What Did It Mean

"...A fictional stretch of English countryside in which a large and recurring cast of characters play out-in stylish and comic comfort-the conversations.that determine the destiny of a community."The plot is set spinning when the forthright and capable Lydia Merton is asked by a deputation of distinguished ladies to chair the local committee, whose charge it is to plan festivities to mark Coronation Day (Queen Elizabeth II). As Thirkell wittily reveals, there's no better place to observe the affections and jealousies, the pettiness and grace of a community and its individual members than in the hothouse of a volunteer committee. Familiar characters are woven into the narrative web as plans progess, and, as always, romance is never far from Thirkell's sight.