O, These Men, These Men

Does she dare love a man again? 1930s London, England. While the world changes rapidly in new, extreme ways, Caroline Danvers is reeling in her own personal world. Once a sweet witty woman, raised alongside her cousins, Hugh and Francis Lester, she turns into a shy and battered woman. Her husband, James Danvers, is the one to blame. A charming, handsome young man it seemed their marriage to one another was a perfect match. But after a year of blissful marriage, James became cruel to Caroline. Drinking and gambling debts made him even more tempestuous. Her cousins feel powerless to help her – especially Francis who has always secretly loved her. Meanwhile, Hugh, having given James a job with his newspaper, has to put up with James’ boasting of having other women. One day, she calls her cousins for help – as well as her sister-in-law Anna Danvers. It seems she has been beaten and is complete shock. Later, to their utter horror they find out that she was pregnant. Meanwhile, James’ has run off with another woman to South Africa. Feeling that their son has done Caroline wrong, Mr. and Mrs. Danvers allow Caroline to stay with them, while a divorce is arranged. But for poor Caroline, she has few sympathisers. Her once brothers-in-law, Wilfred and George Danvers adored their brother James and insist that Caroline must be exaggerating or even just ‘a nag’. Even her beloved cousin, Hugh starts to believe Caroline must have done something to earn James’ wrath. But Anna isn’t fooled. Nor the Danvers’ family friends Colonel Beaton and his only child Julia. And as Caroline slowly recovers, she wonders if she can ever love another man again. She has always held a candle for Hugh, but he seems more interested in young Julia... Francis, on the other hand, is daring to hope for Caroline’s hand in marriage, oblivious to Anna’s pining for his affections. But what if James returns? Can Caroline clear the cruel slander to her name? Will she recover her former self, to be able to love and marry once more? A fascinating look at pre-World War Two London society,O These Men, These Men! is a story of a woman’s courage and redemption. Praise for Angela Thirkell: ‘Charming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself’ - Alexander McCall Smith ‘With touches of Nancy Mitford, Barbara Pym and PG Wodehouse, Angela Thirkell's sparkling prose recounts misunderstandings and mishaps in a particularly English way.’ - ,Spectator ‘You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own.’ - New York Times Angela Thirkell (1890-1961) wrote many works of fiction and non-fiction, including twenty-nine 'Barsetshire' novels, which won her great popularity and acclaim. The first of these, High Rising, was published in 1933. Her relatives included Edward Burne-Jones, Rudyard Kipling and Stanley Baldwin, and her godfather was J M Barrie. She was twice married and had four children.