Young Alastair French is offered a place in his family’s stationers business, but he decides to take a room in northwest London with his friend Henry, who is going to be a student. Alastair has £100, and he figures he can support himself for a year while he becomes a writer.
Alastair and Henry move into an apartment building with an assortment of friendly neighbors, particularly Winnie Parker, who is always surrounded by young men. Although he starts a novel, Alastair decides to become a playwright mostly because plays are shorter. He doesn’t do much work but he does write up a scenario.
Then he meets Cressida Drury, an actress, and is immediately smitten. She returns some of his interest when she learns he is a playwright, but it’s hard to tell how much, and he didn’t think of dating when he made his budget.
This is a frothy, funny novel about youthful optimism and first love. It’s a lot of fun.
What? Me Read? 
Thank you so much for this lovely review!
You’re welcome! Please continue Furrowed Middlebrow!
Haven’t read this one: will get to it immediately. Read your other reviews of Margery Sharpe novels, all of which I plan to revisit.
Need a laugh these days. . .Cluny Brown was the first Sharpe novel I read, and I loved it! I thought The Stone of Chastity was hilarious, esp, because the prof was so clueless as to why his little study so enraged the villagers. . .
MY APOLOGIES: I can’t find your post on Three Score and Ten, so I’m including my remarks here. One question: Any thoughts on the cover??? I can’t for the life of me figure out why the cover pictures such an out-of-date young woman. . .
I finally got my copy of Thirkell’s Three Score and Ten, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. Yes, the first five or six chapters were definitely slow and mostly conversations, and yes, there was some repetitions. However, kudos to the writer who finished this novel, because I really couldn’t find a stylistic change. I enjoyed the references to many of the things from the 1950s: Wodehouse, My Fair Lady, and so on. I also loved her digs at how writers can keep writing the same thing because people want the same thing. (One reason I’m reading more and more nonfiction is that I, as a reader, am tired of the same thing.)
Wish somebody would record this book: perfect to fall asleep to. Like listening to someone relating the happenings around the ‘hood. . . Again, just what I want fight now.
I loved Cluny Brown, too! She has a sometimes wacky sense of humor. I’ll paste your comments into Three Score and Ten, although unfortunately they’ll go in under my name. I remarked once we got into the later books that they were all Moyer Bell books with illustrations from the 19th rather than 20th century. Odd! It’s like they didn’t even look at the novel, let alone read it.
I haven’t read this yet, but Margery Sharp’s books are usually fun, apart from Britannia Mews which was surprisingly dark. I’m sure I’ll read this one eventually!
Oh, I haven’t read that one yet. Yes, she is sometimes really wacky and usually fun.
Sounds good. I would like to read more Sharpe.
She’s fun.
It’d be hard to survive for a day now on £100!
No kidding, but I remember a job I had when I was making $900 a week. Not much better.
I loved this one, the combination of the author and in effect a boarding house novel was irresistible!
If you liked that one, you might like Harlequin House.
I’ve just requested that from my best friend for Christmas!
I hope you get it!