Chronicle of a working life

It is an omnibus publication, 672 pages, of 3 of our favourite books in young age.

The 3 books are: A pair of hands, A pair of feet and My turn to make the tea.

Monica Dickens (1915 - 1992) was a prolific writer who has written more than 80 novels and autobiographical accounts.

In my college days, a trip to the British library invariably yielded a thick novel of hers. My father's personal collection boasted of two of her titles:

Thursday afternoons and

A pair of hands.

The former had a well meaning but muddled lady, Cybil as the protagonist and the latter was highly recommended by Baba and so was sacrosanct in our eyes. It is a highly entertaining account by MD of her experiences when she worked in different houses as a cook. After her finishing school, she desperately wanted to work but was not trained for anything. So, on the basis of very limited experience - there was an old cook in her house who did not allow anybody in the kitchen - she embarked on her working journey with many hilarious experiences on the way. She learnt cooking by trial and error on the job and she worked also as a house manager.

MD belonged to a well heeled family and her mother had accounts with the big departmental stores in London. By working as a cook, MD broke the class barrier and joined the ranks of the plebian. This led to many funny encounters. For example, in one of the houses she worked, the man of the house would talk to his wife in German whenever MD was around. He took it for granted that she would not understand a word. On another occasion, two guests in the house party fumbled at the name of a railway station near Paddington and unwittingly, MD provided it. "They were taken aback but being perfect gentlemen, thanked her."

MD has a witty style and her tongue in cheek humour is refreshing.

A pair of feet is about her days as a nurse in a few big hospitals in war time Britain. My turn to make the tea is about her career as a journalist in one small, provincial newspaper.

She writes with verve and gives us an inside account of what happens in these jobs. When she wrote these books, better jobs were simply out of the reach of most women. However, even now, I cannot think of any similar accounts by women. Women have been teachers and governesses for a century or more but they did not write about their working life as MD does here.

Sutton Publishing, UK brought out the omnibus in 2004. A pair of hands can be opened at any page and can be read with relish. The other two do not quite attain the same level of excellence but the collection can be safely recommended for your library.