The ladies of Lyndon, The constant nymph (Kennedy) 63

Earlier this year, I read The constant nymph by Kennedy, which I thought I had written about here, but apparently haven't, and I have had The ladies of Lyndon waiting for a while. This latter title particularly appealed, being set in Oxfordshire, and having enjoyed The constant nymph, I thought I would probably enjoy this. Which I did.

The Ladies of Lyndon was Kennedy's first novel, and it tells the story of Agatha, who gets married, and becomes Lady Clewer. The novel is not however just about Agatha, but rather a portrait of all of the Clewer family, particularly the women, and paints a picture of unconventional aristocratic life in the Edwardian period. Over the course of the novel we discover that Agatha's did not marry the right man, and we follow her love affair with another man, and her attempt to work out what to do. I thought that Kennedy's characters are wonderful and really brought to life.

The constant nymph is Kennedy's most famous novel, and is the tale of fourteen year old Teresa, who lives in the alps, who falls in love with a visiting composer. Unfortunately, while waiting to be old enough to marry him, he falls in love with someone else and they are married. I thought this was a wonderful coming of age novel, and as someone on librarything suggests, almost a Chalet School book for adults.

After that I'm definitely looking forward to the other Margaret Kennedy VMC, Together and apart.

I couldn't find a picture of the Green Ladies of Lyndon, but here are the Virago covers for The constant nymph, which they have published three times (my copy is the original green one)