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No Fond Return of Love
No Fond Return of Love: A Novel | Barbara Pym
19 posts | 13 read | 12 to read
Three lonely people come together in this poignant and witty novel of thwarted dreams, scandalous secrets, and star-crossed romance After being jilted by her fianc, Dulcie Mainwaring despairs of ever finding true love. For a distraction, she goes to a publishing conference, where she meets Viola Dace, a dramatic woman who refuses to live without romance, as well as Aylwin Forbes, an editor whom Viola adores. The fact that Aylwin is married doesnt stop Viola. When her amorous pursuit prompts Aylwins wife to leave him, the academic heartthrob is wide open to Violas romantic attentions. That is, until Dulcies eighteen-year-old niece moves in with Viola, and the young girl soon catches Aylwins roving eye. Set in London in the early 1960s, No Fond Return of Love is a delightful comedy of manners that comes full circle as Dulcie discovers a love as unexpected as it is liberating.
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Lcsmcat
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Pickpick

Not my favorite by Pam, but a pleasant way to end a busy day. First Christmas dinner down. Two more to go.

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kspenmoll
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#manicmonday #letterN
Late but…
1) Tagged
2)Sagoke Natsukawa
3)Bob Newhart Show
4)Nirvana
5)Nowhere Man

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Sophronisba
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CarolynM
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Pickpick

Another charming comedy of manners from Barbara Pym. Dulcie, an excellent woman, engages in some borderline stalking, while her friends & family stumble through a series of romantic entanglements. I loved it. Thank you again @LeahBergen

LeahBergen Oh, good! ❤️❤️ I have this one coming up in my sequence of Pym reads so I‘m glad you liked it. 2y
CarolynM @LeahBergen I look forward to chatting about it when you've read it🙂 2y
Cathythoughts Sounds good too 👍❤️ 2y
Centique Pym never fails! 😍 2y
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CarolynM
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Barbara Pym explains the Victoria Plum joke in Miss Plum and Miss Penny. A very weak joke indeed!

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub
@LeahBergen @Cathythoughts @Ruthiella @quietjenn @erzascarletbookgasm @batsy @rubyslippersreads

Ruthiella Love it! I wonder if Barbara had read Miss Penny and Miss Plum? 🤔 2y
quietjenn @Ruthiella @CarolynM I‘m choosing to believe she did! 😉❤️ 2y
LeahBergen Well, look at that! 😆 2y
Cathythoughts Well spotted ! That‘s a laugh 😁 2y
56 likes4 comments
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CarolynM
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Leah, I hope I'm right in thinking these books are from you? Thank you for your good wishes, my friend, it's so kind of you to think of me💕😘 I am very much looking forward to reading more Pym.

