For fifty years Mollie Panter-Downes' name was associated with The New Yorker, for which she wrote a regular 'Letter from London', book reviews and over thirty short stories; of the twenty-one in Good Evening, Mrs Craven, written between 1939 and 1944, only two had ever been reprinted - these very English stories have, until now, been unavailable to English readers. Exploring most aspects of English domestic life during the war, they are about separation, sewing parties, fear, evacuees sent to the country, obsession with food, the social revolutions of wartime. In the Daily Mail Angela Huth called Good Evening, Mrs Craven 'my especial find' and Ruth Gorb in the Ham & High contrasted the humour of some of the stories with the desolation of others: 'The mistress, unlike the wife, has to worry and mourn in secret for her man; a middle-aged spinster finds herself alone again when the camaraderie of the air-raids is over...'
The stories read by English actress Lucy Scott beautifully re-create this tumultuous period.
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"This volume of short stories is a gem of vignettes of everyday life in England for women during WWII. The women's Red Cross sewing circle with its talk of Greeks and pyjamas, the unmarried lady suffering from loneliness following the unusual camaraderie of her apartment bloc spending nights in the halls during the Blitz, the wife stoically preparing for her husband to go off to war, and the dealing with evacuees and billets and rations changes is social class are brilliantly conveyed. It was an illuminating, non-romanticized view of daily life for these women. Panter-Downes has a succinct yet detailed writing style and a wry humorous approach." — Elisabeth (4 out of 5 stars)
"This volume of short stories is a gem of vignettes of everyday life in England for women during WWII. The women's Red Cross sewing circle with its talk of Greeks and pyjamas, the unmarried lady suffering from loneliness following the unusual camaraderie of her apartment bloc spending nights in the halls during the Blitz, the wife stoically preparing for her husband to go off to war, and the dealing with evacuees and billets and rations changes is social class are brilliantly conveyed. It was an illuminating, non-romanticized view of daily life for these women. Panter-Downes has a succinct yet detailed writing style and a wry humorous approach."
" Lovely collection of stories, from funny to sad, a little trip into life during the war for a small subset of English women. "
" Wonderfully written, perceptive stories. "
" Fabulous collection of short stories by a former New Yorker magazine journalist from England. Unique picture of the British homefront during WWII primarily from the upper middle class female point of view. Recommended for those wanting to know what it might have felt like to be a woman in England at that time in history. "
" I love short stories and learning about domestic life during wartime. This was the best of both worlds. "
" Superb book...extremely well written... "
" I love it when the library has a Persephone book. Excellent stories showing life on the English home front during WWII. I'm more of a novel person than a short story person, which explains the three stars. "
" The stories were exactly the sort of WWII English home-front stories that I love reading. They were just long enough and though short, still enough for me to get into them. "
" Short stories which capture the spirit of Britain during World War II. Well written, the characters are rock solid believable. I read this book by chance and am very impressed with it. "
" Here's my review of this book. "
" This is one of my beloved Persephone Books. Thank you Alistair for smuggling it into the colonies for me! It was very good! "
" I especially liked "Lunch with Mr. Biddle," "Fin de Siecle," "Good Evening, Mrs. Craven," "The Waste of it All," and "Letter from London 11 June 1944." "
" I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the British Home Front during WW2. The stories are short but they say so much that isn't in the history books. I thoroughly enjoyed every one of the stories. Brilliant. "
" I don't often read short story collections, but this was wonderful. "
" Lovely vignettes and short stories of life in WWII London. This book was thoroughly entertaining. Wonder what happened to many of the characters, whose days were touched on! "
" Each of these short stories is a jewel, written during WWII and describing the tiny little stories of those on the home front. Highly recommend. "
" Wonderful short stories, every single one a jewel. Highly recommended. "
" This is the second book I've read from Persephone Books and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Filled with short stories written during WWII, these genial stories give the reader a snapshot of life during the war. Nothing earth shattering happens, they just capture a time and place perfectly. "
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