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36-591: Excellent Women , the second published novel by Barbara Pym , first appeared from Jonathan Cape in 1952. A novel of manners , it is generally acclaimed as her funniest and most successful in that genre. The phrase "excellent women" appears frequently throughout the novel, and is often used by men in reference to the kind of women who perform small but meaningful duties in the service of churches and voluntary organisations and are taken for granted. The phrase first appears in Pym's early unpublished novel Civil to Strangers and

72-450: A letter of 1971, he enthused: "what a marvellous set of characters it contains! My only criticism is that Mildred is a tiny bit too humble at times, but perhaps she's satirising herself. I never see any Rockys, but almost every young academic wife ('I'm a shit') has something of Helena." The novel was serialised as a radio play in the 1950s on the BBC Woman's Hour . Excellent Women

108-410: A long-time admirer of Pym's writing, also noted this in a 14 July 1964 letter, having just re-read Excellent Women and remarking that the novel was "better than I remembered it, full of a harsh kind of suffering [-] it's a study of the pain of being single,- time and again one senses not only that Mildred is suffering but that nobody can see why she shouldn't suffer, like a Victorian cabhorse." Later, in

144-697: A number of festivals and events. In recent years these have included the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, the Church Times Festival of Poetry, the Festival of Preaching, and The Parish: Has it had its day? It also organises the Church Times Green Health Awards. In recent years the newspaper has taken a leading role in sponsoring the Greenbelt festival . Since 1951, the paper has hosted an inter-diocesan cricket competition,

180-552: A promotional video was released. In the video, Madeleine Davies says: "I think what's really important about the Church Times is it's independent. We're not affiliated to any other organisation, so we're really free in what we can write." The editor, Paul Handley, says: "If the Church screws up, then we report it. If the Church does something fantastic, then we report it. We deliberately don't have our own agenda." The Church Times holds

216-608: A rather dull woman who was nevertheless a great help to him in his work; as a clergyman's daughter she naturally got on very well with the missionaries that they were meeting now that they were in Africa again." Later Pym writes "Everard's wife Mildred would do the typing". Bone appears finally in An Unsuitable Attachment in which he attends a dinner party while his wife, Mildred, is at home sick. This novel also introduces Everard Bone's assistant Esther Clovis, who will feature in

252-485: Is a startling reminder that solitude may be chosen, and that a lively, full novel can be constructed entirely within the precincts of that regressive virtue: feminine patience. Translations into European languages began soon after, with the Dutch Geweldige Vrouwen in 1980, followed by a Spanish translation in 1985, an Italian in the same year, and a German in 1988. The French translation of 1990 not only changes

288-720: Is also a note that "the time the novel begins is February 1946", which explains the emphasis on immediately post-war drabness. Pym completed the novel in February 1951 and it appeared the following year from Jonathan Cape, which had published her previous Some Tame Gazelle , as was noted on its cover. The book was well received, with plaudits which included the Church Times comparing her writing to Jane Austen 's, while John Betjeman , in his review for The Daily Telegraph , praised its humour. The novel sold 6,577 copies in Great Britain by

324-420: Is broken off and Allegra leaves for the more upmarket area of Kensington . Winifred confesses that she had always hoped that Mildred would marry Julian so that they could all live together, but obviously that has now become impossible. Throughout these events, Mildred wryly observes the ups and downs of matrimony, offering a ready ear to the participants and wondering whether she would be happy left completely on

360-438: Is taken from Jane Austen 's novel Sanditon . The book is a first-person narrative in which Mildred Lathbury records the humdrum details of her everyday life in post-war London near the start of the 1950s. Perpetually self-deprecating, but with the sharpest wit, Mildred is a clergyman 's daughter who is now just over thirty and lives in "a shabby part…very much the 'wrong' side of Victoria Station ". She works part-time at

396-545: The Church Times Cricket Cup. The hymn " Onward, Christian Soldiers " was first published in the Church Times (15 October 1864). Edward Heath , the future British Prime Minister, was news editor of the Church Times from February 1948 to September 1949. His work was "a mixture of administration, reporting, and sub-editing". His assignments for the paper included covering the 1948 Anglo-Catholic Congress and Wand's Mission to London. N. T. Wright (Tom Wright)

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432-494: The General Synod . Its published annual Indexes have always described it as an "ecclesiastical and general" newspaper, and it has always included world events in its coverage. Much of its space has always been given over to serious book reviews, and, more recently, coverage of the arts. The paper's regular columnists include Paul Vallely , the former associate editor of The Independent , the poet and priest Malcolm Guite , and

