Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Jack Middleton is not an easy man to get on with. Fortunately, the only person who can is Mrs Middleton.
Jack's sister Lilian and her two stepchildren Daphne and Denis have planned to spend the summer in the house next door and, true to form, Jack is dreading it. Daphne is far too lively for his taste and Denis is not lively enough.
When the trio arrive, however, they captivate the Barchester village with their wit, charm and music. In no time many of the local residents - not least of all Lord and Lady Bond, Lord Stoke and a great many more - are in the palms of their hands. Even Jack himself is ripe for conversation.
Before Lunch is a delightful social comedy of village life before the war.
Synopsis
Jack Middleton likes to imagine himself a country squire. At weekends he retires to Laverings Estate with his wife, Catherine. He may be pompous, and they may seem ill-matched, but the couple are devoted to each other.
When Jack's widowed sister, Lilian, and her two stepchildren arrive to spend the summer in the neighbouring house, he dreads the intrusion to his idyll: Daphne, capable and ambitious, is too lively for his taste, whereas her brother Denis, a composer, he finds a crashing bore. But their wit and good sense charm the residents of Barchester, and they win over Lord Bond with an impromptu Gilbert and Sullivan evening. Even Jack begins to thaw.
Before long, Daphne and Lord Bond's son become attracted to each other, but each believes the other is attached to someone else. Can disaster be averted before she marries the wrong man?
First published in 1939, Before Lunch is a sparkling comedy from Angela Thirkell's much-loved classic series.