What a Difference a Day Makes

I've had a bit of a reading rush this week and finished three books within five days.  Very unlike me, think I need a lie down in a dark room!

The first book I read was 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' by Winifred Watson, one of Persephone Book's most popular books and a bestseller.  Having read this funny, charming novel, I can see why.

After a mix up at an employment agency, dowdy, middle-aged governess Miss Pettigrew is sent to work for glamorous night club singer Delysia LaFosse.  Before she knows what is happening, she's swept up in the chaotic lives of Miss LaFosse and her friends.  Acting as Agony Aunt to them, she faces unpleasant gangsters and wayward fiancés and begins to grow the confidence and self-esteem her life so far hasn't given her.

'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day'
by Winifred Watson
(Persephone Classics, 2008)

Now, I'm a little suspicious of 'Cinderella' stories.  I find it annoying that Hollywood so often tells us the only way that a woman can get Prince Charming is by having a makeover - I think it misses the point of the story.  Cinderella had the attributes of a princess, which is why when she's dressed like one and sent to the ball, she stands out from the crowd of power-hungry aristocracy and pushy-parented local gentry.  It's true that Miss Pettigrew does get a makeover in this book (thinking about it, that was the point at which I put the book down for a week or so), but that's really just the start of it - it's not just about the frock, it's making her look and feel like she belongs in Miss LaFosse's social sphere so she begins to feel at home, grow in confidence and shine.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book was the dialogue.  Mrs Watson clearly had a real gift for writing witty repartee and it genuinely made me laugh out loud.

Because it's funny and is set in the pre-war years, it's easy to compare 'Miss Pettigrew...' with the work of PG Wodehouse, but there's a sadness to the former which you'd never get in a Jeeves and Wooster novel.  Miss Pettigrew is haunted by the fact that her wonderful day will end and that going back to her 'real' life means poverty and homelessness.  Wodehouse is too lighthearted for that - the worst that can happen is the hero will have to marry the wrong girl.  They'll never be disinherited, they'll always have a fortune behind them.

This means that, by contrast, when Miss Pettigrew starts to grow in confidence and get pleasure from the odd circumstances she's found herself in, the reader gets something akin to real joy from it.  And that's what makes this book a real pick-me-up.  We all hope that nice things happen to good people, so when they do, even in books, it's hard not to be happy about it.

If you like modern day chick lit and like to be charmed by adorable, if slightly bonkers, characters, I'd recommend you give this a go.  The 1930s style is a bit odd at first, but I soon got used to it because of that amazing dialogue.  Just imagine it as a Noel Coward-style play and you'll get along just fine.

Oh, and a big shout out to the wonderful people at Persephone Books.  I have a special love for this publishers as my ancestors used to run a business from their Holburn shop!  Just seems right somehow!  Their catalogue currently stands at 98 otherwise unavailable 20th century classics, including novels, cookbooks, short story collections and probably a lot more.  I have two more of their distinctive grey covered books on my shelves at the moment, so I'm sure they'll crop up again eventually!  Let's hope their other books are up to Miss Pettigrew's standard!