Customer Reviews
COMFORTING BOOK. - By: Val De Beer, 20 Sep 2008 
We read books for many reasons & sometimes for comfort.
This book is a comforting book, to read while snuggled up in front of the fire on a cold day, or under the blankets on a Saturday afternoon.
The perennial problem of the poor who need work to provide food, clothes & a shelter is experienced by Miss Pettigrew & fortunately (and because of her determination & strength) she finds the right job.
This requires fortitude & a moral fibre which is most admirable & alll is rewarded at the end, like a true fairy story.
The fact that there is a 'tongue in cheek' tone to the novel makes it real, & not a syrupy little tale.
It is set in a certain time in London's history but it rings true of today as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, & would recommended anyone to buy it, & sit down with a cup of tea & a blanket & read away the afternoon.
Val De Beer.
Miss Pettigrew and the Glitterati... - By: McNaughton, 19 Aug 2008 
Like almost everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a great admirer of the actress Frances McDormand & I think she may excel as Miss Pettigrew if the screen adaptation lives up to the speed & panache of the original story. Yes, ... the original story ... It is definitely of the Cindrella variety & none the worse for that. Some have seen the influence of others in its origins - but none has yet pointed out the faint echoes of a memorable short story by W.S. Maugham about the unexpected London triumph, both social & sartorial, of a mature widow callled "Jane". Now I don't exactly remember the date of Somerset Maugham's story (it may have been written before Miss Watson's or afterwards) & so one may have influenced the other to a degree. As to the dialogue, "sparkling" is the word - although the occasional anti-semitisms & xenophobia still come as a bit of a shock in these PC times. That being said, a glorious read. I shalll try to obtain the other works by this strangely neglected author.
What a difference a day makes . . . - By: Mrs. J. Weekes, 16 Aug 2008 Miss Pettigrew must find a job. She is a governess - but not a very successful one as she says herself. She is directed to the address of Miss LaFosse & inadvertantly gets involved in her life & loves. The people she is introduced to - Delysia LaFosse's young men - & her professional life - she is a night club singer - changes Guinevere Pettigrew's life for ever. Touching & funny this Cinderella tale shows how chance met people can have an irrevocable effect on each other. The dialogue sparkles & Miss Pettigrew's thoughts illuminate the difference between the two life styles. The story as it unfolds also shows how you think of yourself plays a big part in how others see you, & that very smalll changes to your appearance can have a huge effect. I am sure it will make a brilliant film which will make Miss Pettigrew's brand of wisdom available to a wider audience.
a Spiffing good read! - By: M. M. Martin, 09 Aug 2008 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Persephone Classics)
I read this after reading about the author & the book in a sunday supplement. Thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it - an uplifting read with the good feel good factor that makes you feel pleasantly pleased after reading it - which you will do quickly as it is hard to put down. I recommend it to everyone! What a shame the author never done a sequel
Charming - By: Mrs. K. A. Wheatley, 06 Aug 2008 Miss Pettigrew lives for a day is a wonderful, frothy confection of a story. It is reallly a novel I suppose but it feels like a story. It has that lightness of touch & when you read it, it reallly is escapism & so easy to read it keeps that classic, old fashioned, story like quality throughout.
Miss Pettigrew is a humble spinster, scraping a living as a governess & counting the time until she is unemployable & ready for the workhouse. Her life is bleak & dreary until she is sent along in error to the house of a Miss LaFosse, & instead of babysitting two smalll children she ends up unwittingly & brilliantly sorting out the tangled love life of a distressed nightclub singer.
During the course of the book she blossoms & discovers in herself a taste for frivolity & enjoyment that she never knew she had. This is romantic, funny, tender & thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.
It reminded me at times of the works of Stella Gibbons & Nancy Mitford, both of whom I love, but this is more charming & innocent & doesn't have quite that air of edginess that they do. I loved it.
