Deceptively light and entertaining A Glass of Blessings is one of Barbara Pym's best-loved novels. Its gentle humour might suggest that the heroine, Wilmet, is bloodless, the epitome of the English cardiganned spinster. She is that certain kind of literary character that has become a staple of English literature ever since Jane Austen whose heir(ess) these days might be Bridget Jones. There's something apologetic and endearingly failed about them until the epiphany when small shifts in pereception make everything come right. Wilmet in this case is married but childless. ..read more
