term “excellent women” has a religious aspect as well, such as when Father Malory announces his engagement to Mrs. Gray to the excellent women connected to the church. Because Mildred is a clergyman’s daughter and active in the affairs of St. Mary’s, she reflects on the Church of England’s norms and on the Roman Catholic church. The text suggests that Mildred and other excellent women are almost de facto nuns. Yet Mildred also has a strong social sense and knowledge that help her as an excellent woman.

Excellent Women is not, in a strict sense, a feminist novel. Pym’s work is not driven by ideology and politics. Rather, her subjects and ironic style can be traced to Jane Austen—a worthy tradition, indeed, in the history of the British novel. To appreciate Pym’s art, her biography is instructive. Hers was a middle-class background. She started writing when she was sixteen. Pym graduated from the University of Oxford, and all of her life she read widely. She lived at home after graduation but moved to London just before the start of World War II in 1939. She had traveled much in Europe. During the war, she joined the WRNS, a women’s military support group, that did varied tasks on the home front. After the war, she worked for the International African Institute, where she became a student of anthropology. Writing constantly, she published six novels from 1950 to 1961. Then, in a bizarre turn of events worthy of a Pym novel, by the 1960’s publishers were rejecting her manuscripts; apparently, her material had become “dated.” Her life was then bounded by English literature, the Anglican church, and her work at the institute. She continued to write, however, and as a result of praise from Philip Larkin and Lord David Cecil, her novel Quartet in Autumn was published in 1977; three other novels followed. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the highest literary award in English letters. Pym died in 1980.

Pym’s literary landscape, like Austen’s, is small but deep with insight. Her subject is men and women and their experiences with one another. Often the men are dull-witted and vague about the consequences of their actions. Pym forgives them and the women involved by stressing the common humanity of all and by giving emphasis to the comic side of the human condition. She explores the lives of ordinary people who, upon closer examination, are not ordinary at all. Isolated by choice or by circumstance from the ideological wars of the women’s liberation movement that was so strong in the United States and England, Pym produced a remarkable series of novels, such as Excellent Women, and unforgettable people, such as Mildred Lathbury, an excellent woman.

The novel unfolds through the eyes of Mildred, and the author masterfully keeps her engaging for the audience, despite Mildred's somewhat mundane existence.

Many of Pym's books feature gentle satire as a hallmark. She cleverly highlights the humor in people's attachment to rituals and traditions, such as church events and the importance of tradition in organizing a "jumble sale" or a reception. A particularly entertaining scene in Excellent Women depicts the antics of those at a scholarly meeting where Everard Bone presents a paper. The audience's pompous attitudes and their questions and discussions are depicted with affectionate humor.

The term "excellent woman," frequently mentioned by various characters, describes a type of woman found throughout history in England, America, and beyond. Mildred Lathbury, the narrator, embodies this archetype as a cultured, financially stable spinster. She leads a quiet, solitary life, dedicated to the church and engaging in everyday social activities like having tea with friends or attending rummage sales, referred to as "jumble" sales. These women are often called "excellent women," a term the narrator equates with virtuous dullness. Typically, they are not seen as dynamic enough to be the main characters in fiction, and this is partly why Pym's works fell out of favor for a time.

Besides the numerous comparisons to Jane Austen, Barbara Pym can also be likened to several twentieth-century British female authors who have incorporated humor into their work. Among these are Angela Thirkell, known for her satirical series from the 1930s and 1940s, which were republished in the early 1980s; Ivy Compton-Burnett; Iris Murdoch; Muriel Spark; and Margaret Drabble. Pym herself held Drabble's writing in high regard. Her talent for portraying peculiar and eccentric behavior might evoke thoughts of the popular American author Anne Tyler, who has praised Pym's work with enthusiasm.

A Glass of Blessings

Barbara Pym is renowned for her explorations of single women's roles in society, yet she also delves into the lives of married women who find themselves slightly restless, feeling that the spark and thrill have faded from their marriages and yearning for a bit of adventure. Characters like Wilmet Forsyth from A Glass of Blessings (1958) don't have jobs or careers. Thus, Wilmet channels her energy into seeking a potential romantic escapade. She contemplates three men — a priest, a friend's spouse, and most seriously, a family acquaintance who teaches languages. She frequently dines with him, enrolls in his class to spend more time with him, and attempts to initiate a romance. However, she discovers he is a satisfied homosexual, leading her to settle for friendship with him and his "companion." The protagonist's open-minded acceptance of a homosexual relationship is remarkable for a novel penned in the 1950s.

