Excellent Women cover art

Excellent Women

'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' Richard Osman

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Excellent Women

By: Barbara Pym, Alexander McCall Smith - introduction
Narrated by: Gerri Halligan, Jonathan Keeble
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.20

Buy Now for £12.20

INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH

'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN

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 fête 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.

'One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

'Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life' ANNE TYLER

'Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise' THE TIMES©1952 Barbara Pym Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Witty Feel-Good
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym (Richard Osman)
Why shouldn't the lives of cardigan-wearing spinsters and fussy confirmed bachelors be the engines of some of the finest comic writing in English? Not only was Pym a comic genius but she was ever so wise
Barbara Pym is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life (Anne Tyler)
One of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the twentieth century (Alexander McCall Smith)
All stars
Most relevant
The novel itself is fine- but as an audio-book it doesn't really tick all the boxes.



Firstly it has to be pointed out that it is NOT (as described) narrated by Jonathan Keeble- he reads the introduction by Alexander Maccoll Smith- but from there on Geri Halligan (sp?) takes over.



She reads it much better than I could have done- but I'm afraid she's not really out of the top-drawer of narrators- she falls down badly on the male voices, which tend to be nasal, same-ish and lacking in the necessary charm.



I also felt that a posher, more clipped voice would have suited the middle-class post-war Pym world better- Another narrator (without turning it into a Brief Encounter parody) might have captured the 'feel' of the period better.



Excellent novel- middling reader.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was my first intro to BP and I am now addicted thanks to this wonderful , atmospheric performance. Who knew a world full of vicars, teapots and excellent women could be so intriguing. Thank you!

Delicious !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A lovely book very well read one i come back to again and again like a comfort blanket .

nm murray

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have read the book at least twice but she really brought it to life

an excellent narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Both entertaining and melancholy, with fabulous cast of eccentric characters. Narration perfectly acceptable - female characters perhaps rendered more convincingly than the male.

Subtle, wry comedy of manners

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews