No Fond Return Of Love
Encyclopedia
No Fond Return of Love is a novel by Barbara Pym
, first published in 1961. It has been adapted for radio by the BBC
.
The novel concerns the love lives of Viola Dace and her friend Dulcie Mainwaring, who are both attracted to the same man, Aylwin Forbes. Dulcie and Viola set about discovering more about his background.
In this novel, the author herself make a cameo appearance in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock
. This is something she did in one or two of her novels, and it contrasts with the apparently conventional nature of her works.
Pym is one of the guests at the guest house with ‘bright Christian atmosphere’ in Taviscombe. She is described as ‘ordinary-looking and unaccompanied’ and consequently no one takes any notice of her, even though some of them had ‘read and enjoyed her books’. Her fellow guests do not realise that they are being observed.
Pym also had a habit of using major characters from one novel as minor ones in another, and here we see Wilmet, Piers, Keith and Rodney from A Glass of Blessings
as tourists looking at the castle.
Barbara Pym
Barbara Mary Crampton Pym was an English novelist. In 1977 her career was revived when two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century...
, first published in 1961. It has been adapted for radio by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
The novel concerns the love lives of Viola Dace and her friend Dulcie Mainwaring, who are both attracted to the same man, Aylwin Forbes. Dulcie and Viola set about discovering more about his background.
In this novel, the author herself make a cameo appearance in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
. This is something she did in one or two of her novels, and it contrasts with the apparently conventional nature of her works.
Pym is one of the guests at the guest house with ‘bright Christian atmosphere’ in Taviscombe. She is described as ‘ordinary-looking and unaccompanied’ and consequently no one takes any notice of her, even though some of them had ‘read and enjoyed her books’. Her fellow guests do not realise that they are being observed.
Pym also had a habit of using major characters from one novel as minor ones in another, and here we see Wilmet, Piers, Keith and Rodney from A Glass of Blessings
A Glass of Blessings
A Glass of Blessings is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1958. The title is taken from the poem The Pulley by George Herbert.-Plot summary:...
as tourists looking at the castle.
Further reading
- Orna Raz - Social Dimensions in the Novels of Barbara Pym, 1949-1962: the Writer as Hidden Observer (2007)