Despite this, Wilmet ultimately embraces the values of the 1950s when she learns to value her marriage and her current life. Her husband becomes more intriguing to her, particularly when there is a hint he might be unfaithful. As in several of Pym's novels, these affairs remain merely "possibilities."

The novel seems to celebrate the stability of quiet marriages and the seemingly mundane daily life of women like Wilmet. Two contrasting women — her often-married and vivacious mother-in-law, Sybil, and her reserved, timid friend, Mary Beamish — help Wilmet appreciate her own life through the examples they provide. Wilmet concludes that, "there was no reason why my life should not be a glass of blessings too. Perhaps it always had been without my realizing it."

Wilmet shares similarities with Mildred from Excellent Women; she is perceptive, intuitive, easily disheartened, and never fully content. Both novels are narrated in the first person, which accentuates their similarities. In some respects, these protagonists are conscious of being less captivating than some of the more vibrant characters around them. In Wilmet's case, she appears a bit prim compared to her unconventional, bold mother-in-law. Still, she wins over the reader, particularly with her tolerant, adaptable amusement at the antics around her.

One of Pym's more intriguing male characters is the brooding, mysterious, somewhat disreputable language teacher, Piers Longridge — whose secret Wilmet uncovers when finding out about his male roommate, thus ending her fantasy of an affair.

Many of Pym's novels feature sensitive characters who are easily disturbed or anxious about seemingly insignificant matters. As a result, the author often achieves humor by exaggerating small events. For example, in A Glass of Blessings, a servant's theft of a Faberge egg becomes a significant, recurring, amusing topic of conversation.

Readers conclude A Glass of Blessings with a particularly warm feeling, as the author wraps up the story with a series of marriages, engagements, and reconciliations. This celebratory ending evokes the festive conclusions of many Shakespearean romantic comedies and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro (1785).

The Sweet Dove Died

Similar to Excellent Women, the novel The Sweet Dove Died (1978) follows the life of a middle-aged, wealthy woman living by herself. However, Leonora Eyre does not see herself as particularly virtuous or remarkable. She recognizes her own irreligious nature, beauty, vanity, and selfishness. While pursued by a middle-aged antique dealer named Humphrey Boyce, Leonora becomes infatuated and eventually obsessed with his charming yet indecisive nephew, James. This love triangle provides ample opportunities for a humorous exploration of the generational divide as Leonora attempts to make herself the center of James's life. She even goes so far as to relocate his belongings to a nearby apartment while he is away in order to keep him close.

James briefly becomes involved with a strong-willed young woman named Phoebe, whom Leonora easily defeats. Later, James is drawn to homosexuality and begins a relationship with an American professor named Ned, whose presence proves too challenging for Leonora. James, attractive but uncertain, finds himself entangled in a web of sexual options and freedoms that were unheard of in Leonora's or his uncle Humphrey's era.

One recurring theme in Pym's work, the search for love by women, is present in The Sweet Dove Died. However, the tone is noticeably darker compared to her novels from the 1950s. Despite being unlikable and manipulative, Leonora eventually evokes sympathy as she succumbs to profound loneliness and depression following James's apparent departure. She becomes conscious of the emptiness not just in her life but within herself, realizing she values material comfort and social status more than people. Leonora has always felt superior to other women like her, who rely on young men or pets for companionship, but she is revealed to be vulnerable. In the emotional climax of the book, she confides in one of these very women. Though unable to love, she finds a glimmer of hope for suitable companionship in the final pages, even if it means settling for Humphrey.

Pym's works often resemble a blend of Jane Austen's style with elements of Henry James. The influence of James is particularly noticeable in The Sweet Dove Died, leading to numerous scenes where characters leave their true motives unspoken, engage in silent conspiracies, or communicate without words. A notably Jamesian "confrontation" scene occurs late in the novel between Leonora and Ned after she loses James to Ned. However, Ned has grown weary of James and wants to "return" him to Leonora. In this literary scene, the two characters actually discuss Henry James and relate their situation to him, highlighting Pym's awareness of this influence in her writing.

Thematically, Pym's novels are interconnected, with themes complementing each other and characters sometimes appearing across different books. She exemplifies a literary ideal of "consistency with variety" — the same themes and character types presented in diverse ways. Four of her novels contain self-referential nods to Jane Austen.

