Book Recommendation: "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" a Real Charmer

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson, first published in 1938 by Methuen, reprinted as a "Persephone Classic" in 2008

I've seen the movie starring Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, and Lee Pace, but I didn't realize that it was based upon a book.  The author was Winifred Watson, who lived in Newcastle, England, and the novel was first published in 1938.  Thankfully, Persephone Books has reprinted it, so it is still available to today's reader.

This is a charming period story encompassing one pivotal day in the life of Miss Pettigrew, a forty-year-old spinster who earns a poor living as a not very effective "nursery governess" in London in the late 1930's.  Years of being brow-beaten by her employers have diminished her self-respect and confidence, and she's at the end of her rope when she's mistakenly sent to apply for a job with a theatre actress/nightclub performer, Delysia LaFosse.  This beautiful young woman is also at her wit's end trying to juggle the three men in her life, and Miss Pettigrew rises to the occasion, sorting out Delysia's lovers and life.  Both women blossom as they supply what the other one lacks, and a special friendship develops between these two unlikely people.  

Guinevere Pettigrew has walked the moral high ground all her life, but when she is surrounded by cocktails, love affairs, and night clubs, she begins to regret it, and develops a "live and learn" attitude.  This a light-hearted, optimistic novel, and one that I would enthusiastically recommend, not only to devotées  of historical romance, but to people who enjoy Fred Astaire movies or Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books.  It's not just the optimism and humour I find appealing, but the "style."  People eating dinners of "soup, fish, roast and sweet."  Women with waved hair powdering their noses to bolster their confidence before entering a room.  It may be nostalgia for a life that only the wealthy were able to lead, but it's still fun.

Note:  I have decided to end THE MOVIE GAME series, if only for now.  I asked myself why I was blogging about movies when I'm a novelist trying to publicize my books, and the only answers I could come up with were because I love movies, and because I could.  It makes more sense to me, however, to offer book recommendations of books I'm currently reading and enjoying, as well as being something new to try in 2014.  For anyone who takes a moment to drop by this site, I hope you enjoy it, too.

If you would like to be contacted about upcoming book releases, please leave your information in the "Contact Cathy" app to the right of this post.

"Town Haunts" is in the "Cool Canadian Crime" Catalogue

My new mystery, Town Haunts, scheduled for release on Feb. 28, is part of the 

Crime Writers of Canada "Cool Canadian Crime" catalogue.

http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/images/stories/PDF-docs/ccc-current.pdf

THE MOVIE GAME REMAKE SERIES, January 24, 2014

Today's entry in the remake series is a family film starring a child actress 

playing twin sisters. Can you guess the name of these movies 

and the actresses who starred in them?

Last week's movie make-over was Sabrina, starring the wonderful

Audrey Hepburn in the 1954 original movie (co-starring Humphrey Bogart and William Holden), 

and the charming Julia Ormond in the 1995 remake (co-starring Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear).

An Exciting Opportunity to Self-Publish

Yesterday, e-book publisher, Books We Love, relinquished control of my three novels, allowing me to self-publish them as e-books. The reasons behind this parting of the ways was threefold:  we had a difference of opinion as to retailer venues and pricing; I wanted control of the marketing of my books; I had a different vision for my covers. Control is at issue here, and now that authors have the opportunity to by-step the traditional publishing paradigm and retain the rights to their stories while making all of the publishing decisions, it was time for me to take this final step toward total independence.

I'm very excited about this opportunity to try some of the marketing strategies I've learned from other authors during 2013. I think that 2014 will be a pivotal year, both for my writing and for my new publishing company, Comely Press. I wish Books We Love and their authors a successful future, and thank them for allowing me to be part of their company in 2013.

A final note:  Framed for Murder and The Affairs of Harriet Walters, Spinster will shortly be available as e-books through Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, and all the e-retailers that Smashwords distributes to:  "Apple (distribution to iBookstores in 51 countries), Barnes & Noble (US and UK), Sony,Kobo, Flipkart (New September 29, 2013: India's largest online bookseller), Diesel eBook Store,  eBooks Eros (operated by Diesel),Baker & Taylor (Blio and the Axis360 library service), Page Foundry (operates retail sites Inktera.com and Versent.com; and operates Android ebook store apps for Cricket Wireless and Asus), and other distribution outlets coming soon. Additionally, Kobo powers the ebook stores of multiple ebook retailers around the world.  Simply by distributing to Kobo via Smashwords, your books will also reach WH Smith in the UK, FNAC in France and Portugul, Livraria Cultura in Brazil, Angus & Robertson in Australia, Bookworld in Australia,Indigo in Canada, Collins in Australia, Feltrinelli in Italy, Libris in the Netherlands, Paper Plus in New Zealand, Play in Great Britain,Rakuten in Japan, Buy.com (now Rakuten) in the US, Whitcoulls in New Zealand, and more on the way."

Framed and Harriet Walters are available as paperbacks (see the "Bookstore" tab on this site for links). The Marriage Market, my other regency romance, will be available for purchase later this year.

THE MOVIE GAME REMAKE SERIES, January 17, 2014

Today's entry in the movie remake series is a lovely romantic comedy

and a real Cinderella story. Can you guess the name of the film and 

its two charming leading ladies?

Last week's remake duo was The Flight of the Phoenix.

That's hunky Dennis Quaid in the 2004 remake, and Jimmy Stewart

with his shirt on in the original 1965 film.

THE MOVIE GAME REMAKE SERIES, January 10, 2014

Today's MOVIE GAME will kick off a three-week series featuring movie remakes.

You see two very different styles of hero in the 1965 version 

and the 2004 remake.

Guess the name of the film and the actors playing the plane's captain 

in the two pictures. 

In last week's movie, we see only six brothers with Jane Powell.

That's because the seventh brother, Howard Keel, is missing.

And the movie is . . . Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

THE MOVIE GAME, January 3, 2014

Lucky lady, with six good-looking men.

Wait a minute, someone is missing!

Can you guess today's movie?