Review: Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson

In all her lonely life Miss Pettigrew had never realised how lonely she had been until now, when for one day she was lonely no longer.

On a morning much like any other, not-very-good-governess Miss Pettigrew walks into her employment agency having almost resigned herself to the workhouse. However, today happens to be her lucky day; a Miss LaFosse is looking for a nursery governess, and so with a great deal of relief, Miss Pettigrew nervously makes her way to the home of her potential new employer. However, nothing can prepare her for what's in store when she arrives. From the moment the door is opened by a glamorous young women in a silk neglige, Miss Pettigrew steps into a decadent world she has only ever known through her weekly escape to the cinema. In a whirlwind of makeup, men, parties and...sherry(?!) we see Miss Pettigrew live for a day, but her life is changed forever.

This book was charming, farcical, ridiculous, and so much fun. I found myself relating (almost painfully!) to Miss Pettigrew's self-deprecating opinions of herself - 'permanently seeking a new job, nervous, incompetent, dowdy and shy.' Now if that's not me in a nutshell then I don't know what is! At the other end of the spectrum is the beautiful, vivacious party girl Miss LaFosse. An unlikely friendship in real life, but one that works terrifically in the absurd context of this little gem! I loved the novelty of the story taking place over the course of a single day, with each chapter dividing the book into blocks of time of varying lengths. This lent the story a surprisingly swift pace so that before I knew it, the day was almost over. As much as I loved this book, it was let down in places by some troubling social attitudes which made for rather uncomfortable reading. The utterance from one of Miss LaFosse's suitors that 'Delysia's a little devil and there's times I could flay her alive, and obviously she needs a little physical correction, but I'm the only right man to do it' is more than slightly worrying, whilst Miss Pettigrew's own opinion that 'when it comes to marriage it's safer to stick to your own nationality' in reference to a Jewish beau of her companion is equally unsettling. Setting these aside as an unfortunate bi-product of the pre-WWII era in which the book was written, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is an otherwise fantastic introduction to the Persephone Books collection which I shall undoubtedly be delving into again!

RATING: ★★★★☆

Lou x