Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
The shy and mousy Barbara Buncle hides a secret. She is what we used to call a ‘stirrer’, back
in the day. Impoverished, but genteel,
she decides to write a book (as you do). ‘I wanted money,’ she tells her
publisher, Mr. Abbott, when he asks her why she wrote it.
After all, writing a book beats keeping hens. Her book (which is written under a pseudonym)
stirs up the whole village and feathers certainly fly! (I couldn’t resist
this). Neighbours realise that they love
each other, people go on holidays to places that they’ve never heard of and
some people find out what they’re really like. Will thin and dowdy 40 year-old
Barbara be able to transform herself, however?
Barbara is in all sorts of trouble when several people in
her pretty English village become extremely angry with the author! One
even suggests that ‘he’ should be horse-whipped. There are many cats in this
village – old and young cats – and they’re mostly human. Will Barbara, who tends to be ignored or
disliked by these cats and some others, be able to resist or defeat them?
This vintage book, which was written in the 1930’s, is an
absolute charmer, like its main character. Likeable and sweet, Miss Buncle is
not only hiding her book from the village.
She also hides an open mind and excellent judgment of character. Barbara’s
comical adventures as she tries to avoid being ‘found out’ are often
hilarious. There are lots of other
amusing characters in Miss Buncle’s Book as well, such as Dolores, Barbara’s
maid, who suggests that Barbara should give up writing and ‘try hens’.
I also loved Barbara’s publisher, the urbane and
sophisticated Mr. Abbott. He thinks that
it ‘was simply marvellous’ when some people in the village call the author ‘immoral
and perverted’. ‘I know. It was simply marvellous,’ replied Mr. Abbott, holding
out his cigarette and watching the smoke curl upwards with appreciation and
content.’
We can only hope that an astute producer decides to turn
this into a film soon. I am already attempting
to imagine who will play the characters!
NB: I chose to put a picture of Topsham here because I've been there and it's a very pretty English village.
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