Sunday, March 21, 2010

Mrs. Tim of the Regiment by D. E. Stevenson

378 pages
Published in 1940
Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.
Printed in the USA
by J. J. Little and Ives Company, NY

I am particularly excited to share with you about my latest D. E. Stevenson read, Mrs. Tim of the Regiment.

This is the first in a series of novels about Mrs. Tim (Hester) Christie, the wife of a British officer. These novels are somewhat unique in that they are written in the first person by way of diary entries and also in the fact that they detail the life and adventures of a military family living in Britain during the years leading up to (and during) the second world war.

Telling a story in the form of diary entries can be tricky. The author risks slowing the story down through limited dialogue or mundane day-to-day activities, but readers will find that is not the the case here. Mrs. Tim of the Regiment was extremely entertaining with plenty of action, detailed description, and witty dialogue cleverly woven throughout. Even what might be perceived as mundane was told in such a way that kept me interested and amused. It takes a definite type of humor to cause me to laugh out loud while reading and this book has plenty of it. While I've read some great reads this year, this one was by far one of the funniest. I'm already planning to request the next book in the series (Mrs. Tim Carries On) through my library's ILL program.

And that brings me to the other reason why I'm so excited about this book. Not only was it a delightful read, but it will soon be readily available for readers in the USA thanks to Bloomsbury Group who have republished the book in paperback form. Copies will be available in stores and online as of April 13, 2010 for as little as $9.45. (And yes, I am reserving a copy for my own personal library.) Maybe, if sales are good enough they'll reprint the entire series? Here's hoping!

In the meantime if you aren't certain about buying a copy then be sure to check your libraries collections and if they don't own a copy then ask your librarian if they can purchase a copy of Mrs. Tim of the Regiment. In my opinion, this is another must read by D. E. Stevenson.

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Related D. E. Stevenson Posts

Miss Buncle's Book
Miss Buncle Married
The Two Mrs. Abbotts
Rochester's Wife
Celia's House
Listening Valley
The Blue Sapphire

Tuesday Teasers: Mrs. Tim of the Regiment
Tuesday Teasers: The Blue Sapphire
Tuesday Teasers: Listening Valley
Tuesday Teasers: Miss Buncle Married

2 comments:

Brittanie said...

I have had this on my Paperbackswap list for a while and now I really want to read it. I love how you read things I might never have heard about that are older. :)

Marie Cloutier said...

Sounds fabulous :-)