But Guinevere Pettigrew hardly resembles the heroines of those films. Henrietta Twycross-Martin rightly compares it to a Fred Astaire movie. This sparkling comedy is something rare: an intelligent fairy tale. Persephone Classics, 234 pp., $15, paperback. Would she get her self into trouble? Would it all end in tears? How would such an exciting day end? Well you’ll have to read it yourself to find out.A meek and virginal 40-year-old governess stumbles into a glamorous 1930s world of cocktails and evening gowns She was electrified, galvanized, quivering like a hound at the scent.” Throughout the book she swings through a rainbow of emotions – sadness, fear and self doubt to pure joy and bravado: Perhaps I am misinformed and need to read some more outrageous fiction from this period! I also couldn’t help but worry for Miss Pettigrew. I certainly didn’t expect the subject of drug-use to come up in a 1930’s novel for example. Watson balances a lighthearted tone with poignant and often quite surprising moments. She stood in front of the door for one perfect, breathless second of expectancy then she flung it open.” “Her feet nearly tripped over themselves hurrying over the floor. I felt caught up in her newly discovered lust for life: The book also flowed well as a result and I found myself anticipating the next adventure just as much as Miss Pettigrew. This worked really well for me, as it gave me the sense of each being a unique and special moment. The story is structured in chapters which represent different timeframes in the day. Events unfold primarily through the perspective of Guinevere, and although it is not written in the first person, the narrative is interspersed with her observations and moments of self-doubt which I found made me feel close to her. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is fundamentally a tale of self-discovery – of a woman finding out who she could have, and can be.

Her dreary existence is turned upside-down as she is swept into the whirlwind life of Miss LaFosse and her friends. The story follows a day in the life of a governess, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew who turns up on the doorstep of a glamorous and somewhat wayward young lady Miss Delysia LaFosse looking for work. It was obviously considered to have wide enough appeal to be adapted for the big-screen, in the form of a 2008 film with Amy Adams. I’d seen it mentioned quite a bit on the book-blogsphere and being a convert to Persephone Classics felt certain that it would be an enjoyable read. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, is the book equivalent of strawberries and cream.

Miss pettigrew lives for a day novel