Judging an author's body of work by only reading one novel, and her last novel written at the very end of her long life, is infantile, the equivalent of watching Steven Spielberg's "1941" and judging him to be a mediocre talent and not worthy of further viewing.This is Mrs Thirkell's final completed novel and like the majority of her later works, not up to the standards of her finest work of the Thirties and Forties, but it's a must read for fans of the Barsetshire series. For newcomers to her books, I would recommend any of the Barsetshire novels of the Thirties, but particularly "Summer Half", "Wild Strawberries", "Pomfret Towers", "The Brandons" or "High Rising". These early novels can be read as stand alones that introduce the characters featured throughout the series and are witty, dry, well-written comedies of manners.