Something Light

Louisa Datchett is a flaming redhead, dynamic, warm-hearted, impulsive; a bit nutty but decidedly likable. The story unfolds as a hilarious romp through the romantic misadventures of this matrimonially determined young woman.

The Foolish Gentlewoman

“The Foolish Gentlewoman has a moral. I meant it to show that the right thing to do is always the thing that is not only right, but nearest to your hand.” — Margery Sharp

Facelift

Margery Sharp was fashion conscious, but her manner of dress was quite neat and trim. In terms of style, I thought it was time for a new look on the blog; something more Rhododendron Pie than Fanfare for Tin Trumpets. Thought this would be appropriate in preparation for the season of Margery Appreciation Day over at…

My Current Favorite Tea Party

In reading of this delightful tea party at Chipping Lodge, there are no luminaries present here, to be sure, but Dora Tremayne? Tilly Cuff? What priceless character creations! What masterful sketching of mood! What epic undertones lace the fish-paste tea sandwiches!

An Exacting Craft

For an author whose work is chiefly characterized as ‘light fiction’, it may come as a surprise to find that Ms. Sharp was so very, very serious about the responsibility of crafting a good story.

Meeting Martha: The Eye of Love

Introducing a most unusual heroine, Martha–‘A compelling portrait of genius’.

Cluny Brown

‘When you rang up a plumber you didn’t expect—well, you didn’t expect Cluny.’ This delightful novel was first published in 1944, and quickly became one of Sharp’s most popular works. It represents a favorite theme she returned to often: what happens when the quirky misfit, the Unruly Element, the carefree original who just doesn’t fit any…

Harlequin House

This is a novel that must be considered in the light of the historical context. It was written in 1939; that brooding summer of gloom that immediately preceded Britain’s declaration of war on Germany. The British–and particularly Londoners–in the year preceding September, 1939, were beginning to prepare for air raids, evacuations, food shortages, and what…

The Gipsy in the Parlour

This little known, under-appreciated novel from Margery Sharp resonates from its opening paragraph to the last. ‘In the heat of a spacious August noon, in the heart of the great summer of 1870, the three famous Sylvester women waited in their parlor to receive and make welcome the fourth. ‘Themselves matched the day. The parlor…

Rosa

“My father was a very important person,” said Rosa. Once again Margery Sharp takes us on a sprightly tour through British cultural change. She gives us a bit of Victorian sentiment, a smattering of gauchos and revolution, an old English country house, a diverse assortment of characters who are both keepers of tradition and irreverent ‘thumb-your-nose-at-it’…