Two by Pym ~ November Book Club Online

[rosemarykaye]

 

TWO BY BARBARA PYM

Excellent Women

Quartet in Autumn

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Coming in November...
British author, Barbara Pym, is often compared by her readers to Jane Austen. She creates a 20th century society with roots in Victorian times - but with  humor, a very dry humor.  Both Pym and Austen were  concerned with the marriage of their heroines,  before they become "spinsters." (Note that  Austen and Pym never married.)   It is said that the primary subject of a novel of manners, or of all comedy, is marriage.  In order to achieve this, Austen must marry off her heroine at the end of the novel.  Will this be the case with Pym?

The first of her two novels, Excellent Women, written in 1952,  considers Mildred Lathbury's decision - either marry  without the romance or risk remaining a spinster.   The woman is 31 years old!  
The second book, Quartet in Autumn, written in 1977, short-listed for the Man Booker prize in 1980, considers four unmarried co-workers,  as they face retirement years, making do with limited resources.   Pym  is fascinated  by the vision of life without emotional attachment and solitude.
There is much to consider and discuss in these two novels.  

Discussion Schedule November 1 - 5  ~ Chapters 1 - 13 November 6 - 10 ~     Chapters 14 - 27

Some Topics from Excellent Women for Your Consideration and Discussion beginning Nov. 1:  

1. From her portrayal of Mildred Lathbury, can you tell how Barbara Pym views the life of an unmarried woman, the spinster?

2. How does Mildred  see herself? How old is she?   Is she resigned to spinsterhood or is she still hopeful the right man will  come along?

3.  What did you think of the male characters in Excellent Women?  Were any of them comparable to Jane Austen's men?  Were any of them interested in Mildred?

4. Do you find examples of Barbara Pym's Oxford education in her fiction?  Does she flaunt it?  Do you think Mildred attended university?

5. Barbara Pym's forte is said to be  comedy.  Would you say the same is true of Jane Austen?  Will you share some examples from Excellent Women?

6. Will you note and share some of the cosy details  characteristic of Pym's novels, especially the kitchen and cookery details?

7. Mildred seems to spend a lot of time in church.  Do you think it is because she grew up as a vicar's daughter or do you think religion was more important in the 50's than it  is now?

