I re-read, for the nth time, E.M. Delafield's dry, caustic Diary of a Provincial Lady, and howled with laughter (India Knight)She converts the small and familiar dullness of life into laughter (The Times)I finished the book in one sitting, leaving the children unbathed, dogs unwalked, a husband unfed, and giving alternate cries of joy and recognition throughout (Jilly Cooper)A Pooterish masterpiece of 20th-century humour (Christopher Fowler)In the pages that follow is laid out the best of British womanhood, and you will fall in love with a capable, funny, clever, and never cloying woman ... EM Delafield has provided us with a faithful and funny and lasting record of having it all at a time when the concept was so alien that it didn't even exist (Rachel Johnson)