This is a comic novel about a wealthy southern lady, Miss Julia, and the unusual situations she frequently finds herself. This is the seventh book in the Miss Julia series. The earlier books in the series tend to be a little sentimental, but this book is almost pure comedy.
In many ways, the author Ann Ross has a style of writing and storytelling that is similar to P.G. Wodehouse, the English comedy writer. However, Mr. Wodehouse's stories were set mostly in Edwardian England, but the Miss Julia stories are set in the American south of the 21st century.
The stories are told as a first person narrative by Miss Julia herself. Although she is referred to as Miss Julia, she is actually a widow who has remarried, and she is rather elderly, as is her new husband, who is a retired lawyer.
They live in a small town in North Carolina, and their household includes a housekeeper and the housekeeper's young granddaughter. But in addition to these commonplace characters, there is the unexpected addition to the household of a woman, named Hazel Marie, who was the girlfriend of her deceased first husband. Hazel Marie has a young son, whose father was Miss Julia's first husband.
Part of the comedy of this series derives from Miss Julia rising above the disgraceful circumstances in which she finds herself. Such as her first husband's former mistress and illegitimate son living in her home.
Miss Julia is a religious woman and belongs to a conservative Presbyterian church. However, her pastor is more conservative than she, and they frequently feud with each other. Miss Julia is very concerned with good moral conduct and proper appearances, yet her status and reputation are always at risk by events surrounding her, which many times were instigated by her.
The plot of this book involves a real estate developer from New Jersey who comes to town with plans to tear down the old court house and build a high-rise condominium on the site. Meanwhile, two of Miss Julia's friend's husbands disappear. One husband was an investment adviser accused of running off with his client's money. Miss Julia was one of his clients. The other husband appears to have faked his own death for unknown reasons. Eventually, the story lines of the real estate developer and the missing husbands intersect.
Miss Julia tries to comfort her friends and at the same time is attempting to stop the real estate developer from tearing down the court house. Her plans and interactions with her friends and the real estate developer involve many comedy inducing misunderstandings and hidden motives.
If readers are unfamiliar with the earlier books in the Miss Julia series, they may find it difficult to understand the relationships of some of the characters. The recurring characters have complex histories with Miss Julia, but this history is not explained very well in this book. So some of the relationships may be confusing. This can be a distraction while trying to follow the story.
However, the flaws in the book are minor. Overall, it is a very entertaining story. Fans of traditional English comedy will likely enjoy this book. As mentioned earlier, the writing style is reminiscent of an English comedy, even though the story is set in the American south. English comedy is often based on conflicts arising from differences in manners and social status and class. And that is the type of comedy found in much of this book. But even readers who don't enjoy comedies of manners will likely find enough general comedy to be amused. Anyone with a sense of humor should be able to enjoy this book.
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