8.Finally, do  you see Mildred becoming one of the "Excellent Women"  of St. Mary's parish?

~~~

Related Links:
Barbara Pym Biography; Barbara Pym Society;

Discussion Leaders:  JoanP & Pedln (for Quartet in August )

I've realised over the past month or so how changes in ones life can affect ones baking.  I used to be baking all the time when my son was still at home, but now it seems too much to make a cake just for one daughter (and unfortunately she would demolish the lot in 24 hours - not a good idea), although I have made things like muffins and put them in the freezer.  My mother overcame this by continuing to bake for sales, bazaars, and friends - perhaps that is my next stage!

Perhaps the Pym group read should include a virtual tea party?  Would be nice to think of everyone sitting down to some scones and jam, especially in this wintery weather (I think we had snow last night, though it's melted off now).  Earlier this year I attended a real tea in Edinburgh for fans of DE Stevenson (she wrote Miss Buncle's Book, and many others) - it was held at a lovely cafe in Sciennes Road and we had tiny scones, then meringues with cream, and Stevenson's great granddaughter came and gave a very interesting talk.

Rosemary

[serenesheila]

Please count me in.  I just ordered both books from Amazon.  They are not available on Kiindle.  Both sound interesting, to me.

Sheila

[Gumtree]

Rosemary The virtual tea sounds great - only November is summery weather in Australia  - so I'll opt for the cucumber sandwiches  

[donnamo]

Perhaps the Pym group read should include a virtual tea party?  Would be nice to think of everyone sitting down to some scones and jam, especially in this wintery weather (I think we had snow last night, though it's melted off now).  Earlier this year I attended a real tea in Edinburgh for fans of DE Stevenson (she wrote Miss Buncle's Book, and many others) - it was held at a lovely cafe in Sciennes Road and we had tiny scones, then meringues with cream, and Stevenson's great granddaughter came and gave a very interesting talk.

Rosemary

Rosemary, that sounds like it would have been a wonderful time in Edinburgh. I envy your wintery weather. I'd like to cozy up with some hot tea and a good read. Enjoy it!

[JoanP]

Sheila[/b] - you've been counted!  Welcome to "the shabby part of London on the wrong side of Victoria Station!" 

 I agree, Pedln, this is an "excellent" group gathering here!  Rosemary, I love that idea! Let's have a tea party - a virtual tea party!  Let's wait until we've read into Excellent Women to get some ideas about what to prepare.  Be on the lookout for something that will suit Gum  who is now summering in the antipodes.
 
We've always had such fun with these food novels - Who remembers Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society?  I actually made the potato peel pie.  My husband was such a good sport and actually ate it!  (I'll confess to loading up on sour cream and chives which were not in that recipe.)
PatH - a cookbook from the  Master and Commander series!  20 volumes!  A big cookbook?!
I've another idea - how are your memories?  Do you think you can step back in time and share some of those memories of your twenties, early thirties to better put yourself in Mildred's shoes? 

[PatH]

PatH - a cookbook from the  Master and Commander series!  20 volumes!  A big cookbook?!

Master and Commander is 20 volumes, and has many references to food.  The cookbook is a 300 page paperback.

I've gotten my copy of Excellent Women.

[ursamajor]

I just received copies of the two Pym books we are going to discuss from the Knoxville Public Library, and at the same time I checked out a different biography, A Lot to AskbyBarbara Holt.  I will look for A very private eye the next time I go to the library.  I will look for the cookbook as well.  I loved the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society but didn't try the pie recipe.

[rosemarykaye]

Ursamajor, I think A Lot to Ask was published well after A Very Private Eye - the latter is a collection of extracts from Barbara Pym's letters, diaries, etc, whereas the former is more of a "proper" biography.  They're both good.

BP drew a great deal on her personal experiences - especially those of working with anthropologists, and with academics in general.  Many of the places that her characters frequent, especially in London and Oxford, were well known to her - Kardomah cafes (which I remember from my own youth), Lyons tea houses, libraries, High Anglican churches, church bazaars, garden fetes and so on.  Excellent Women features just about all of these, I think - I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on it.

Rosemary

[JoanP]

Oh, I'm looking forward to it too, Rosemary!  And having you in our midst is such a BONUS!  Ursa, you sound determined to get the most out of this Two by Pym experience!  Good for you! We will look for your input too!

 With a week to go, it's time to get started with Excellent Women - if you have it.  I'll put up a few focus questions this evening - also am looking for a link to a good online biography to provide some understanding of Pym's life and how her experiences went into her characters.  As Rosemary posted - "

"BP drew a great deal on her personal experiences."

 If anyone finds a link to a good biography, it will be much appreciated - I'll go hunt now...

[JoanP]

Didn't have to hunt too far - here's a great Biography - taken right from the home page of the Barbara Pym Society - your group, Rosemary!    You might want to read it before starting the novels...

