That blasted Peenee! I've been tagged. The task:
Well, I turn to the pile of book-I-mean-to-read (or in his case re-read) that sits next to my armchair and find on top E.M. Delafield's The Provincial Lady in America. Page 123, sentences 6-8 are:
In any case, why Mary Queen of Scots? No possible connection with remote village in Devonshire. Can only suppose that Lady B. can think of no better way way of displaying her pearls.
Somehow, it seems very apt.
They're really lovely books, the Provincial Lady series - a kind of gentler E.F. Benson, or slightly sharper Barbara Pym. Excellent February afternoon books, or the sort of thing to read in front of a fire. Do find them, but read them in order.
And now to to find five not-already-tagged-with-this victims. How about TJB, Wesley Darling (perhaps it will encourage him to jumpstart his excellent blog), Craig of Colet and Company, Undercover Dragon, and Suburban? That should be a fairly dazzling array of books, I think.
I just knew you would have a much more stylish entry than me. I had never heard of Delafield, thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteOh my dear - any random quote that allows us to consider both Showgirls and the career of Klaus Nomi is by no means lacking in style.
ReplyDeleteDelafield is lovely - fast telegraphic style that becomes hard to resist imitating, and endlessly amusing writing about the bores and monsters she encounters as a County lady of (comparatively - she has three inside house help) limited means.
Devonshire. I can't hear that word without thinking of cream...and now with your multiple mentions of Beef Stroganoff, well, I'm positively hungry for it.
ReplyDeletemmmm....clotted cream.
ReplyDeleteI used to have friends who would bring in the real stuff to New York. That and potted shrimp - two teatime staples that make hardening of the arteries entirely worthwhile...