"Pregnant with calamity"

A couple of days ago I finished reading Marghanita Laski's 1952 (?) novel The Village. One could, I suppose, be forgiven for expecting a twee social comedy ala E.F. Benson, but this was a sharper affair. Opening on the last night of WWII, Laski's novel is a shrewd look at what the war did to England's class structure. More than that though, it is a prescient look at how that class structure would come undone in the years to come. And a rather sweet love story to boot. It also contained the fabulous phrase "pregnant with calamity," used to describe two village gossips, and for that I will be forever grateful.

RIP Misha

A truly wonderful dog.

"Oh you should see my trail of disgrace..."

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It's very charming, frothy, sweet, and I imagine that when it was first published in 1938, it was slightly risque. It was recently made into a film starring Frances McDormand (oddly perhaps) in the titular role, but I've not seen it yet. I ordered my copy from Amazon, or maybe bought it at Three Lives & Co., but one could otherwise order it directly from Persephone Books, a wonderful publisher specializing in neglected works by women writers. They have a shop in the fabulously named Lamb's Conduit Street. The Guardian ran a nice feature on Persephone founder Nicola Beauman.