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An Academic Question

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An Academic Question

By: Barbara Pym, Kate Saunders - introduction
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
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About this listen

Introduced by Kate Saunders.

In a provincial university town, Caro Grimstone, a dissatisfied faculty wife, becomes the unwilling accomplice to her husband Alan's ambitions. When she volunteers to read to a blind esteemed anthropologist in a nursing home, Alan seizes the opportunity to steal his papers—research that could both advance his reputation while refuting the findings of a respected colleague. A delightful comedy of manners with a touch of mystery, An Academic Question is prime Barbara Pym territory.

©1986 The Estate Of Barbara Pym (P)2022 Hachette Audio UK Classics Literature & Fiction Small Town & Rural Fiction Marriage Comedy

Critic Reviews

"She is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life." (Anne Tyler)

"Beneath the gentle surfaces of her novels is a slow-building comedy, salt wit in a saline drip." (New York Times)

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Short, slight, but charming

The author's novels are ideal for the audio book format. Gentle, charming and often amusing, they provide easy listening and a window on a recent, but now almost forgotten, past. This short novel, which centres on life in a provincial English town and its small university, is not one of Pym's best, but it remains a most pleasant listening experience.

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