Well, I don’t know who to thank for pointing me in the direction of Joyce Dennys, but it was definitely a blogger, not that that helps much.
Joyce Dennys was a doctor’s wife who wrote comical articles for Sketch, and she illustrated them with cartoons. Her first article went down so well that she was asked to contribute regularly.
Her character Henrietta is really a thinly veiled version of Joyce herself, as she admitted she sometimes didn’t know where one ended and the other began.
The articles are all in the form of letters from Henrietta to her old schoolfriend Robert, who is doing something in the army – somewhere. Bloomsbury has reprinted them and I have to say that they are a hoot and must have fairly cheered up people in desperate times.
The usual wartime themes of rationing, and queueing, a lack of elastic and clothes in general are to the fore as you would expect. The small town in the west country, near Exeter, where Henrietta and her husband Dr Brown live, is inundated with evacuees and soldiery and it’s all jolly good fun! However, there is a serious side now and again, such as the complaint that women who were caught up in bombing raids and lost legs or whatever were given less compensation than a man with the same injuries. Mind you, it was news to me that anyone got compensation at all, I thought it was just put down to tough luck and there’s a war on you know!
You can see some of her cartoons and illustrations here.
And there’s more of her work on the BBC Paintings site here.
I read this a couple of years ago and was charmed by it. I meant to get back to sequels but I haven’t yet made the time. Thanks for the reminder!
http://www.exurbanis.com/archives/4556#henrietta
Debbie,
I’m on Henrietta Sees It Through now and it’s just as funny, maybe even more so!
I had this in my wish list on Amazon for along time but never did but it. I like the letters format.
Peggy Ann,
Yes me too, they are one sided letters, just from Henrietta to Robert, it’s a very quick read. Luckily I managed to borrow this one and the sequel from my library. You should see if yours has it.
I’m adding this to my list! It sounds marvelous, and I’m fond of west country stories.
Lisa,
I think you’ll really enjoy it. I like west country, even when the west is England!
I got a copy of this way back when Simon from Stuck in a Book reviewed it a few years ago, but….I’ve never read it! I love that it’s funny – something to save for when I need cheering up.
Anbolyn,
I requested it and the sequel from my library so it jumped the queue. It will definitely cheer you up when you need it, it’s as good as a bar of chocolate for that, and won’t make you put on weight.