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THE VILLAGE by Marghanita Laski

THE VILLAGE

By

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

England- after the war, the polite resistance to change, and a small village- outside of London- where the rigid line of the gentlefolk who belonged by birth gives way to the infiltration of new blood, new money. For the Trevors, upper class but definitely on their uppers, view with dismay the new family that moves in next door, preserve their gentility at the price of isolation, and brood over the future of their oldest girl-Margaret- with no looks, no talents, and no sense of class. Margaret, who only wants to be a housewife to some nice young man, is put upon at home, and then escapes from a dreary job in a hospital through her meetings with Roy, a printer, and the son of their former char. Courageous- to a point, her love for Roy nearly falters in the face of social pressure and parental horror and she almost loses the life she wants until bolstered, by one wise older woman, she overrides opinion and overcomes the hostilities at home.... The larger issues of class and caste disintegration translated in terms of everyday lives, recognizable frailties, this is gentle in its realism and warm in its interpretation. For women, with possibly stronger rentals than sales.