Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson, Henrietta Twycross-Martin (Preface by)

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The Barnes & Noble Review

At the raggedy end of winter, sunshine comes as a welcome reprieve, even if the weather may not be quite so lovely tomorrow. The same may be said for the life of the title character in Winifred Watson’s thoroughly charming 1938 novel. Miss Pettigrew, a 40-year-old governess who, by her own admission, has "no friends, no family, no money," appears promptly at 9:15 a.m. at the house of Miss LaFosse in hopes of landing a job. With the sort of attractiveness that drives men to unbridled distraction, Miss LaFosse can’t cook, clean, or choose which suitor to settle upon. What the 20-something lounge singer does quite ably is entangle herself in romances, and it’s the newly arrived Miss Pettigrew to whom she looks for rescue and counsel. Treated as a confidante for the first time, Miss Pettigrew rises to the task with aplomb, and the scenes that unfold between her and Miss LaFosse’s gentlemen callers are often laugh-out-loud funny. The character of Miss Pettigrew is so engaging that reading of her travails over a 24-hour period feels like being in the company of an old -- and reliably entertaining -- friend. By mid-afternoon, Miss Pettigrew, saturated with dry sherry, has been given a makeover and introduced to Miss LaFosse’s social set as one of them. The two protagonists are each other’s perfect foil: Miss LaFosse offers her infectious sense of adventure; Miss Pettigrew, her outspoken common sense. To her surprise, Miss Pettigrew realizes that this is the best day of her life. She relaxes into her first name, Guinevere, settles into her borrowed dress, and herself experiences a variety of the grand romantic chaos swirling around her charge. Miss Pettigrew possesses an inner strength and beauty entirely her own, and this confident and authentic version of herself is, happily, here to stay. --Sarah Norris

Synopsis

"Don't let this delightfully frothy drawing-room comedy get lost between the sofa cushions."-Salon.com

"Miss Pettigrew is irresistible, a perfect mix of wistfulness and joy, substance and froth."-Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is perhaps the happiest, most ebullient piece of fiction ever written for adults."-Newsday

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is now available as an audio book read by Academy Awardwinning actress Frances McDormand, who stars in the film as the down-and-out governess Miss Pettigrew, who finds herself caught up in the life of Delysia LaFloss, a glamorous aspiring actress played by Amy Adams.

Winifred Watson (19072002) grew up in Newcastle and was a secretary until, in 1935, she married Leslie Pickering, the manager of a timber firm. She wrote six novels in all, but after the birth of her son in 1941, she stopped writing and lived quietly in Newcastle for the rest of her life.

Biography

Winifred Watson (1907-2002) lived in Newcastle and wrote six novels in all; she chose to stop writing after the birth of her son in 1941. The Times interviewed her at age 94 when Persephone Books reissued the book in 2000. The headline was "Bodice-Ripping Fame at 94".