Barbara Pym Biography

I'm going to put it in the heading here for reference.  I hope you enjoy it.

[PatH]

Quartet in Autumn came today, so I'm all stocked up.

[pedln]

And I'm working in reverse -- have just started EA after finishing Quartet in Autumn.  It's funny, I've been thinking about "spinsters" I know, and realize that I never think of them with that label, and then there are those who have been widowed or divorced when fairly young and have not remarried.  They are all just women friends.  Not spinsters, not singles, just people.

[JoanP]

PatH, so glad you received Quartet.  We're counting on you to notice the differences between Pym and Jane Austen - and the similarities too!

Pedln, do you think unmarried young ladies (30ish) view themselves differently today, than they did in the  50's?  In Excellent Women, Pym constantly makes reference to "spinsters"...
I take it that the women you are referring to in your post are older women...our age?  Our age group is so much more than never married and married - when you factor in the divorced, the widows...   When we get to Quartet in August, maybe we'll see Pym treating widows and never married in the same light.
Do you remember the adjective you used to describe Quartet when you first read it?  I really want to talk about what you meant then...

[ursamajor]

I hve the books but haven't started to read them yet.  As to how unmarried women in their 30s feel aqbout their single state as opposed to even fifty years ago, I think there is a world of difference.  Women today CHOOSE to be single and think of themselves as living a choice, not left on the shelf because nobody asked them.  It is difficult for me to imagine not being married; in 58 years two really do become one.  But I respect the choices people make for themselves.

[CallieOK]

I have finished "Excellent Women" and have started "A Very Private Eye", which is a collection of writings from BP's diaries and letters. 
I've already found descriptions of her personal experiences that were obviously used as a basis for characters and events in "Excellent Women".

  I'd bet today's 30-Something women don't even know what the word "spinster" means! They see themselves as Individuals - usually with a career - and wouldn't have it any other way.
In the 50's, college girls were supposed to be looking for an educated man on his way up the career ladder to marry...just the opposite of today. The idea of merging your self into that of a husband's is another thing today's 30-somethings don't go along with.

[rosemarykaye]

I am not sure if that is true - I have a 30-something friend who is unmarried, and she said to me only recently that she felt she had failed in not having children or a partner.  She is a lovely person, but has had the most dire boyfriends who certainly didn't deserve her. 

Your reference to 1950s girls reminded me of the film Mona Lisa Smile - my daughters and I loved all the dreadful lessons on how to catch your man, impress his boss, etc (the rather trite ending was less impressive) - but my elder daughter is clever, ambitious, etc, and still regularly bemoans her boyfriend-less status.  She is only 15 so may grow out of it, but it still seems to be an important status symbol to have one.

I think that being unmarried is still seen differently from being widowed, divorced, etc.  Barbara Pym explores this a bit in Quartet in Autumn, when Letty goes to live in the house of an elderly widow, who clearly has status because she has been married.  Maybe the grass is just always greener, as I know that when my children were little I used to envy single women who could go home and get a good night's sleep - I remember watching a Delia Smith cookery programme (she is married but has no children) when my son was tiny and awake all night; all I could think was "it's all very well for her, she's had 8 hours sleep"!!

Rosemary

[JoanP]

when my children were little I used to envy single women who could go home and get a good night's sleep
 

I'm getting a kick out of this discussion and we haven't even started!  I've been thinking of my friends who have remained single...not many of them, we were  50's girls.  I have to say that they were not really happy people when we gathered for - anything.  The talk was usually about husbands, kids, etc.  One did marry when in her fifties - and she brightened considerably when joining her old friends.

The Mona Lisa Smile with Julia Roberts.  I think I'm going to check Netflix for that, rosemary.  Do you know if any of Pym's books were adapted for film?

There are a few focus questions in the heading - please don't feel you have to respond to them - but you might want to keep some of them in mind as you read Excellent Women.  We're not beginning the discussion of the book early - not until Nov. 1 -

[CallieOK]

Rosemary,  I remember the movie "Mona Lisa Smile".

Oh, I truly didn't mean to paint with a broad brush re: the attitudes of young women today.  Sorry if I implied otherwise.

My just barely 16-year-old granddaughter bemoans her lack of a boyfriend - but her sister, who is almost 18, insists she doesn't have time to bother with one.

I'm so glad I'm reading "A Very Private Eye" because it will be interesting to contrast BP's book themes with her real life.  And that's all I'm going to say about that...right now.  <tee hee>

[fairanna]

