Oh Mrs. Tim, I find it impossible not to love and adore you. I read the delightful Mrs. Tim of the Regiment in the spring, stretching out the reading experience as long as I could, rationing myself to prolong my pleasure. Novels written in a diary format have long been a weakness of mine (along with real-life, non-fiction diaries) and Mrs. Tim quickly proved a kindred soul to the heroines of my other favourites, The Diary of a Provincial Lady and Elizabeth and Her German Garden.
After such an enjoyable experience, is it any wonder that I immediately attempted to search out the other Mrs. Tim books? There are four in total: Mrs. Tim of the Regiment, Mrs. Tim Carries On, Mrs. Tim Gets a Job, and Mrs. Tim Flies Home. The titles may be less than inspired, I grant you. Happily, my library had one of them available and, despite it being the last in the series, I placed a hold on it immediately. As I said at the time, reading books in the proper series order is for those with no imagination.
Mrs. Tim Flies Home by D.E. Stevenson picks up, funnily enough, as Hester is about to fly home to England from Kenya where she and her husband are currently stationed. I defy anyone to read this opening scene and not fall in love with Tim, who, for the first time in their marriage, is the one being left behind rather than leaving and is having trouble coming to terms with it, desperately trying to convince his wife not to get on the plane. It is a short scene and the last time we shall see Tim for quite a while but, despite its briefness, Stevenson gives a vivid impression of a happy marriage and an affectionate couple, important in helping the reader understand why Hester is so immune to the charms of the persistent Tony Morley, still just as in love with her as ever though Hester remains blissfully unaware.
Hester has taken a small house in the country for the duration of her stay in England so that Betty and Bryan can join her during their school holidays. Betty and Bryan are quite grown up now – Bryan busy studying agriculture, Betty a young lady of sixteen (already old enough to have the beginnings of a very dear, very sweet love story of her own). However, they are only able to spend part of the novel with Hester (education being a pesky, time-consuming thing) and so, before their arrival, she contents herself with making new young friends and being squired about by Tony. Hester seems to have a gift for meeting and then matching up young people. Despite her age and children, she truly does seem rather youthful and I know that if I met her I would want to be great friends with her too, so I suppose it’s not surprising. As the father of Hester’s young friend Susan relates with eerie familiarity, sometimes it is difficult for children to listen to their own parents and they need to learn these lessons elsewhere:
If I offer her advice on any subject she listens most respectfully and then explains with the greatest patience why her way is much better than mine. (p. 232)
There’s also something about her personality that simply makes people want to protect or confide in her (or both). Tim calls her many protectors her ‘Eskimos’; wherever Hester may end up, for however brief a period, there will always be someone there who, after taking one look at her, decides that clearly this woman needs to be guarded from the world and its many dangers. Hester is far more competent than outward appearances may belay but it is still heart warming to see how people react to and rally around her. And as for the confiding, young persons always need some empathetic ear to whisper their secrets into and more often than not it is Hester to whom they go. All this combines to paint a portrait of a woman who may seem, yes, a little too good to be true but who, nonetheless, I desperately wish existed.
As with the first Mrs. Tim book, there is no grand action, merely a number of sweet, domestic plotlines that weave together for a warm, comforting entertainment. You as the reader are never in doubt that things will end well – you may worry about the young couple, you may become anxious about Tony’s advances, but you know that all will be resolved pleasantly, that the Christies will be reunited once more, that the young people will be happily matched up. The only sadness comes from knowing that this was the last book in the series. I know I still have two more to read (if I can track down copies – Dear Bloomsbury Group, please, please, please publish the remainder of the series) and I have no regrets about reading this ahead of those but, as with any source of pleasure, you cannot help but be saddened, knowing it is finite.
I read this while my father was visiting and he was dream about it, happily occupying himself with other entertainments the afternoon I smiled and giggled my way through Hester’s adventures. Indeed, he matched her description of the perfect guest and I was heartily glad of it:
Quite often in my varied life I have thought how very pleasant it would be to have a guest who would always be there when I wanted to chat, but would vanish into thin air when I did not. (P. 246)
If more visitors were like that, I would have no compunction in inviting people to stay!
Oh what fun! I did enjoy Mrs Tim of the Regiment and hadn’t thought of seeking out the other ones.
I quite often read series out of order; it’s nice then being able to go back and fill in the gaps.
This sounds fantastic! I want to read all of them now!
I really enjoyed Mrs. Tim (esp. the first half) but had heard the others were incredibly scarce, so hadn’t done much seeking… now I’ve checked, I see they’re all tucked away in ‘Library Support Services’ in Oxfordshire, so I should be able to find them.
This was such a sweet review, Claire!
More to look for! Thanks for bringing these to my attention.
I heard a rumour Mrs Tim Carries On is next up at Bloomsbury.
And in case you’re wondering about the sequel to Miss Buncle’s Book, from Persephone, we Dessies heard directly from Nicola Beauman that Miss Buncle Married is in the works.
Fret not about reading the Mrs Tims out of order. Doesn’t matter at all.
Great that you’re enjoying the Mrs Tim books.
If you enjoyed the setting of Old Quinings, then look out for “Kate Hardy” which is also set in that village, but some years prior to Mrs Tim’s visit.
My mother loves DE Stevenson (I really need to read her books!), and I remember she always told us about Mrs. Tim and her Eskimos. My little sister is like that–people just come and help her with things, wherever she goes. Wish they would me. :p
I enjoyed reading your review and was hoping you had reviewed “Golden Days”, also by DE Stevenson, and just recently published I can’t tell if its new Mrs. Tim or just remarketed old Mrs. Tim, I was hoping you would know!
Thanks for a lovely book review on Mrs. Tim though – I need to re-read those!!
Ha! A question about Stevenson I can actually answer! It’s my understanding that Golden Days and Mrs Tim of the Regiment were written as separate Mrs Tim stories but are frequently published together in a single omnibus edition (as was done in 1940 – as Mrs Tim Christie – and, more recently, by The Bloomsbury Group – as Mrs Tim of the Regiment. Having read the Bloomsbury Group edition, I can tell you that, in my opinion, the Scottish excursion chronicled in Golden Days is an awful letdown compared to the brilliance of Mrs Tim of the Regiment.
[…] and is still readily available but the later volumes (Mrs Tim Carries On, Mrs Tim Gets a Job, and Mrs Tim Flies Home) can be harder to find. My inter-library loan system has proved invaluable in tracking them down […]
[…] Mrs Tim Flies Home by D.E. […]