Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson


I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

I'm so glad Sourcebooks decide to reissue Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson. Originally published in 1934, Miss Buncle's Book is such a delightful, funny and witty read.

Miss Buncle is going through some hard times financially, so she decides to raise some funds by writing a book. Unfortunately, Miss Buncle is not blessed with an imagination, so she writes about her town, and all the people in it, with names disguised, of course.

It's not long after the book is published that people in town begin recognizing themselves in the book. Some are amused, but some are outraged, and raise a huge stink about it. There are also some interesting things happening: some folks in town are starting to mirror the actions of their book counterparts.

Miss Buncle watches all in fascination, but also fear, because if they discover that she is the author, the jig is up, and she'll never live in peace again. However, this doesn't stop her writing another book.

The characters and their reactions to the book are absolutely hilarious, and unreal. Some say that the character in the book that is supposed to be them, is not really like them at all, but is somewhat like them. Hysterical. The lengths these people go through to find out the author is so ridiculous that it consumes their lives.

Miss Buncle's Book was a charming and funny book with a unique plot. Lot of shenanigans ensue that will crack you up.


3 comments:

Anne said...

I really liked this one too. It was a fun read!

Marg said...

I need to read this one!

Cathy and Steve said...

Christy,

I read this book and the sequel to it at least 30 years ago (when I was about the age that you are now). I LOVED them both. My copies of them (I had the hardcovers from the '40's), along with my entire Heyer collection, were destroyed in a flood, so I am delighted to be reminded of them and pleased to note that this one is in print again. I'm hoping they are both on Kindle. (And yes, I now have completely recreated my GH in it's entirety - no mean feat.)

I discovered you through one of the GH reviews on your blog and was amazed to find a prettier, younger version of moi LOL (right down to the fact that I lived in Nashua for 28 years, love the Pats, though not nearly as much as my husband and son, dabble in writing, have read voraciously since childhood, adore Regencies and mysteries,and currently live near Boston).

I hesitate to leave my email address in a public comment but you can reach me through my Google account and blog. I have to list our blog and email when I post a comment. If you can't access those, comment back and we'll figure something out. ;)

And oh yes, I am Cathy Rose. Now how cool is that?