First I want to THANK  ROSEMARY  The book arrived and it was so exciting -----I visited England when were in Europe but didnt get to Ireland and Scotland because there was so much to do My husband was stationed in  Germany where we moved twice and then for two years in France and that is when I went to England BUT the husbands had to baby sit ..we were out in the country at a new base , living in trailers sans phone etc and the Russians invaded Chechoslavakia which the men (pilots) were being sent everywhere so the wives were not doing much traveling except for them who chose to return USA  ANY way I have a note ready to mail ,which will be tomorrow when I can go out...I have had no heat since Sat and the man came today and repaired the heater So I Have heat but the outside temp is now WARM ...it was down to 60 one night and that seemed COLD While I am out tomorrow I am going to the library or check with Barnes and Noble to see if they have the book If I order it tomorrow I should have it in plenty of time..I am looking at the picture on front of the book as I type...the comments on the back of book promises a great read so a great discussion  ///best to all anna

[PatH]

JoanP, pedln, have I got the plan right?  Are we taking Excellent Women first  and then moving on to Quartet in Autumn?  And are we dividing each book into chunks?  I don't want to read too far ahead.

I took Excellent Women with me to the dentist's office this morning, and my first reaction is that she's VERY FUNNY.  I hadn't even got out of the Introduction, which quotes her extensively, and was sitting there, giggling at frequent intervals, while the other person in the room glared at me--I guess there isn't much laughter in dentist's offices.  It's quiet, understated, but boy, is it funny.

[JoanP]

Anna, that's so exciting that your book arrived,  I'm sure you will love it.

Oops, I'd better clear things up in the heading, Pat!  Pedln and I have been back and forth about how to handle the two books in a month discussion.  (I guess I forgot where we had that discussion.  Guess it wasn't here.    We finally decided to start the first part of the month, the first ten days on Excellent Women.   Let's take a big chunk, the first half, the first 13 chapters between Nov. 1 and Nov.5.  If you think it's too long, we can speed it up.  Let's see how it goes.   We might do Quartet in Autumn differently - after we see how this goes. (It might be chaos - I hope not.
I'll put a schedule in the header in the morning. Thanks for asking.  So glad you are enjoying the humor!

Callie, be sure to pipe up whenver you want - we are looking forward to hearing from "A Very Private Eye."  

About "A Very Private Eye" for those of you who are wondering...

"The book spans the years between 1932, when Pym was at Oxford, and 1979, when she sadly died of breast cancer. Her sister, Hilary Pym, provides a biographical sketch of her early life. As the title of the book suggests, the material is arrange chronologically and drawn from Pym's diaries, notebooks, and letters."

[rosemarykaye]

JoanP - I thought BP died of ovarian cancer?  May be wrong though, can hardly remember which day it is at the moment...

CallieinOK - no, no - I wasn't criticising!  Sorry if it sounded that way - I was writing late at night (by my standards) and just thinking about younger women that I know.  When I was working I had wonderful trainee, Rachel, who was then about 24.  There were also two other young women in the office - both early 20s - whose only interest in their lives (despite the fact that they were both qualified lawyers) was to get married to their live-in boyfriends, buy a house and have children.  Rachel did have a nice boyfriend, but was very happy not to move in with him - she had her own flat and was not interested in settling down.  We had many conversations about that, as I thought she was so right to have some independence first.  She had gone out with another boy for 6 years previously and said that she now realised that if she had married him it would have been a terrible mistake, so she wasn't going to take the plunge any time soon.  These girls are all different, aren't they?  Although it's a shame that many of them still feel the need to conform.

Thinking about the women of my mother's generation, I think that the never married ones are, perhaps, less happy.  My mother has one friend who seems to me to be quite bitter; the other thing I notice (from a distance) is that she gets very annoyed if anyone has to change their plans, wheareas I suppose if you have lived with someone and/or had children, you get used to that!  However, another of my mother's friends lived with her sister all through their lives, and they got on like a house on fire and seemed fulfilled.  Barbara Pym's novel, Some Tame Gazelle, features two sisters, Harriet and Belinda, who live together in small village - it's presumed to be based on BP and Hilary, and is a really wonderful, very funny, novel.  At the end, after various shennanigans, they both settle back into comfortable spinsterdom, and realise that they are happier that way after all.

Got to dash - cat due at vets for yet more acupuncture!

Rosemary

[rosemarykaye]

Anna - glad the book arrived, and also that your heating has been restored.  We had really cold weather last week, but now it's mild and wet again, and I have gone round turning down all the radiators, much to daughter's and cats' disgust 

Rosemary

[rosemarykaye]

JoanP - forgot to say, I don't think any of Pym's novels have been made into films.  I am not sure how film-friendly they would be, as so much of the humour is in the small nuanaces of conversation, and, especially in EW, the thoughts that go through Mildred's head.  There was a good BBC programme about BP and Hilary some years ago, but sadly I don't have it on video, so I don't know if or how it could be accessed now.

