A Glass of Blessings, Barbara Pym
A Glass of Blessings, Barbara Pym
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A Glass of Blessings
A Novel

Author: Barbara Pym

Narrator: Mary Sarah

Unabridged: 8 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/10/2020

Synopsis

Barbara Pym's early novel takes us into 1950s England, as seen through the funny, engaging, yearning eyes of a restless housewife

Wilmet Forsyth is bored. Bored with the everyday routine of her life. Bored with teatimes filled with local gossip. Bored with her husband, Rodney, a civil servant who dotes on her. But on her thirty-third birthday, Wilmet's conventional life takes a turn when she runs into the handsome brother of her close friend. Attractive and enigmatic, Piers Longridge is a mystery Wilmet is determined to solve. Rather than settling down, he lived in Portugal, then returned to England for a series of odd jobs. Driven by a fantasy of romance, the sheltered, naïve Englishwoman sets out to seduce Piers—only to discover that he isn't the man she thinks he is. As cozy as sharing a cup of tea with an old friend, A Glass of Blessings explores timeless themes of sex, marriage, religion, and friendship while exposing our flaws and foibles with wit, compassion, and a generous helping of love.

About Barbara Pym

Barbara Pym (1913-1980) was a bestselling and award-winning English novelist. Her first book, Some Tame Gazelle, launched her career as a writer beloved for her social comedies of class and manners. Pym is the only author to be named twice in a Times Literary Supplement list of "the most underrated novelists of the century." She produced thirteen novels, the last three published posthumously. Her 1977 novel Quartet in Autumn was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Judith on October 20, 2024

Let’s just take a tiny peek at post-war, English, genteel society, shall we? Where there are Church activities, and life revolves around tea time and lunch dates. Where social constrictions are heading to the swinging 1960’s. In A Glass of Blessings, I fear the main character would be known today as......more

Goodreads review by Irena on May 12, 2025

This is the second book by Barbara Pym I've read, and once again I've enjoyed her writing. "A Glass of Blessings" feels even more like Jane-Austen-writes-a-1950s-novel than Excellent Women ((view spoiler)[we even get a newly-married vicar "getting a living" at the end (hide spoiler)] ). In "A Glass of Blessings" we get to experienc......more

Goodreads review by Sketchbook on April 04, 2015

Anglican flirtations. Sensitive, specialized. "I never know what it is that Christians want when they pray for the sick," said Sybil. "Death is greatly to be desired for believers, and yet they never like to pray for that." Exactly. Heavenly socials: I bet Joan of Arc is marvelous at bridge. Who el......more

Goodreads review by Shawn on January 07, 2018

This may end up being my favorite Pym novel. (I’m reading them in sequence, and this one at least ties with her debut, Some Tame Gazelle, in my affections.) Unlike most Pym protagonists, Wilmet is married. She has a roving eye both in the classic sense but more broadly in the way she gazes and gawks......more

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