The People on Privilege Hill

May 12, 2008
Wry, economical and perpetually surprising, these 14 stories from English novelist Gardam (Old Filth
) follow the last of the intrepid, stiff upper lip WWII generation of British ladies and gentlemen. In the title story, octogenarian widower Edward Feathers, “cold and old and going out to lunch with a woman called Dulcie he never much liked” arrives at Dulcie's Dorset house, where shared sensibilities go a long way in carrying them through some awkward moments. In “The Latter Days of Mr. Jones,” the aged titular protagonist, “the last of his tribe,” collides with contemporary mores when his daily solitary walks on the Common, frequented by children, arouse suspicions. Set in 1941, “The Flight Path” proves a creepy, hilarious sendup of familial relations when young medical student Jim Smith travels to London for a terrible, memorable night during the blitz. And “The Last Reunion” finds a group of four toughened elderly dames, once college chums, returning unsentimentally to their school on the occasion of its closing. Gardam vividly evokes an age of iron wills.

Starred review from June 15, 2008
In these 14 stories set in England, Gardam ("The Flight of the Maidens") writes efficiently and amusingly about old age, insensitive youth, strange events, and ordinary life. Some stories, such as "Pangbourne," about a woman who bonds with a gorilla at the zoo, and "Babette," about an aging writer who gives away a cast-iron bathtub, are wonderfully bizarre. Others, like "The Hair of the Dog" and "The Fledgling," deal with the inevitable misunderstanding between parents and their children. Two of the best stories are the title story and "The Latter Days of Mr. Jones." In the former, we find Edward Feathers from Gardam's novel "Old Filth" on his way to a luncheon that ultimately ends in social disaster for the hostess but satisfying amusement for the reader. In the latter, the title character is a gentle elderly man who is quietly living out his days in a neighborhood that has become increasingly contemporary and thus suspicious of old men who enjoy sitting in the park watching children play. Gardam has created characters that are charming and touching and has edged them with her barbed humor. Recommended for all fiction collections.Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Law Lib., Malibu, CA

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