468-628: The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 , intended to "put down" ritualism in the Church of England . The paper defended the spiritual independence of the Church of England in spite of the Church's Established status; many of the ceremonial and doctrinal matters that the paper championed are now accepted as part of mainstream Anglicanism. Its views were opposed by the Church of England Newspaper , which supported evangelical and low church positions. The paper's sympathies have broadened since

504-406: The activities of Julian Malory, who accepts Allegra Gray, a glamorous clergyman's widow, as a tenant for the flat in his vicarage. After Julian eventually becomes engaged to Allegra, she attempts to ease Julian's sister out of the house. Winifred then flees weeping to Mildred and asks if she can stay with her. Julian follows her closely, having quarrelled with Allegra over her behaviour. The engagement

540-528: The arrival of new neighbours in the flat below her, anthropologist Helena Napier and her handsome husband Rocky, to whom Mildred feels herself drawn. However, she is wary of being too taken in by his charm, having learned that while serving in Italy in the Royal Navy , Rocky's principal task had been to look after the welfare of the female auxiliaries known as 'Wrens' . Helena is not interested in housework and leaves

576-525: The charitable Society for Aged Gentlewomen and otherwise occupies herself by attending and helping at the local church. There she is particularly friendly with its unmarried High church priest Julian Malory and his slightly older sister Winifred, who keeps house for him. Recently Mildred had shared a flat with her schoolteacher friend Dora Caldicote and at one time had been briefly courted by Dora's brother William, with whom she still occasionally keeps in touch. Her rather uneventful life grows more exciting with

612-655: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 27824101 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 04:53:20 GMT Church Times The Church Times was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer , a printer. It fought for the Anglo-Catholic and high church cause in the Church of England at a time when priests were being harried and imprisoned over such matters as lighting candles on altars and wearing vestments, which brought them into conflict with

648-457: The dustbins in the basement, where they make arrangements for managing the supply of toilet rolls in the shared bathroom, followed by Mildred's squeamishness at having such matters discussed where others might hear. But behind the humour, there is a darker mood, expressed by one critic as "the world of vague longing… described in this novel in a way which not only shows us the poignancy of such hopes, but allows us to smile at them". Philip Larkin ,

684-454: The end of the 1950s, far outselling her other novels, although by no means a bestseller. By 1954, Pym wrote that eight American publishers and 10 publishers from Continental Europe had seen the manuscript and declined to publish it. Indeed, Excellent Women had to wait until E.P. Dutton published it in the US in 1978. The novelist John Updike , reviewing it then, wrote that: Excellent Women ...

720-573: The end of the novel, however, Mildred reluctantly agrees to play the 'excellent woman' in Everard’s life, to the extent of proof-reading his learned papers and helping index them. Barbara Pym originally outlined the novel in one of her notebooks, where it is headed "A full life", the phrase on which the book's eventual final chapter closes. Another partial draft was begun in February 1949, this time headed "No life of one's own", which relates to Mildred's reflections on how others perceive spinsterhood . There

756-495: The flat in an untidy state. After his return, Rocky is only a little more house-proud, preferring to go up to Mildred's flat and get her to make him tea. Eventually the ill-matched married couple quarrel when Helena leaves a hot saucepan on a polished walnut table; she storms off to live with her mother and he to stay in a country cottage he owns. Mildred is left to negotiate between them who owns what furniture and eventually helps arrange their reconciliation. A subplot revolves around

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792-488: The mid-1950s, embracing the principle of diversity of practice in the worldwide Anglican Communion, and looking more favourably on other Christian denominations. The paper carries more editorial and advertising than any of its main rivals for an Anglican readership. The paper has always been independent of the church hierarchy. From its foundation until 1989 it was owned by the Palmer family, ending with Bernard Palmer, who combined

828-575: The novel. It is the first of many to feature anthropologists and she had worked at the International African Institute in London since 1946, at the period she is describing. Previously she had been an officer in the WRNS in Italy during World War II and no doubt had come across Rocky Napier's equivalent then. The novel's humour is achieved through linguistic as well as situational means. Very often

864-581: The novels Less Than Angels and An Unsuitable Attachment , and whose funeral service will appear from different perspectives in both An Academic Question and A Few Green Leaves . The character of Archdeacon Hoccleve in Excellent Women had previously played a larger role in Pym's first novel, Some Tame Gazelle . Barbara Pym Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

