Elizabeth Fair (1908–1997)

Set in mid-century England mid-20th century, the novel recounts the village of Bramton Wick's inhabitants and their lives. People are still suffering war effects and the economic issues resulting from it. Readers also see all the drama of everyday life. A certain amount of humor is present in the story, but it did not find it as charming as other stories written in this genre and period. Published as part of the publisher's "Furrowed Middlebrow" series, the story focuses on ordinary people rather than the upper class.… (meer)

A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair is set in a small English village and is partly a love story featuring Maud Ansdell as she arrives to stay with her elder cousin Alice and take on a secretarial position at a nearby country house. I was fully expecting to love this story but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it. Although this was meant to be a gentle satire on post-war rural English life, the slow moving plot did little to draw me in.

The romance aspect was light and felt almost like an afterthought and the author’s attempt at humor fell flat with me. The characters were meant to be a group of misfits but, I found the characterizations were overdone and unbelievable. I had previously read Brampton Wick by this author and enjoyed it so was surprised that I didn’t have the same reaction to A Winter Away.

As always I love the cover that Furrowed Middlebrow used and I do plan on reading more from this author in the future as I have a couple more of her books on my Kindle.… (meer)

Originally published in 1952, Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair is the author’s debut novel and is part of the Furrowed Middlebrow series of re-issued books from the 1950s. Set in the English countryside, this is a character study as the author leads us through the lanes and cottages of Bramton Wick and introduces us to a variety of inhabitants.

Rationing is still very much in evidence and fuel and luxury items are scarce. There is plenty of interaction between the inhabitants of the village, from the most affluent to those that struggling to make ends meet, everyone knows each other’s business or, at least, thinks that they do. There are resentments, jealousies, gossip, controlling matrons and husbands, broken friendships and even romance. Life revolves around the many tea parties and village events.

The author writing is light and witty, and although not written fully as humor, there are many funny moments throughout the story. I fully enjoyed Bramton Wick and look forward to more gentle, slightly comic reads from this author.… (meer)

So many hilarious lines! But I didn't really love any of the characters, hence the three stars.

Here's a sampling of the deliciously funny writing:

"No one contradicted this statement, though no one agreed with it."
..........................
“First we’re going to be swallowed up, then we aren’t,” she said. “It makes one wonder what will happen next.” Life was like that, Mrs. Minnis declared; it sometimes seemed as if one was living on the edge of a volcano, didn’t it? Mrs. Prentice thought for a moment and then said no, it didn’t.
..........................
She was—as she often proclaimed—a woman who could be friends with everybody, and it did not worry her that her friendships were sometimes one-sided affairs.
..........................
“I am not acquainted with the ingredients of a cocktail,” Mr. Pope said, smiling at his own ignorance. “But I think one may take it that these contain a fair proportion of orange juice and are therefore, to some extent—ah—beneficial.”
...........................
A picnic without food would have been like an opium den without opium, only—for a man of his temperament—much worse.… (meer)