Why Mildred Lathbury?

As this is a new blog, I wanted to explain why I've called it the Musings of Mildred Lathbury.  In the last year, as so many things in my life have changed, I have rediscovered the wonderful writings of Barbara Pym.  I even wrote about my love for her work in an old blog post. which you can read here:-

http://taleshazelcottage.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-small-things-of-life.html

Barbara Pym's writings are often about spinsters and subtle longings, but the timeless way she describes the inner monologue of her characters has really struck a chord.  The main character of Excellent Women was one Mildred Lathbury, a wonderfully real character,  who made me laugh and cry in equal measure.

“My thoughts went round and round and it occurred to me that if I ever wrote a novel it would be of the 'stream of consciousness' type and deal with an hour in the life of a woman at the sink.”  ― Barbara Pym, Excellent Women

I often wonder about painting a portrait of how I think Mildred should look and post it on the blog.  If I get around to it, and it doesn't look too awful, I will put it on a later post.


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