Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

If you are a fan of mid-to-late-1930s screwball comedies like “My Man Godfrey,” early Ginger Roger's & Fred Astaire musicals, or even “The Thin Man” series, this book will be up your alley. People are constantly popping in, grabbing a drink, and popping out in an alcoholic haze after a few bon mots.

To our modern eyes, the casually racist remarks thrown about are hard to read. However, that is how people of both Miss Pettigrew's and Miss LaFosse's set spoke at the time. That doesn't mean that the book isn't worth reading, but it may completely turn off some readers.

Although Miss Pettigrew is 40, this is her coming-of-age/Cinderella story, where she realizes she's more than a stack of platitudes and mildly ineffectual skills as a governess enmeshed in the brown drab of a spinster. All of that wrapped in the confusion and excitement-filled life of Delysia LaFosse and her cavalcade of suitors. It's a fun ride!