Excellent Women Av Barbara Pym

<p><b>INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH</b><br><br><b>''I''m a huge fan of Barbara Pym'' RICHARD OSMAN</b><br><br>Mildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, ''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 f¿ spoilt by bad weather''. Her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, seem to be facing a marital crisis. One cannot take sides in these matters, though it is tricky, especially as Mildred has a soft spot for dashing young Rockingham Napier. This is Barbara Pym''s world at its funniest and most touching.<br><br><b>''One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century'' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH<br><br>''Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life'' ANNE TYLER<br><br></b><b>''Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise'' <i>THE TI