besotted.
March 8, 2015
Delightful 1930's comedy where the women are twice as clever than the men.
November 18, 2023
Delightful and very funny! I enjoyed it a lot and can't wait to continue on with this series.
December 11, 2012
I've been reading about High Rising for quite some time on various book blogs but wasn't able to get my hands on a copy. Although I would love an older copy, the good people at Virago Modern Classics have republished High Rising and the second book in the series, Wild Strawberries, with beautiful new covers that just hit the stores. I grabbed them up in eager anticipation and was not disappointed. High Rising is everything a cozy British novel should be. Thirkell has created a small village of wonderful characters including a strong widowed heroine who supports herself writing pot boilers and can still afford staff and a son at Eton. Light, charming, quaint, funny - the kind of book you read when you just want to feel good in a safe world where the biggest concern is whether or not the neighbor is going to marry his secretary. 5 stars for being exactly the right book at the right time.
January 6, 2015
What could be a better way to start the new year than by discovering a wonderful author--and one who was apparently delightfully prolific. High Rising has all the essential ingredients for a perfect cozy English Village tale: a charming heroine, a splendid cast of characters, witty dialog, a little romance, an impossibly talkative boy besotted with railways real and model, and best of all, a neurotic secretary with apparent designs on the menfolk. It is all great fun, an undemanding and easy read with a satisfying denouement. My New Year's resolution: read more Angela Thirkell!
May 11, 2019
Perfection. I dearly love the schoolboys, and Stoker and Mr. Knox's Annie, and the whole lot of them. If feels very like Emma, if Emma were a 45-year-old widow and successful novelist, rather than a girl fresh out of the schoolroom. There's a lot of people proposing to the wrong people, and Mrs. Moreland is just brilliant, and I love her constant supply of new mysteries, and the annoyed way they speak to one another:
I anticipate that Barsetshire is going to be my neighborhood for a while.
Library copy
PS And I have in fact placed orders for the next five.
"Don't be an idiot, Laura," said Amy. "People don't ask for suit-cases to cut their throats into. But we had better go and see, all the same."
I anticipate that Barsetshire is going to be my neighborhood for a while.
Library copy
PS And I have in fact placed orders for the next five.
November 21, 2023
Re-read as a buddy read with Sharon, Melissa, and Kate in November 2023! I loved it the best this time. This book is hilarious! Laura is one of my favorite Thirkell creations.
Re-read, August 2018, Spoiler alert! Don’t read more if you don’t want to know. :)
I was actually disappointed this time that Anne Todd ends up with George Knox and not James Ford. I know George is supposed to be lovable, but I find him annoyingly verbose. Dr. Ford is much more practical and cares about others more sacrificially.
Re-read, August 2018, Spoiler alert! Don’t read more if you don’t want to know. :)
I was actually disappointed this time that Anne Todd ends up with George Knox and not James Ford. I know George is supposed to be lovable, but I find him annoyingly verbose. Dr. Ford is much more practical and cares about others more sacrificially.
January 30, 2020
The perfect antidote to a blisteringly hot afternoon - light nonsense which I read almost a lifetime ago. Indeed, I was surprised at how much of it I remembered. The only problem I had with it was a faint whiff of anti-Semitism, which is distasteful now but I suspect was par for the course back when the book was written.
February 16, 2017
I think I enjoyed it even more the second time around.
Delightfully fun book.
A story in which nothing much happens to a small group of people living in the English countryside. In other words, a book that is just up my alley.
Delightfully fun book.
A story in which nothing much happens to a small group of people living in the English countryside. In other words, a book that is just up my alley.
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