Rosemary

[fairanna]

Well ordered the other book we are to discuss and promised delivery Oct 28 I am going to start reading today because we are supposed to have thunderstorms today and high winds ..so I know I wont be going anywhere. I am excitd that we are also going to cook..I often have supper for nieghbors and family Everyone loves my hamburger soup and I bake cookies and mail to special friends who live alone , in fact I bake homemade bread , four loaves at a time and give two away. I also make cakes and cookies for my church, we have refreshments after church  and help supply the goodies for that.

Considering how men have changed and marriage the same I am not sure some women who have very good jobs prefer the single life, You no longer feel you have to have an escort to go anywhere...Look at all the men in high positions and movie stars are having affairs or divorcing their wives and marrying younger women ...life has certainly changed since I was a young girl and I AM GLAD I was born and grew up when most women stayed single until they married ...off to read ......anna

[bellemere]

Did everyone know that Johann Sebastian Bach had such a busy household with ten childen that he practiced on a spinster in the attic?
Yuk, yuk.
My friend made a conscious decision not to marry; she broke the hearts of at least two men I knew.  Got a Master's degree in Math education, designed and patented teaching software, formed her own national consulting firm and today is VERY COMFORTABLE. 
I have been meaning to count the number of times that Barbara uses the term "excellent woman or women"  It reminds me of the way my son said he was wary of getting fixed up with a girl if she was described and a "beautiful person" 
It seems to me that helping out at a church was one route to becoming an excellent woman. Arranging flowers, "doing the brasses", manning the tea urn at meetings, etc. 

[JoanP]

Bellemere!  That was a corny Bach joke!
Don't forget to count the times Pym uses the word "spinster" as you count the "excellent women"...

Before I forget - I stumbled over this list of 1000 must-read novels put out by the Guardian in the UK -  down under Comedy - alphabetically to Pym...

[rosemarykaye]

Oh my gosh, I can't resist lists like these - I'm sure I spend more time reading them and seeing what I have and haven't read than I do actually reading.  I was going to print it out to read in bed till I realised it ran to 28 pages 

I've also got a wonderful book called "The Ultimate Teen Book Guide", which gives you synopses of hundreds of books that teens might like - I have discovered some great things from delving into it.

In the post today I received the Slightly Foxed catalogue - they reprint "lost" works, and the trouble is, of course, that I want all of them, and they cost £15 each.  They also publish a quarterly review that I keep thinking about subscribing to - maybe I'll ask for it for Christmas.  I must admit that I always check the library catalogue before buying anything, but it's rare for our library to have these sort of books.

Rosemary

[pedln]

Bellemere, you are sooooo bad.

Do you remember the adjective you used to describe Quartet when you first read it?  I really want to talk about what you meant then...

  JoanP

Yep.  I remember, and I still think it is so.

PatH, JoanP and I are still talking about the schedule.  We want to start out with Excellent Women, but at some point I hope we can compare the two.  There are about twenty years between the two so shouldn’t we expect  some difference in style, in characterization, attitudes?  Or maybe not?  We’ve never tried this type of discussion before (in my memory, anyway), so maybe it will just go with the flow.

Rosemary, I'd say that your Rachel has a very good head on her shoulders.  Smart woman.

It’s interesting to read all your comments here about THEN and NOW.  So many changes. So many choices.  What brought it all about?  The pill?  Betty Friedan?

[pedln]

On another tack here, and maybe it would help have answers before we get into our discussion. I'm beginning to realize I don't know very much about the Church of England, and now I'm really confused with some of the terms.  It's not just in Pym's books.  I've run into this in other British novels.

church
chapel
Catholic
Roman Catholic
Episcopal
Church of England

I thought Church of England and Episcopalians were the same, but is that so or are there differences?  As one who was baptized a Lutheran, confirmed a Methodist, and now a Presbyterian, I don't know much about other denominations.

[bellemere]

I have gathered from books that "church" was "high" (closer in ritual to the Roman Catholic church) and called Anglican, if it was a very high congregation. "Chapel" was "low" and farther away from the Catholic ritual.   The late nineteenth century Oxford movement, led by John Henry Newman was a group of "high" clergy " and academics who "went over " (converted to Catholicism" ) eventually..   Newman became a Cardinal and wrote a beautiful essay in defense of a liberal arts education.  That is all I know about him.
There is some evidence that even in BP's time , there existed a suspician between the high and low congregations and between the Angilcans and Catholics.  Dora's remarks on touring the
Catholic abbey with Mildred echo this, but Pym is gently poking fun at her dark surmises. 
