A Glass of Blessings: A Novel

Written by Barbara Pym

Narrated by Mary Sarah

Barbara Pym's early novel takes us into 1950s England, as seen through the funny, engaging, yearning eyes of a restless housewife

Wilmet Forsyth is bored. Bored with the everyday routine of her life. Bored with teatimes filled with local gossip. Bored with her husband, Rodney, a civil servant who dotes on her. But on her thirty-third birthday, Wilmet's conventional life takes a turn when she runs into the handsome brother of her close friend. Attractive and enigmatic, Piers Longridge is a mystery Wilmet is determined to solve. Rather than settling down, he lived in Portugal, then returned to England for a series of odd jobs. Driven by a fantasy of romance, the sheltered, naïve Englishwoman sets out to seduce Piers-only to discover that he isn't the man she thinks he is. As cozy as sharing a cup of tea with an old friend, A Glass of Blessings explores timeless themes of sex, marriage, religion, and friendship while exposing our flaws and foibles with wit, compassion, and a generous helping of love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705210987

Barbara Pym

A writer from the age of sixteen, Barbara Pym has been acclaimed as ‘the most underrated writer of the century’ (Philip Larkin). Pym’s substantial reputation evolved through the publication of six novels from 1950 to 1961, then resumed in 1977 with the publication of Quartet in Autumn and three other novels. She died in 1980.

Reviews for A Glass of Blessings

[Thomas Rosenthal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely lovely novel. Thoroughly enjoyable pleasurable read. Delightful narrator. Perfectly dreamworld characters. Amusing plot. Nothing to offend.

[ecs104 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book, but I stopped listening and switched to reading after a few chapters because I wasn’t wild about the audiobook reader. Her reading was pleasant and fluid and I think I’d enjoy her reading a different book, but she didn’t seem to get the humor in this. There are passages that need a certain deadpan or wry tongue-in-cheek quality that I didn’t hear in her voice— she gave everything a sort of romantic, sentimental tone— and I realized it would be funnier if I read it on the page.