A review by poachedeggs
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
3.0
This is a funny, entertaining, light portrait of an aspiring 'taitai' (what refers to a lady/wife of leisure in Singapore)-wannabe in England in the 20s/30s. The Provincial Lady tries (unsuccessfully) not to overspend, and to hide her expenditure on frivolous articles of clothing from her uncommunicative husband; she also tries to juggle her housemaid/cook-woes together with the demands of rearing children who have been conveniently placed in the care of a boarding school and a French governess respectively.
The intelligence and essential likeability of the Provincial Lady shine through in her diary entries but she is in the end a type destined to trudge through several time periods in different dresses, doing charity work (with mixed feelings) that varies in type depending on the era.
The intelligence and essential likeability of the Provincial Lady shine through in her diary entries but she is in the end a type destined to trudge through several time periods in different dresses, doing charity work (with mixed feelings) that varies in type depending on the era.