2020 has become my year of rereading the novels of Barbara Pym, my favourite novelist - "favourite" in the sense of "speaks most to my soul", not as in "greatest" or "best"; I believe she would have appreciated the distinction. This is my revised review.

A frustrating but nevertheless important biography.

First of all, if you haven't read Pym's 12 novels, go seek them out (preferably in order). Then read her collected unpublished works - [b:Civil to Strangers and Other Writings|178573|Civil to Strangers and Other Writings|Barbara Pym|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442721152l/178573._SY75_.jpg|2819723] - and the posthumous "autobiography" compiled from Pym's letters and diaries, [b:A Very Private Eye: The Diaries, Letters And Notebooks Of Barbara Pym|227003|A Very Private Eye The Diaries, Letters And Notebooks Of Barbara Pym|Barbara Pym|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1282285490l/227003._SY75_.jpg|868494]. If all of this does not satisfy you, read this volume too.

This 1990 biography, by Pym's close friend and literary executor Hazel Holt (with input from Pym's sister Hilary), came 10 years after the author's death, and was the conclusion of a decade in which a variety of unpublished and secondary works were released into the market. Brits and - especially - Americans - were fascinated by the legend of Miss Pym, a moderately successful spinster author, neglected for 16 years, and rediscovered in 1977, only to pass away three years later.

As with her novels, Pym's biography must be one of seemingly small details pointing to a much larger story. The desire to be a writer since childhood, fulfilled to underwhelming sales in the 1950s, and then neglected for almost two decades before sudden fame. The endless series of love affairs, in which Pym was either underwhelmed (she declined several proposals in her 20s) or overwhelmed (one young gay man, much her junior, essentially "ghosts" her after taking an extended trip overseas, to get away from her attentions). The sensible editorial assistant who can quote Milton or Keats, yet has an admirably silly side when it comes to creating stories about strange people on the bus or the lives of her cats. The passionate force restrained firmly in a tweed jacket.

This is an interesting volume, I note, and has a place of honour on my shelf alongside the matching covers of Pym's complete works. Yet much is missing. First, of course, is objectivity. True - Pym's life is not one beset by scandal! Nevertheless, the closeness of the author to her subject means we are seeing something approaching hagiography. (It does, however, allow Holt to add in her own memories of working with Pym for several years, and of Pym's psychological state during the "wilderness years" and in the final, grim months before her passing.)

Second, and most importantly, this biography is missing much detail. As Holt notes in her preface, this is a companion to A Very Private Eye. This is primarily to fill in the gaps of that first volume, and put some of the core moments of Barbara's life into a chronology. Which is great, but it leaves this book rather assuming a degree of knowledge in the reader.

Finally, and personally most affecting, is that I yearn for a biographer to chart Pym's writings - both analytically, and also in psychological relation to the author. Holt doesn't avoid this entirely. She discusses the transition from Pym's early novels (mostly unpublished except for her first sale, Some Tame Gazelle) to the more mature post-war novels starting with her second (Excellent Women) as well as noting the connections between real-life figures and their fictional counterparts. No book can be everything, but I would have enjoyed a greater understanding of, for instance, whether Pym's younger characters still spoke to her as she became older, how much she is reflected in her crueller characters, such as the deluded Leonora in The Sweet Dove Died or the frosty Wilmet in A Glass of Blessings, and just what it is about Pym's technique that has earned her much love but also some disdain. At the end of the day, Holt has written a biography of a woman who happened to be an author. This is very valuable, but I would now like to see the inverse.

Anyhow, that time will come. (Perhaps I should do it myself?) I find it hard to explain this review; I feel as if I have written something both entirely positive and entirely negative. So I must abandon this, simply encouraging you to read the novelist, and then appreciate this biography as an early insight - hopefully not the last we get. ( )

Not particularly penetrating or analytical biography of Pym compared with later works. But still essential for those interested in the author because of Holt's personal links with BP. and her sister. Draws extensively from primary sources. Makes no pretence of being neutral, and none the worse for that. ( )

It was nice to read about the life of a woman whose works intrigued me so much. She could write about the most mundane daily tasks and yet make them feel important and exacting - which they are, when they are YOUR daily tasks! Loved her portrayals of women who, in the age of "must marry", refused to do so. ( )

"A lot to ask: a life of Barbara Pym" includes a full index by Hilary Walton, prominently credited at the head of the index. Lovers of Pym's novel, "No fond return of love", recalling Dulcie’s reply on learning that Viola is to index Aylwin’s latest book: ‘Oh, then you’ll get some kind of acknowledgement in the foreword. Something about your having undertaken the arduous or thankless – though I hope it won’t be that – task of compiling the index.’ – will fully appreciate the wording of Holt’s printed acknowledgement to her indexer, which faithfully runs:

"I would like to thank Barbara’s sister Hilary Walton, without whom this book would not have been possible. She has, of course, been an invaluable source of information and has shown herself to be a true friend by undertaking the thankless task of compiling the index."

We even learn from Pym's letters in "A very private eye" that she originally wished to give "No Fond Return of Love" the title, "‘A Thankless Task’. ( )

I have now read most - although not all of Barbara Pym's novels - and so was keen to snap up this biography up from Amazon marketplace a couple of months ago. It is certainly a fascinating must read for any fans of Barbara Pym, written affectionately by a woman who knew and worked with her.
The Barbara Pym that emerges from this book was, in some ways the woman I expected ( anglicanism, and a mix of Oxford/London and quiet village life) and in others she wasn't ( a young flirty wren with a bit of a reputation). She was also a woman who never lost her enthusiasm for writing, nor did she, during the years when she couldn't get published, ever stop believing that she would be. Her endless curiosity in life and the people around her lasted right until the end.
Some of the best bits of this biography come in the latter part, in the wonderfully wry and humorous extracts of letters from Phillip Larkin to Barbara Pym during their long correspondence. ( )