Like a lot of people who read Mrs Tim of the Regiment by D.E. Stevenson when Bloomsbury republished it about ten years ago, I was keen to read the rest of the series. And, like a lot of those people, I came up against the extortionate secondhand prices one had to pay. So hurrah and hurray for Furrowed Middlebrow / Dean Street Press for bringing them back into print! And an extra hurrah for sending me review copies – I wolfed down Mrs Tim Carries On (1941) today.
I should probably be avoiding 243pp books during 25 Books in 25 Days, but I couldn’t resist. And Mrs Tim is just as lovable as I remembered her – dependable, wise, but not with rose-tinted glasses. Her diaries give her exasperated opinions of locals, but also affectionate ones. They show her anxieties and pride as a parent, while also finding humour in everyday life. Only this time, of course, it is wartime.
It’s interesting to see how Stevenson adapts the character to the difficulties of war. Like the Provincial Lady books (which remain a very evident influence on Stevenson), she has taken a humorous character from the 30s and brought her into the war-torn 1940s. While the Provincial Lady looks at the most farcical elements of war, and the hypocrisies of those caught up in the civilian effort, Mrs Tim is a bit more restrained.
I proceed to explain my own particular method of “carrying on”. None of us could bear the war if we allowed ourselves to brood upon the wickedness of it and the misery it has entailed, so the only thing to do is not to allow oneself to think about it seriously, but just to skitter about on the surface of life like a water beetle. In this way one can carry on and do one’s bit and remain moderately cheerful.
This isn’t quite true, though. Mr Tim is an active soldier, and there is more anxiety tied in than this statement suggests. Not only for his fate, but around the possibility of invasion, and the threat of bombs. It is less all-out funny than the Provincial Lady (and, if we’re being honest, not quite as good) – but a more poignant portrait. And, to be honest, almost nothing is as good as the Provincial Lady. If this isn’t quite, then it’s still rather wonderful – and all the more wonderful for being readily available again.
It’s funny, but I much prefer Mrs Tim to The Provincial Lady, whom I found irritatingly brittle and tone-deaf after a while. She was funny at first, but the war stories didn’t appeal to me at all. The unpretentious, gently humorous, and sensitive approach of Stevenson charmed me and I did in fact pay the extortionate prices I had to to get all of her books sent to me in the US.
Not just reading a book a day, but a whole novel too – well done!
I wish Furrowed Middlebrow would send me copies. I have enjoyed everything I’ve read that they’ve published.
Hurrah for Mrs Tim and easy access to her! I devotedly tracked down the books through the library system but am so happy to have reasonably priced copies of my own now – and to have the joy of seeing how other readers react to her.
Hurrah for Mrs Tim! It’s such a joy that these books are now easily accessible for readers. Like Shannon, I love Mrs Tim even more than I love the Provincial Lady (though I’ll admit Delafield’s writing is better) and can never get enough of her.
” but just to skitter about on the surface of life like a water beetle” I like that!
I’ve read some DES, but not the Mrs. Tim stories – though they do sound like a delight and hurray for the Furrowed Middlebrown imprint!
I’ve read some DES, but not the Mrs. Tim stories – though they do sound like a delight and hurray for the Furrowed Middlebrown imprint!
I’ve only read the first two Miss Buncle books by Stevenson. But this sounds like a sweet series. And yes, hurrah and hurray for Furrowed Middlebrow / Dean Street Press for bringing them back into print! Clearly there is an audience for them. :D
I really like Mrs Tim, and hurrah indeed for Furrowed Middlebrow. I though DES got the balance between light hearted domesticity and the more sombre worries that Heater had, just right. Looking forward to the next two now.