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Major Pettigrew's Last Standby Helen Simonson
AwardsStaff Pick
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson is a charming, adorable, sweet story about two widowed residents of the small English village of Edgecombe St. Mary. Major Pettigrew (68) is the quintessential British man-of-the-country, complete with strong ideas about duty, honor, family, village life, etiquette, and tea. Mrs. Ali (58) is a lovely, intellectual, Pakistani woman trying to preserve her life in the country against her late husband's family, who has very different ideas for her future. When a small flicker of attraction blooms into a small romance between these two, it's sweet and innocent. They both look fondly back upon their respective previous marriages, and this lends itself to an understanding of how rare and lovely a perfect match can be. The Major suffers real angst in trying to navigate his way into this romance and still act within his own idea of what an honorable man is. The reader will truly cheer for these two characters and this charming little gem of a book. I applaud Helen Simonson on her very lovely first endeavor into literature: more, please! Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson’s wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
Review:"Helen Simonson's dryly delightful debut novel, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is...one of the most endearing love stories I've read in a long time." Christian Science Monitor
Review:"It is a delight to find a novel that dares to assert itself quietly with the lovely rhythm of Helen Simonson's funny, comforting, and intelligent first novel — a modern day story of love which takes everyone...by surprise." Elizabeth Strout
Review:“[A] beautiful little love story, which is told with skill and humor.” The New York Times Book Review
Review:"Funny, barbed, delightfully winsome storytelling....As with the polished work of Alexander McCall Smith, there is never a dull moment....It's all about intelligence, heart, dignity and backbone. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand has them all." The New York Times
Review:"Delightful....Lots of books try to evoke Jane Austen...but Simonson nails the genteel British comedy of manners with elegant aplomb." The Christian Science Monitor
Review:"Thoroughly charming....With her crisp wit and gentle insight, Simonson...knows just what delicious disruption romance can introduce to a well-settled life." The Washington Post
Review:"There's more than a bit of Romeo and Juliet here....Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali are worthy of our respect, and it is a great pleasure to spend time with them." Los Angeles Times
Review:"Marvelous...graceful, funny, perceptive, and satisfying." The Boston Globe
Review:"[Helen] Simonson invests her grown-up love story with...warmth and charm." USA Today
Review:"A wise comedy...about the unexpected miracle of later-life love... The beauty of this engaging book is in the characters." O: The Oprah Magazine
Review:“Endlessly entertaining.” Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review:“A comforting and intelligent debut, a modern-day story of love that takes everyone — grown children, villagers, and the main participants — by surprise, as real love stories tend to do.” Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge
Review:"Playful yet affecting....If you miss the Jeeves novels of P. G. Wodehouse — and don't mind having your emotional buttons pushed — Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is the book for you." Buffalo News
Review:“Irresistibly delightful.” Library Journal (starred review)
Synopsis:Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside, is filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and contains a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of readers' own families. Their interactions are both hilarious and heartbreaking.
About the AuthorHelen Simonson was born in England and spent her teenage years in a small village in East Sussex. A graduate of the London School of Economics and former travel advertising executive, she has lived in America for the last two decades. A longtime resident of Brooklyn, she now lives with her husband and two sons in the Washington, D.C., area. This is her first novel.
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