Wild Strawberries is a charming British novel from the 1930s. This is the first book by Thirkell I’ve read, and it looks like she was inspired by Anthony Trollope to write a series that would continue his Barsetshire novels. Thirkell isn’t really Trollope, of course. She’s much lighter, and Wild Strawberries is sweet and lovely but it’s not a work of art. It’s exceptionally high-quality amusement. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
What Thirkell does share with Trollope is that her writing is a lot less about plot than characters. She creates some absolutely delightful characters, and they make her books worth reading. In Wild Strawberries, for instance, there’s Agnes, a mother of three, who is so blissfully happy being married and having kids, that it’s a joy to read about her. It almost never happens in literature that you meet a female character who is fine. Just simply fine. She’s not unhappy, resentful, oppressed, of covetous. Agnes loves everything about her life. And it really makes you sit up and notice when you realize that you can’t think of another female character who is so content with life. There are tons of male characters who dig their lives but no female ones.
Then there’s Lady Emily, Agnes’s mother. She’s hilariously fussy and exceptionally delightful. There’s also Martin, a teenage boy, who’s living his boyhood with great enjoyment. The whole novel is just so gosh darn enjoyable. If you need some peace and lightness in your life, do read it. It’s outstanding.
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