Business as Usual (Handheld Comic Classics, 2) Paperback – Download: Adobe Reader, March 23, 2020

I love this book which was first published in the early 1930s. It is written in the format of letters from and to a young woman who has moved from Scotland to London to see if she can "make it on her own" while her fiancé is in Edinburgh working on his career as a physician and writing a book. I found this book to be witty and delightful and read it twice within a month. It is a book I am likely to go back to over and over again - I think of it as "comfort food" minus the calories. I gave it as a gift to one of my nieces for Christmas this year; the others are likely to get it as well, sooner or later.

A lovely book Ienjoyed the style the letters .Thebookstore setting the wonderful characters.It was a lovely book to read to while away the day.Will be recommending.

I only wish this book were longer. The joy of the book is it all "takes place" via letters and inter office memos. A woman becomes engrossed and successful at a job that was just supposed to be for the year she is waiting to be married. As the job because more interesting, and the fiancé less, it's lovely to just follow along to see what happens next!

You can see where this is going from the start, but it is an entertaining trip getting there.

Good for sitting in a comfy place and reading all afternoon. No thought necessary.

Item reeked of chemical fragrance

No nation consistently weaves time-and-place-evoking fiction with quite such precision as do the Brits.

I don’t usually read epistolary novels since we are seeing the characters at a distance, but this one was so clever and funny that I felt as if I knew the protaganist quite well. A well-born plucky young woman decides to spend one year working for a salary, just to see if she is capable of earning her own living, before she marries and settles down in a life of wealth and privilege. We learn about her experiences through her letters to her family and fiancé. Not only are her letters wickedly humorous, we find out a lot about the inner workings of a large London department store in the 1930s.

Such a lovely read. Could have wallowed in in it for much longer. Adored the humour and reading between the lines to discover character of pompous fiancé. Wonderful picture of London in the 1930s. Great escapism.

"Business as Usual" is a delightful rediscovered treasure from the 1930s. This edition gives some fascinating background information on the authors as an added extra.Hilary Fane is a 27-year-old Oxford History Graduate from Scotland, who decides to spend the year of her engagement to Basil, a doctor, earning her own money by taking a job in London. Her story is told in a series of letters to Basil and her parents, as well as staff memos from the Everyman's Department Store (based on Selfridges).Hilary is bright and breezy, no-nonsense with a wicked and self-deprecating humour. She's also an astute observer of human nature, and is smart and aware enough to know that she's playing at toy-town poverty. Her attitude is refreshingly honest - she is no fan of "all girls together" and realises just how bitchy and manipulative other women can be. It's quite a wonder how she puts up with the ghastly Basil. The authors have very cleverly drawn his character without him uttering or writing a single word, although I'd love to see the story from Basil's point of view!There are some wonderful descriptions of London in the 1930s, as well as of the inner workings of a large department store.The ending is predictable, but gloriously so, and who couldn't be charmed by such a description of falling in love: "We spent a very restful hour, just eating and smoking, and talking about mice and psychoanalysis and Walt Disney and chair covers and Spiritualism and Black Magic."

I have a weakness for epistolary novels, and to have Ann Stafford’s delicious and spare line drawings is an additional pleasure. Hilary Fane is engaged to Basil Rainford, an Edinburgh doctor, and to fill in time before marrying the next year, she comes to London to work and spread her wings. She finds work at Everyman’s, a thinly disguised Selfridge’s, and her simple charm and downright common sense result in her bringing order wherever she goes which is noticed Higher Up. Small but regular promotions mean she can afford a nicer place to live, treats at weekends, and so on. Life is treating Hilary well, but maybe Basil isn’t? We do not see Basil’s letters, but Hilary’s reactions to them make us wonder how well they are really suited?No spoilers here, but there is someone who appreciates Hilary rather more than Basil seems to ...

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Beautifully written in the style of the day it brings to life its characters and the setting of a 1930's department store. Very funny in parts and also quietly moving in a dignified way. Highly recommended.