Items related to Making Conversation
Synopsis
Making Conversation (1931) by Christine Longford (1900-80) was first reprinted in 1970 after the novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson reassessed it in the Times Literary Supplement. She wrote: 'This ought to be regarded as an English comic classic, which I suppose, unlike the ravishing Cold Comfort Farm, it is not. I hope time will redress the neglect.' The heroine, Martha, is plain, with curly hair, small eyes which she tries to enlarge in a soulful manner by stretching them in front of the looking glass, and very little chin. She is extremely clever and totally innocent. Her besetting trouble is that she either talks too much, or too little: she can never get right the balance of conversation. 'The genteel school Martha goes to is run by Miss Spencer and Miss Grossmith. Martha doesn't mind them. Indeed, she doesn't really mind anything; she is a most detached girl, letting even their idiotic sarcasms slide off her back. "Now Martha," said Miss Spencer, "what is adultery?" Martha had not the faintest idea. "It is a sin," she said, "committed by adults," putting the accent on the second syllable. "That is a parrot's answer. You think you are very clever, Martha, attempting to conceal your ignorance and your lack of thought. The attempt at concealment is not better than a lie. Adultery is self-indulgence. It is the extra lump of sugar in your tea. It is the extra ten minutes in bed in the morning. It is the extra five minutes a girl wastes by dawdling up the High Street and gaping at the shop windows..." Martha accepts this Chadbandery in the same way as she accepts the constant nagging that she should be keen on netball, and the gossip she hears around her concerning her preceptors. 'This witty book, crisp and dry as a fresh biscuit, is a novel of astonishing subtlety and of a subtlety that is not at all "worked out".
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPersephone Books Ltd
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 1903155738
- ISBN 13 9781903155738
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages320
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 23.98
Shipping:
US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition. Seller Inventory # 6160215
Quantity: 5 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6160215-n
Quantity: 5 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: PBShop.store US, Wood Dale, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # C3-9781903155738
Quantity: 15 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: PBShop.store UK, Fairford, GLOS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # C3-9781903155738
Quantity: 15 available
Seller Image
Making Conversation by Longford, Christine, Billington, Rachel [Paperback ]
Seller: booksXpress, Bayonne, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9781903155738
Quantity: 3 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: Majestic Books, Hounslow, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 3537316
Quantity: 3 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: Books Puddle, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 264343419
Quantity: 3 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: Revaluation Books, Exeter, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 320 pages. 7.56x5.51x1.18 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __1903155738
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: Kennys Bookshop and Art Galleries Ltd., Galway, GY, Ireland
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. 2009. Paperback. Num Pages: 320 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 195 x 144 x 25. Weight in Grams: 380. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9781903155738
Quantity: Over 20 available
Stock Image
Making Conversation
Seller: Brook Bookstore, Milano, MI, Italy
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 5W8BX4S58O
Quantity: Over 20 available