Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson is quintessential Persephone. It was first published in 1938 and then republished as a Persephone Classic in 200o. Since then it has been read by Maureen Lipman on radio 4 and made into a film in 2008. But back to the book.
The cover is an immediate draw for me and typical of the Persephone style, vintage and elegant and a lovely taste of the treasure to be discovered inside. As the title suggests this is the story of a day, albeit an extraordinary day in the life of Miss Pettigrew.
Miss Pettigrew, a down on her luck governess, about to lose her home and desperate for work, is sent by her employment agency to the home of Miss LaFosse, a glamorous night club singer with a tangled love life.
“Miss Pettigrew was conscious of her shabby clothes, her faded gentility, her courage lost through weeks of facing the workhouse”
From the moment she enters her potential employers home she is welcomed into a world of glamour, decadence, and fun. None of which she has known before. This is a story of awakening and discovery, as Miss Pettigrew becomes a real life Cinderella who has been gifted 24 hours to live a life she had never before dreamed of but embraces whole heartedly
“From this one day, dropped out of the blue into her lap, she was going to savour everything it offered her. ‘I will take’ said Mis Pettigrew, with calmness, with ease, with assurance ‘a little dry sherry if you please’
Miss Pettigrew comes into her own as she offers her old fashioned, common sense advice to Miss Pettigrew and her friends. Her outspoken, no nonsense outlook appeals to the frivolous ‘young people’ she finds herself amongst. There was so much to like about Miss Pettigrew, she showed courage, she sees her opportunity and grasps it and to my delight she begins to see she has something other people actually like.
At the ripe old age of 40 Miss Pettigrew considered her self an old maid, so when in her self appointed role of guardian and protector of Miss La Fosse she finds her self with another man of similar years to herself and the possibility of a little liaison occurs, her joy knows no bounds
“When Miss Pettigrew at last left Olympus and came back to earth, she was a changed woman. She never need hang her head again. She could now speak with authority. She was inexperienced no longer. She had been kissed soundly: with experience, with mastery, with ardour”
There is so much joy in this book as Miss Pettigrew throws caution to the wind, abandons her sensible self and gives her self wholly to the unexpected circumstance she has found her self in. Miss LaFosse is a gorgous creatures who floats around in negligees, but accepts Miss Pettigrew for who she is. She draws her into her slightly chaotic life, showing her genuine affection and generosity. There is no malice in this book, and for that I love it.
The language may feel a little old fashioned and out of time but for me that is so much a part of it’s appeal. Another Persephone book I will recommend to one and all.
I LOVED this book – and not just because the cover is so pretty. It was such a great read. I’ve re-read it too, which hardly ever happens these days.
Author
Hi Tara, I rarely re-read books but I agree this is one I could certainly re-read, I absolutely loved it.