Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson
Persephone Books were established in 1998 with the intention of publishing neglected novels and short stories by female authors, predominantly from the inter-war years. They have since extended their range, but one of their first books (Nr. 21, to be precise) was Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson, a writer from the North-East who published a total of six novels, of which Miss Pettigrew was her fourth and totally unlike any of the others. After her sixth book, Leave and Bequeath, came out in 1943, she gave up writing altogether and died in 2002, aged ninety-five. This brief biography makes Miss Pettigrew even more remarkable.
When Persephone first reissued the book in 2000 it was a genuine rarity, and although not an instant success, its popularity gradually spread to the extent that a film of the same title was made in 2008. The plot is extremely simple and has similarities to Cinderella. An unworldly forty-year-old unemployed governess/spinster is accidentally swept up into a glamorous, exciting milieu. Throughout one single day Miss Pettigrew deals with a number of potentially chaotic incidents using her worldly innocence and feminine intuition, and earns the gratitude of all her new friends. Although the plot may be criticised for its lack of originality, the author must be credited for the way in which it is handled. The focus on episodes all taking place on one day is a stroke of genius, since it gives the book a sense of pace that is essential to its success. The reader is whirled along as the day unfolds, and like Miss Pettigrew herself, often wonders what on earth is going to happen next.
The book opens with Miss Pettigrew arriving at an address where she hopes to gain employment as a governess. She has been threatened with eviction by her landlady, and she ponders her unhappy life as she waits on the doorstep. After working as a governess in a succession of households where she has been mistreated and miserable, she is now facing destitution. She has no family or friends to turn to, and no expectation that this job will prove any more rewarding than the others. What greets her is therefore totally unexpected, the start of a day full of surprises and life-changing events.
All the main characters are carefully drawn stereotypes. Besides our Cinderella Miss Guinevere Pettigrew, there is the pretty actress Miss Delysia LaFosse around whom the narrative revolves, who has several suitors. They are Phil, a part-time lover; Nick, very much a Dark Villain, the owner of the flat in which Miss LaFosse resides in some style; and Michael, her true love, who has broken off their relationship. Other characters include Miss Edythe Dubarry, a close female friend who runs a very successful beauty salon, and finally Joe Blomfield, a wealthy, worldly-wise gentleman who is not taken in by the pretentious activities of the young people whom he often accompanies.
Without giving the whole plot away, it is not difficult —based on this dramatis personae— to foresee what will happen. As with many fine books, it is not what happens but the way the narrative is handled that captures the imagination. The action is directed by the timings at the start of each chapter, which appear as real time, for example Chapter Ten: 7.25 pm - 8.28 pm.
While the characters may be stereotypical, this does not imply that they are not lifelike. Miss Pettigrew sorts out each succeeding crisis with seemingly unflappable common sense and life experience. As the daughter of a clergyman and a middle-aged spinster who has spent her working life as an (unsuccessful) governess, one might expect her to be overwhelmed, but she is just the opposite. For example, when the gangster-type Nick finds the stub of a cheroot left behind by Phil she immediately claims it as her own, and offers Nick one as she lights another; when she spots some cocaine belonging to Nick, she immediately disposes of it so that Delysia is not tempted to try it; and when Nick attempts to establish dominance over Delysia in his nightclub, her suggestion to Michael is that he should “sock him one.” As Watson succinctly relates, “Michael socked.”
The book is very much of its time, with some references to race and religion which would not get past a watchful editor now. It would be wrong to edit out the author’s authentic voice, even if the risk of offence remains. Nevertheless, there are some distinctly anti-Semitic statements which are impossible to stomach, especially when one considers that they were published in 1938 when the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany was accelerating. One might describe it as unfortunate that these references exist in what is mostly a delightfully comic tale, but this rather fudges the issue. Such expressions should be acknowledged for what they are, a repetition of views commonly held at the time that are now offensive to today’s readers. (They are also bafflingly inconsistent given that the dynamic and empathetic Joe Blomfield, Miss Pettigrew’s romantic interest, appears to be Jewish.)
Miss Pettigrew meanders through her day, becoming more involved with the central characters and resolving each problem with increasing confidence and aplomb. As in a fairy-tale or a Shakespeare comedy, all ends happily for the main characters. Every conflict is resolved, and even Miss Pettigrew herself is left with the prospect of a happier life in future. The reader closes the book with a sense of deep satisfaction.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day cannot claim to be great art. It is what it is: a delightful froth written to be savoured for its comic content and implausible narrative. The book is of its time, with contemporary flaws and failings, but it entertains. Within its genre, it is beautifully written with a structure perfectly suited to its content. Persephone are to be commended for reprinting a book that could have been lost on neglected library shelves and barely heard of again. Find a copy and enjoy yourself!--Paul Flux
