Like Barbara Pym, E.F. Benson, and, mother of them all, Jane Austen, Angela Thirkell has created a small world of her own in the English countryside. Calf-love, village affairs, and literary effort are her nominal subjects, while people at their imperfect best are her real subjects.
The Brandons is replete with youthful nonsense and middle-aged folly. People will fall in love with the wrong person, and all are determined to misunderstand each other. The Brandons and their friends and servants are irresistible. This is the gentlest of social satire.
Angela Thirkell (1890-1961) granddaughter of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, was born in London. At age twenty-eight, she moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she became involved in broadcasting and was a frequent contributor to British periodicals. She began writing novels after her return to Britain in 1930 and from then on produced a new book almost every year. Her stylish prose and deft portrayal of the human comedy in the imaginary county of Barsetshire have amused readers for decades.
