Barbara Pym: A Critical Biography

Several of the novels written by British author Barbara Pym (1913-1979) are devoted to amusing and detailed character studies of upper-middle-class unmarried British women ( Excellent Women ; Jane and Prudence ). In this well-reasoned psychological analysis of the author's art, Wyatt-Brown draws on the body of Pym's work, her unpublished papers and interviews with the author's sister to support the thesis that Pym's encounters with unrequited love and emotional deprivation were the inspiration for her writing. In later life Pym published Quartet in Autumn , a powerful fictionalized version of her own experiences with illness and aging that finally established her reputation. Enthusiasts and scholars will find this penetrating analysis a useful tool with which to view Pym's life and work. Wyatt-Brown is Coordinator of Scholarly Writing in the Linguistics Program at the University of Florida. (July)