900-429: The priest and broadcaster Angela Tilby . Giles Fraser , the priest and media commentator, was a regular columnist from 2004 to 2013. The author Ronald Blythe wrote the "Word from Wormingford" column from 1993 to 2017. Edward Heath was the paper's news editor from February 1948 to September 1949. It has been nicknamed (mainly among Anglo-Catholics since the 1970s or 1980s) "Jezebel's Trumpet" (alluding to Jezebel ,

936-518: The run-up to the 2017 general election , the leaders of the three main political parties wrote for the paper on the importance of international development. It has published many interviews with high-profile figures, inside and outside the Church, including Justin Welby , Terry Waite Jeremy Vine , Marilynne Robinson , Francis Spufford , Derren Brown , Rhidian Brook , Jon McGregor , Joan Bakewell , Sarah Perry and Tom Holland . The paper

972-412: The serious is juxtaposed to the bathetic in a style similar to mock-heroic . Thus Mildred reflects, "I know myself to be capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life – birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sale, the garden fete spoiled by bad weather". This mood is prolonged by Mildred's absorption in mundane detail, as in her first meeting with Helena by

1008-471: The shelf. When attending a meeting of Helena Napier's 'Learned Society' (which is never specified), Mildred had met Helena's supposed alternative love interest, fellow anthropologist Everard Bone, who is definitely wary of becoming entangled with a married woman and at one point flees to the north to pursue his interest in prehistory. Subsequently he seems more impressed by Mildred than she is by him as he pursues her with phone calls and invitations to dinner. By

1044-519: The tasks of owner and editor for the final 20 years. He sold it to the charity Hymns Ancient and Modern , then chaired by Henry Chadwick . Throughout its life, it has scrutinised the actions of the church hierarchy, besides covering the work of the parishes. It has provided extensive coverage of meetings of the Church of England's central bodies, including the Convocations, the Church Assembly, and

1080-401: The title to Des Femmes Remarquables but is reported to lack much of the novel's wit. Excellent Women was later translated into such languages as Russian, Estonian, Icelandic, Turkish and Persian. Excellent Women has been noted for its accurate analysis of life in post-war England, where rationing and other shortages were still in effect. Pym was drawing on her own life for some elements of

1116-595: The week, or to read a fuller version of the stories that appear in print." The Starbridge Lecturer in Theology and Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge , the Revd Dr Andrew Davison, wrote on Twitter: "Admiring the impressive new look of @ChurchTimes, I am reminded how central that newspaper is to our life in the @c_of_e, as a source of news, education, and untrammelled comment and discussion." In March 2018,

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1152-530: The wife of King Ahab of Israel in II Kings ). In February 2013, the Church Times marked its 150th anniversary. In April 2014, the paper published an article by David Cameron . He wrote: "I am a member of the Church of England, and, I suspect, a rather classic one: not that regular in attendance, and a bit vague on some of the more difficult parts of the faith. But that doesn't mean the Church of England doesn't matter to me or people like me: it really does." In

1188-624: Was launched in March 2017. Interviewees have included Vicky Beeching , Rob Bell , John Gray (philosopher) ., Neil MacGregor , N.T. Wright and Sarah Perry . In January 2018, the paper's design was updated. Editor Paul Handley wrote in the paper: "We ... want to make more of the fact that the print version of the Church Times now works very much in tandem with our website and social-media activity. Many readers, besides downloading our weekly app, now go to our website for breaking stories throughout

1224-599: Was named Niche Newspaper of the Year at the 2009 at the national Newspaper Awards, and won the award for Best Use of Colour in 2010. In November 2017, the paper's deputy news and features editor, Madeleine Davies, received an award from the Awareness Foundation for "her extraordinary work in the Christian media; her great courage and integrity as a source of inspiration and encouragement to people of faith everywhere." The award

1260-598: Was presented by Sophie, Countess of Wessex . Previous winners have included the BBC's Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen and Baroness Berridge . In April 2018, the Archbishop of Canterbury awarded the paper's former Education Correspondent, Margaret Holness, the Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England, "for sustained excellence as Education Correspondent of the Church Times for over twenty years". A weekly podcast

1296-411: Was serialised in 10 parts on BBC Radio 4 's Books at Bedtime programme, at the start of 2002. Barbara Pym's characters often reappear or are referenced in later novels. In Jane and Prudence (1953), one of the characters mentions that "nice Miss Lathbury" has married an anthropologist (presumably Everard). In Less than Angels (1955), Everard reappears as a character, described as "having married

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