Well it shows certainly that the aristocracy think differently from the hoi polloi! When Hermione Ranfurly decided to follow her newly wed husband into the thick of a war she took with her strange stuff. As another blogger said I would have had more practical things. For her the important things were her husband's valet, a parrot Coco and a black book. For the record Hermione and Dan Ranfurly were the Earl and Countess of Ranfurly.
Starting from there, you know this is going to get more and more interesting. I thought it would be a bit eccentric and I would get cheesed off but it was anything but eccentric. Detailed analysis of war veterans, the theatre of war in various countries and cities, always in the thick of it, personalities and celebrities galore and also the description of the nitty gritty of the wars are detailed in explicit thoroughness which though may seem unappealing to a layman were very interesting.
The author brings everything to life with tongue in the cheek humour. Laughing at not just the people around her but also poking fun at herself. Obviously made of very stern stuff, she took the good with the bad, made the best out of really bad situations and with typical British stiff upper lip soldiered on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read - the diaries covered three years and I am so very glad that this recommendation from Claire at The Captive Reader caught my eye. I am also glad that Open Library had a digitalized version of this book so that I was able to get to it.
Mystica, I don't think I've read a novel with self-deprecating humour by the author. With war as the backdrop, this book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this one before - it sounds like a fun one!
ReplyDeleteI thought that I might find her a bit too over-privileged (in attitude and economically) but she proved such a great heroine - excellent eye for the ridiculous too. I'm glad this has been re-issued as she deserves to be more widely read.
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