Contents
Prologue: In which Miss Barbara Pym pays a Visit to Jane Austens Cottage 1
BOOK THE FIRST: A SHROPSHIRE LASS
I. In which our Heroine is born in Oswestry 7
II. In which we learn how a Servant Girl, Phoebe Pym, is seduced by a Gentleman and gives birth to a Baby Boy 12
III. In which Miss Pym is sent away to Boarding School 15
IV. Miss Pym attempts her First Novel: ‘Young Men in Fancy Dress’ 19
V. In which Miss Barbara Pym goes up to St Hildas College, Oxford 22
VI. In which our Heroine might have said "Et in Arcadia, ego" 26
VII. In which Miss Pym returns North 30
VIIL In which Miss Pym returns to Oxford 32
IX. In which our Heroine meets a Handsome Young Man called Rupert Gleadow 36
X. Miss Pym’s Summer of Love 41
XI. Our Heroine returns to Shropshire for the Long Vacation and invites Rupert to stay 45
XII. In which Things begin to become a little complicated with Rupert 51
XIII. The End of the Affair 57
XIV. In which we are introduced to ‘the Saga of Lorenzo’ 60
XV. In which Sandra makes her Appearance 64
XVI. In which Sandra has her First Date with Lorenzo and bites him on the Cheek 67
XVII. We’re having a Heatwave - a Tropical Heatwave 71
XVIII. Miss Pym reflects upon Stormy Weather 75
XIX. In which Sandra returns 78
XX. We are given a Glimpse of Sandra’s Diary 82
XXI. In which Sandra tries to renounce Lorenzo 85
XXII. A Pet Kangaroo 88
XXIII. Sandra returns to Oxford and resumes her Affair with Lorenzo 91
XXIV. The Saga of Sandra and Lorenzo, continued ... 94
XXV. In which a Very Important Correspondence begins
98
BOOK THE SECOND: GERMANY
I. Miss Pym tours Germany 105
II. In which Fräulein Pym falls for a Handsome Nazi 109
III. In which Sandra returns to Oxford and loses her Swastika Badge somewhere on the Banbury Road 112
IV. Miss Pym’s Final Term 116
V. Night of the Long Knives 120
VI. Miss Pym returns to Nazi Germany and attends a Hitler Rally 123
VII. In which Miss Pym returns to England and begins writing a Novel 126
VIII. Miss Pym continues her Novel of ‘Real People’ 130
IX. In which Miss Pym returns to Oxford to take her BA Degree 135
X. In which our Heroine goes to Germany for the third time and sleeps with her Nazi 138
XI. An Untoward Incident on the River 143
XII. ‘An English Gentlewoman can never come to any Harm’ 148
XIII. Omit the Nazis 151
XIV. Pymska 158
XV. In which Pymska is involved in a Tragic Accident 161
XVI. In which Jock and Pymska draw closer together ... 166
XVII. The Inquest 168
XVIII. Miss Pym begins her Second Novel in the Summer of 1936 and returns to Oxford to be Henry’s Amanuensis 172
XIX. The Story of Adam and Cassandra 176
XX. Jilted 180
XXI. An Introduction to Miss Ivy Compton-Burnett 183
XXII. Pymska writes a Finnish Novel 187
XXIII. Paavikki Olafsson and Jay 192
XXIV. Liebe Vikki 07
XXV. A Trip to the Botanical Gardens 201
XXVI. An Old Brown Horse 207
XXVII. In which our Heroine sees Friedbert for the Last Time 216
XXVIII. In which Pymska returns briefly Home to England and Vikki Olafsson goes to Poland 222
XXIX. Miss Pym leaves Poland in a Hurry, whilst there is still Time 227
XXX. We rummage in the Lumber Room 230
XXXI. We go to Crampton Hodnet 237
XXXII. Introducing Mr Simon Beddoes 244
XXXIII. A Peek into 112 Eaton Square 252
BOOK THE THIRD: WAR
I. Operation Pied Piper 257
II. In which we meet Mrs Dobbs of Birkenhead and Lady Wraye of Belgravia 262
III. Miss Pym reads a Government White Paper about Nazi Atrocities 268
IV. Our Heroine is rejected Again 271
V. Miss Pym begins a Novel in Real Time 274
VI. The Shadow of the Swastika 277
VII. Food Glorious Food 280
VIII. Oxford Revisited 285
IX. Miss Pym joins the ARP 288
X. In which our Heroine works for the YMCA in an Army Tented Camp 293
XI. A Sketch of Miss Ivy Compton-Burnett 296
XII. I Married a Nazi 300
