The Old Man's Birthday
5/5
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About this ebook
Richmal Crompton's adult novels are an absolute delight and every bit as charming as her beloved Just William series. The Old Man's Birthday is both a nostalgic treat for fans of the gentler brand of interwar fiction, and a dry satire of British village life.
Matthew Rowston is turning ninety-five. A lovable rogue approaching his dotage, he has very little time for the high moral standards and rigid ideas of propriety espoused by his spinster daughter. Things get interesting when he invites his estranged son, the bright and lively Stephen, and his beautiful partner to his celebratory dinner. Over the course of the day, Matthew walks around the village, introducing the pair to his large and varied clan, from the aging Jolly-hockey sticks granddaughter who is considering a torrid affair of her own, to his elderly bookish bachelor son and the lovely great-granddaughter struggling to find her place in the world, doomed to work as a clerk in her dull and dismal father's firm. Teeming beneath the calm surface of village and family life, lies a whole world of secrets and desires, hopes and dreams.
Mrs Dalloway with a dash of dry humour, Mapp and Lucia with a slightly melancholy tone, this is the perfect heritage read for fans of 1930s fiction at its best.
Richmal Crompton
Richmal Crompton was born in Lancashire in 1890. The first story about William Brown appeared in Home magazine in 1919, and the first collection of William stories was published in book form three years later. In all, thirty-eight Just William books were published, the last, William the Lawless, in 1970 after Richmal Crompton’s death.
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Reviews for The Old Man's Birthday
4 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I had not come across Richmal Crompton's adult stories before reading this!
It is a gentle story set in the interwar years when there is a birthday party planned.
The invitees add some spice and it is all very jolly and lighthearted.
Highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest, unbiased review which I am very happy to give.