My Account
Log in Registration
All
Cart
Highlights
Fiction Books
Non-Fiction Books
Children's Books
Rare Books
Music
DVD & Blu-Ray
Video Games
Category
Wishlists
Cart
All
Free Shipping in the UK
Trustpilot
Proud to be B-Corp

Dear Mr Bigelow Frances Woodsford

Dear Mr Bigelow By Frances Woodsford

Dear Mr Bigelow by Frances Woodsford

Reviews:
£3.50
New RRP £15.99
Condition - Like New
Only 1 left
Like New£3.50Very Good£3.70

Summary

Dear Mr Bigelow is an enchanting collection of weekly letters written between 1949 and 1961 from an unmarried woman working at the Public Baths in Bournemouth, to a wealthy American widower in New York. Frances Woodsford and Paul Bigelow never met, yet their epistolary friendship was her lifeline.

Dear Mr Bigelow Summary

Dear Mr Bigelow: A Transatlantic Friendship by Frances Woodsford

Dear Mr Bigelow is an enchanting collection of weekly letters written between 1949 and 1961 from an unmarried woman working at the Public Baths in Bournemouth, to a wealthy American widower in New York. Frances Woodsford and Paul Bigelow never met, yet their epistolary friendship was her lifeline. We follow Frances's trials with her ghastly boss Mr Bond; the hilarious weekly Civil Defence Classes as the Cold War advances; her attempts to shake off an unwanted suitor, and life at home with her mother and her charming ne'er-do-well brother. Sparked with comic genius, the letters provide a unique insight into post-war England and the growth of an extraordinary friendship.

Dear Mr Bigelow Reviews

"Many pleasing and interesting small touches" -- David Kynaston * Literary Review *
"Packed with comic moments and social history, the letters are a beady commentary on her life and times" -- Fanny Blake * Woman & Home *
"A treat to be savoured" -- Peter Burton * Daily Express *
"This delightful collection of letters...a sequence of bright, witty and charming letters" * Mail on Sunday *
"Provide[s] an insight into post-war Britain" * Telegraph *

About Frances Woodsford

Frances Woodsford was born in 1913. She was exceptionally bright at school but her father's death in 1926 interrupted the prospects of an academic career. She left school to work as a secretary, to help provide for the family during the Depression. After taking an administrative job at a local garage, she taught herself engineering and ran practical workshops during the Second World War. When the war ended she took a position as secretary in the Public Baths Department of Bournemouth Town Council, where she worked for the duration of her correspondence with Mr Bigelow. Frances had eighty or more correspondents, but Mr Bigelow was particularly special and received over seven hundred letters from Frances during the twelve years that they wrote to one another, until his death in 1961. She continued to work for the Council until her retirement in 1974; her final position was as archivist. Extraordinarily, in 2006, Frances's letters to Mr Bigelow came to light and were returned to her. They are the testimony of an ordinary lifebut their vigorous prose suggests that with other opportunities, Frances could have been a professional writer. Frances never married. She continues to live in Bournemouth, aged 95.

Additional information

GOR011096599
9780099542292
0099542293
Dear Mr Bigelow: A Transatlantic Friendship by Frances Woodsford
Frances Woodsford
Used - Like New
Paperback
Vintage Publishing
2010-07-01
400
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
The book has been read, but looks new. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket is included if applicable. No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins

Customer Reviews - Dear Mr Bigelow