English Spinster: A Portrait

"English Spinster is the life of Mary Russell Mitford told in the form of fiction. Although a few trifling liberties have been taken with fact, the story, not only in its main outline, but also in detail, aims at giving a close portrait of one one the sincerest of nineteenth century writers, and of her life and environment in a rural England now almost passed away. Her letters and literary remains are so rich in character as to afford a very clear idea of Miss Mitford's mind and temperament. Both alike are full of charm. She was always gay, always interested in the simple world around her; she reliased fully the joy of small things; she owned that 'sweet content' which defies care and trouble. Among many friends who cheered her spinsterhood were personalities as widely different as William Cobbett, John Ruskin, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The 'villain of the piece' (if the phrase be admissible) was her father, Doctor Mitford, handsome, selfish and spendthrift; but his daughter never recognised his failings, admiring and loving him to the end of his long and ill-spent life. Most people have read Our Village, but few realise the rare and radiant character of its author, which this intimate and human story seeks faithfully to portray."