Vivien, being new to cooking undergoes a few trials and errors but gradually the family settles into a daily rhythm. A few chapters are devoted to domestic details of settling in to the new house and those readers like myself who appreciate this type of story, will really enjoy it. The downstairs neighbour’s are warm and welcoming and the family moves happily into their new rented quarters. The sitting room commands a most wonderful bird’s eye view over St Paul’s and the other rooms are adequate too, to suit the family’s needs. One day, Vivien and her teenage brother John come across a suite of rooms in an old building in Central London, very close to St Paul’s Cathedral. It is left to the eldest child, seventeen year old Vivien to take care of the family and undertake the housekeeping but first of all thefamily must find a suitable place to stay. With no one to support the family of five, Mrs Farthing accepts a job at a London departmental store.
The reason for the upheaval is the poor health of Mr Farthing who requires prolonged hospital care for his medical condition. But the thing that amused me most was the fact that when the lazy and rude maid-of-all-work, Lola, leaves without notice, it apparently takes all five of the children to replace her and there is constant concern that allowing them to cook and so housework is "treating you all very badly and making you work like slaves".‘Five Farthings’ is a family story about a family of five – the Farthings – who uproot themselves from rural Sussex to the heart of London, just before World War 2. I also appreciated the introduction of two Canadian cousins, Rory and Anne, who give an outsiders' perspective on the English class system as an Australian I find the whole thing as bizarre as the Canadians do. As a minister I am always interested in stories of vicarage families and despite ministering in a different denomination, almost 80 years' later, on the other side of the world, I recognise the demands made by parishioners on the priest and family. I am currently reading my way through all the early Puffin Story Books that I can find and this one, first published in 1937 and printed as a Puffin in 1947, is a delight.
0 kommentar(er)