XIII. Miss Pym returns to her ‘Sentimental Journal’ 303
XIV. So Very Secret 307
XV. Operation Bullseye 311
XVI. Miss Pym is offered a Job in the Censorship Department (German) and hears News of Friedbert 315
BOOK THE FOURTH: FROM THE COPPICE TO NAPLES
I. Miss Pym moves to a ‘Select Residential District’ of Bristol 321
II. In which we meet a Philandering Gentleman called Gordon Glover 325
III. The Marriage of Miss Hilary Pym and the Birth of a Baby 329
IV. Mr Gordon Glover makes a Bold Declaration to Miss Pym 332
V. It’s That Man Again 335
VI. Miss Pym has a Medical Examination 342
VII. In which Miss Pym pays a visit to her Old Love, Rupert Gleadow 346
VIII. Miss Pym passes her Interview 350
IX. Miss Pym experiences Life in Uniform 355
X. Introducing ‘Wren Pym’ 359
XI. Third Officer Pym is posted to Naples, where she meets ‘Pay-Bob’ Starky 364
XII. The End of the War 371
BOOK THE FIFTH: MISS PYM IN PIMLICO
I. In which our Heroine and her Sister take up Residence in London 377
II. Miss Pym the Anthropologist 380
III. In which Mr Jock Liddell persists and persuades Miss Pym to revise her Novel 385
IV. Miss Pym finally tames her Gazelle and it is released to the World 389
V. In which Miss Pym enters the Age of Dior and the Beveridge Report 397
VI. In which we read of an Excellent Woman 401
VII. In which Miss Pym leaves Pimlico for Barnes 411
VIII. In which Jock and Henry return (briefly) to the Story 415
IX. Miss Pym the Novelist takes Tea with the Distinguished Author Elizabeth Bowen in the Company of Several Homosexuals 418
X. The Celebrated Miss Barbara Pym 422
XI. The Tale of Jane and Prudence 425
XII. In which Miss Pym meets Robert Smith, is promoted to Assistant Editor ofAfrica, and Marks & Spencer takes Umbrage 433
XIII. Miss Pym enters the New Elizabethan Age 436
XIV. Miss Pym goes to Portugal 443
XV. Bill 446
XVI. What a Saga! 448
XVII. Darling Denton and Orvil Pym 453
XVIII. Tracking down Orvil Pym 456
XIX. We drink a Glass of Blessings 459
XX. In which Miss Pym goes to Swanwick 465
XXI. In which Miss Pym goes over to Rome 470
XXII. A Sketch of Philip Larkin 473
XXIII. No fond Return to Print 477
BOOK THE SIXTH: THE WILDERNESS YEARS
I. Miss Pym’s Annus Horribilis 485
II. Miss Pym takes Umbrage 489
III. Hullo Skipper 492
IV. Miss Pym visits Keats’s House in Hampstead 495
V. Of Wistfulness and Whitsun Weddings 500
VI. Darling Richard 507
VII. The Tale of the Sweet Bahamian and the Goddess of Brooksville 512
VIII. In which Mr Philip Larkin is disgruntled (when was he not?) 520
IX. In which Miss Pym takes Skipper as her Guest to the FANY Club Lunch and he receives a Love Token from Another Man, in the form of a Drying-up Cloth patterned with Dachshunds 523
X. Miss Pym is Off-loaded, again 527
XI. Mr Larkin to the Rescue 531
XII. In which we read Miss Pym’s plangent Masterpiece, The Sweet Dove Died 535
XIII. Miss Pym feels her Age 541
XIV. In trying Circumstances, Miss Pym compares herself to an Amazon 546
XV. In which Holborns Renowned Department Store, Gamages, is demolished 550
XVI. Miss Pym moves to Finstock 555
XVII. A Luncheon at the Randolph 559
XVIII. The Kissinger Syndrome and the Return of Henry Harvey 562
BOOK THE SEVENTH: IN WHICH THE FORTUNES OF MISS PYM ARE REVERSED
I. A Real Pym Year 569
II. Tea with Miss Pym 574
III. Miss Pym plays a Quartet in Autumn 578
IV. Miss Pym attends the Booker Prize 582
V. In which Miss Pym is invited as a Castaway on a famous Desert Island 587
VI. In which Miss Pym works on her Last Novel 591
VII. In which Miss Pym makes her Final Journey 595
Epilogue: In which Mr Larkin attends the Funeral of his Much-Loved Correspondent Miss Barbara Pym 601
Afterword 605
Acknowledgements 613
Notes 615
Suggestions for Further Reading 661
Illustration credits 664
Index 665