Some Tame Gazelle

Some Tame Gazelle (1950) marks Pym's debut novel, primarily penned during her youthful days in the 1930s. The book humorously depicts two sisters living together, mirroring how Pym spent much of her life with her own sister. While crafting a fictional prediction of her future, she also humorously sketched portraits of her college friends. The New York Times once lauded Pym as "funnier" than Jane Austen.

Less Than Angels

Less Than Angels (1955) is a delightful satire targeting anthropology scholars, a theme revisited in other novels. It humorously suggests that intellectuals are consumed by "petty disputes" and "squabbling about trivialities," while depicting a seminar as a "barbarous ceremony, possibly a throwback to the days when Christians were thrown to the lions," where "somebody prepared and read a paper . . . after which everybody took great pleasure in tearing it and its authors to pieces." This novel is essential reading for academicians and is the only one by Pym where the central couple cohabits unmarried, until the man’s unexpected demise. Within Less Than Angels, there's a lengthy excerpt from Jane Austen's Persuasion, and some characters bear resemblance to those in Austen's works.

No Fond Return of Love

No Fond Return of Love (1962) presents another duo of somewhat lonely women, who are uneasy friends and occasional rivals over a particularly vain, unworthy married man. Their competitive antics and mild deceptions are endearingly comic. The author often uses her favored narrative technique of entering the minds of two or three characters in successive paragraphs at the same moment. There is an unexpected cameo by four characters from A Glass of Blessings, visiting a country home. In a playful authorial nod, someone remarks about them: "What odd people they were! Like characters in a novel." Pym's Some Tame Gazelle also appears on a character's bookshelf here, and the story concludes with a nod to Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (1814).

Quartet in Autumn

Quartet in Autumn (1977) explores the challenges of aging. The four main characters, two men and two women, have shared an office for many years. Their lives are upended when the two women retire, and shortly thereafter, one dies, seemingly from anorexia. All four struggle with adapting to any form of change—whether in office procedures, schedules, eating habits, or the moral and social shifts they continually witness in the world.

An Unsuitable Attachment

An Unsuitable Attachment (written in 1962, published in 1982) stalled Barbara Pym's career when several publishers rejected it. Today, it is nearly as esteemed as her other works, although some critics still contend it is, marginally, her weakest novel. The "Unsuitable Attachment" in the title refers to a woman's affection for a younger man—similar to the situation in The Sweet Dove Died, but in this case, she ends up with him. The autobiographical sisters from Some Tame Gazelle, Belinda and Harriet Bede, make a surprise appearance in Rome, where most of the characters are visiting.

Jane and Prudence

Jane and Prudence (1981) includes numerous allusions and similarities to Jane Austen, particularly her character Emma. The story centers around two women: the vibrant, youthful Prudence and the older Jane, who is settled in her marriage but occasionally fears her life has become monotonous. Jane experiences excitement through her friend Prudence's romantic escapades. As is typical in Pym's novels, the men surrounding these women are often dreamy, complacent, or impractical, needing to be coddled by nurturing women. Despite one character being somewhat of a rogue, everyone is ultimately endearing, and Prudence finds herself "overwhelmed by the richness of her life."

A Few Green Leaves

A Few Green Leaves (1980), Pym's final novel, explores her preferred type of characters—those who are nuanced, intelligent, well-read, and possess keen sensibilities. The protagonist, Emma, who is compared twice to Jane Austen's Emma, is middle-aged, cultured, and scholarly, faced with several romantic options. Esther Clovis, a minor character from Excellent Women and Less Than Angels, meets her end in this novel. Pym excels in her knack for playful names, including characters like Miss Grundy, Mrs. Bland, Miss Lickerish, Magdalen Raven, Isabel Mound, and Heather Blenkinsop—all remarkable women.

Crampton Hodnet

Unfinished in the late 1930s and later "assembled" by the editor of Pym's autobiography, Crampton Hodnet (1985) was celebrated as the author's most comical work, despite having a rather trivial plot. The story revolves around two mismatched, incomplete romances in a gossip-filled village and introduces Pym's first timid, wistful, yet humorously self-aware spinster heroine, although she appears last.

Pym's An Academic Affair, left incomplete in the late 1940s, received a warm reception upon its 1986 publication. The protagonist, a restless and dissatisfied housewife with idle days, bears some resemblance to Wilmet in A Glass of Blessings. Instead of pursuing an affair, she attempts to engage in her teacher husband's research and campus politics. However, she discovers his infidelity, marking one of Pym's few major characters who actually strays. Yet, the novel concludes with a reconciliatory ending.