@LeahBergen

BarbaraBB Is it your birthday Carolyn? If so, make it a happy one ( and I have to make a note!)❤️ 2y
squirrelbrain I loved The Diary of a Bookseller, and the card is so cute! 2y
CarolynM @BarbaraBB Shhh! Don't tell anyone😉 2y
See All 23 Comments
batsy Happy birthday @CarolynM have a lovely one ❤️🎂🎈📚 2y
LeahBergen They are! I can‘t believe you got these (and the card, too) before your Christmas one. What the?? It hasn‘t been returned to me so maybe it will be an Easter gift? 😆😆 I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day, my friend! 😘😘😘 2y
LeeRHarry Happiest of birthdays Carolyn!!! 🎉🥂😘 2y
Suet624 Happy birthday!! 2y
mabell So much loveliness! 😍 2y
Cathythoughts Lovely gifts 💫💫💫 2y
Cathythoughts Happy Birthday Carolyn 😘 2y
MaureenMc Happy birthday! 🎂 2y
CarolynM @batsy Thanks Suba 😘 2y
CarolynM @LeahBergen Now our international borders are open mail seems to be moving more freely, hopefully the other package will arrive soon. Thank you again, and I did have a very nice day😘 2y
CarolynM @LeeRHarry Thank you Lee😘 2y
CarolynM @Cathythoughts Thank you Cathy😘 2y
CarolynM @Suet624 @mabell @MaureenMc Thanks friends😘😘😘 2y
Centique Earlier this week I thought “isn‘t it Carolyn‘s birthday soon?” And I looked through all the Litsy Birthday prompts and couldn‘t find you! Well happy belated birthday!!! I hope it has been a good one 💕 2y
Lizpixie Happy belated birthday my friend! I didn‘t realise it was this week otherwise I would‘ve sent you a gift. Hopefully the birthday book fairies were very good to you this year😘❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉 2y
CarolynM @Centique @Lizpixie Thank you, my dear friends😘😘 I usually keep my birthday quiet, but the secret got out this year🤭🤣 2y
Centique …..psssst I‘ve sent you something from booktopia….. secret squirrel 😁 2y
CarolynM @Centique That's really sweet of you, Paula. I'll look out for it. How are things in your world? I have the Rebels first home game tonight, hope they play better than last week 🙄 2y
Centique @CarolynM good luck! I haven‘t paid any attention to rugby yet. 😬 Still recovering from the Winter Olympics - didn‘t watch a lot but we did much better than usual so it was fun! All good here, finally got the full blast of Omicron in Auckland so just waiting for it to be our turn to go into hibernation. How goes it in Melbourne? Xxx 2y
CarolynM @Centique Melbourne seems to be past the worst of this wave and getting back to something like normal. There were heaps of people out and about last night (it was a really nice summer night). I think we're at the stage where we have to go about our ordinary life and hope for the best. 2y
66 likes23 comments
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RealLifeReading
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Sometimes it‘s nice to take a break from all that modern literature in which things seem to hurtle at breakneck speed and every chapter switches perspective until my head spins. Alright I‘m just being dramatic here, a lot of times that headspinning thing happens in a good way. I do love me a convoluted plot and multiple POV narration. But it‘s nice to slow things down with a more gentle read. Gentle yes but still full of wit and humour.

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Moray_Reads
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jenniferw88 Hi Moray, I am on holiday next week and the week after I have various hospital appointments but I promise to get a replacement #ConanDoyleSwap package out to you soon! 6y
Moray_Reads @jenniferw88 please don't go to much expense or inconvenience, I don't want you to go to lots of trouble because the first one for lost. But thank you of course, so generous of you. Hope everything goes well with your appointments x 6y
LeahBergen Great quote! 😆 6y
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shawnmooney
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Bklover Now I want baked beans! 6y
LeahBergen Did they give her “the wind”? 6y
48 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
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#QuoteOfTheDay

Artwork by David Gista. There‘s a bunch of other wonderful library-themed artwork on his webpage, davidgista.com.

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shawnmooney
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LeahBergen 😂 6y
saresmoore Haha! I love it! 6y
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shawnmooney
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Suet624 It‘s true. 6y
LauraBeth My husband would still be sitting around by himself @Suet624 if I hadn‘t taken matters into my own hands 😂 6y
Suet624 @LauraBeth 😂😂😂. 6y
LeahBergen @LauraBeth 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
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Kathrin
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Pickpick

Oh what a surprise this book was for me. I wonder if this was the inspiration for the Dalhousie novels, because it reminded me a good bit of those musings.

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SusanInTiburon
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Don't miss this rare sale on Barbara Pym, whose comedies of manners are so masterful she is perpetually compared with Jane Austen. The plot summary sounds like a sweet romance, but Pym's gimlet eye misses nothing, skewers the foolish, and rests finally on the consolations of singleness.

shawnmooney I read my first Pym – her first, too – last month and loved it so much I'm going to keep reading them in sequence until I've finished the lot! ❤️❤️ 7y
SusanInTiburon Oh, that makes me so happy! 7y
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jfount
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Pickpick

Probably not my favorite of Pym novels, but excellent nevertheless, and a good read for a lazy Sunday.

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jfount

"Sitting aimlessly in bedrooms -- often on the bed itself -- is another characteristic feature of English holidays."

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jfount
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"The things women did to men!"