Prudence

When I was a young teenager I read my way through my aunt's collection of Jilly Cooper books and when I started work and began earning my own money I bought a set of my own.  My favourite is Imogen, but I lent this out a few years ago and never got it back. I have recently begun looking out for another copy (but it has to be one with Jilly Cooper herself on the cover) as although I have read these books many, many times I haven't read them for a long while and I thought it was time I read them again.

I decided to start with Prudence. This story was originally published in 1978. My copy was published in 1986 and cost me £1.95! It's about a girl who lives in London and has a barrister boyfriend, one weekend he takes her home to meet his family in the Lake District and that's where the story takes off.
Reading it again it made me laugh because when any music is played it's on a record player, when Prudence refers to when she met her boyfriend it was
 'at a party- a ghastly What-do-you-do-for-a-living?, Oh- I-bash-a-typewriter sort of party'. 
A typewriter?!
And at the said party
 'all talked about President Carter, Mrs Thatcher and Laura Ashley'.  
Something that made me cringe was when one character was suspected of being gay he was referred to as 'a pouf'.
I know these books are still in print, I wonder if they have been updated in any way.


There are also some descriptions and conversations which I really like. My favourites are...


The last yellow leaves covered the parked cars and crunched like frosted cornflakes beneath my feet.


Clutching my happiness to me like a hot water bottle.


Deep puddles reflected a sky as blue as the Angel Islington in Monopoly.


On being told her boyfriend's flat was on floor 13 he asked Prudence if she was superstitious to which she replied 'No, just super.' 


The next one to be read and reviews will be Emily.