Also i have noted that when a Welsh character or a Yorkshire character appears, they are usually "chapel," with some exceptions.  Such people were apt to complain if their pastor got too"high" and they didn't mean on marijuana.

[ursamajor]

My friend who came here as an English war bride told me this story.  He husband's family were staunch Methodists for generations.  Her mother visited from England and attended church services with her; afterwards she remarked "You know, dear, that wasn't really church, it was just chapel."

Some Episcopalians consider themselves Catholic, so Roman Catholic means the church with a Pope.  My kids used to sing a little song they learned at church camp to the tune of God Bless America...

I am an Anglican
I am P.E.
Neither high church
Nor low church
Apostolic and catholic and free
Not a Presby
Not a Luth'ran
Not a Baptist, white with foam
I am an Anglican
Just one step from Rome
I am an Anglican
Via media- boom, boom!

[rosemarykaye]

There is a book called "No Soft Incense" which is all about Barbara Pym and the church.  I think it is a collection of essays - I haven't read it, but intend to.  If you look on Amazon, you will find a synopsis.

I agree that whenever chapel is mentioned in BP's novels, it's always associated with the servants or working classes. Most of the novels feature high church Anglicanism - this has many of the features of Roman Catholicism, such as calling the ministers priests, celibacy of the clergy (there is a priceless line in A Glass of Blessings, spoken by the rather camp male housekeeper, "Celibacy of the clergy has always been our motto!"), the priest taking confessions, etc.  It is not, however, Roman Catholicism, and in many of the novels there are anxious whisperings about people "going over to Rome".

BP may be poking fun at Dora's "dark surmises" about the RC church, but only a few weeks ago. when  I was sitting in our Church of Scotland (ie Presbyterian) congregation, I heard two women behind me muttering about it being "very Catholic" to have choral singing during the Communion - they were not happy.  I am sorry to say the Scottish sectarianism is not confined to Glaswegian football teams, even today.

Rosemary

[ursamajor]

Episcopal priests are not required to be celibate, either in this country or in England.  They may be celibate by choice, but in my experience the ones in this country are almost always married.  The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Willaims, acknowledged head of the Anglican Church, is certainly married.

[pedln]

Ursamajor,     haha -- loved the song, and have been sitting here singing it.  I'll have to pass it on to some of my bridge buddies as I was asking them this afternoon if they could explain some of the differences.  So there are Episcopalians in the UK?  My friends had said otherwise.  Then they started talking about State churches and who had to pay taxes to the church, to the state. I didn't quite get it.

[ursamajor]

In England the Episcopal Church is the Church of England and is supported by tax revenues.  (Probably the origin of our Second Amendment).)  The overall designation is Anglican.  With the recent uproar about ordaining homosexuals some US churches are calling themselves just Anglican and dumping the Episcopal designation.

When we visited Ireland we attended services at the Church of Ireland.  The Prayer Book was the same as we use here except there were two versions  of the prayers for those in authority (the President here) - one version for the Irish Republic and the other for Northen Ireland, where they pray for the Queen.

[rosemarykaye]

There are certainly Episcopal churches in Scotland.

No, Church of England vicars are not required to be celibate, but High Church Anglican priests often are - it's a sort of extreme version of Anglicanism, and you will see in BP novels that some of the High Churches advertise "Catholic privileges" (eg confession) but that does not mean Roman Catholic.  Confusing?  Surely not!!! 

Rosemary

[ursamajor]

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a welcoming and inclusive Church that traces its history back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland. We are part of the world-wide Anglican Communion - a family of some 70 million Christians in more than 160 countries - for whom the Archbishop of Canterbury is a focus for unity.

http://www.scotland.anglican.org/index.php/about/introduction/

[JoanP]

This girl raised by the Benedictines in the 50's can't resist mention of the Benedictines in Scotland prior to the Reformation - Bruce and I tried to get to Iona to the old monastery - St. Columbo's I think it was where the famed Book of Kells was illuminated  in the 7th century - but weather was an issue - We did see a beautiful work at Trinity College in Ireland  where they were moved for protection. We did visit Dunfermline Abbey - built in the 9th century...

[JoanP]

This conversation is very useful for the upcoming discussion. 
Since we have a few days left - and some have not yet read the chapters - I'd like to shift the question in the header to Barbara Pym.  We've been hearing how her books reflect her life - and this is a good example of that, isn't it?
 

7. Mildred seems to spend a lot of time in church.  Do you think it is because she grew up as a vicar's daughter or do you think religion was more important in the 50's than it  is now?

Let's pool what we know of Barbara Pym's upbringing - and also comment on the practice of religion  in the fifties and now.  In the UK - and in the United States.