Only to be attempted after gaining familiarity with all Thirkell's previous works. Pretty much ALL of her characters are present, and it is no mean feat to unravel them.
Her post-World-War-II books have much more of a wistfulness and dissatisfaction than her earlier books, and this one seems rather elitist as well. Writing in a world that was fast losing its traditions and rigid class barriers, it's easy to tell that her characters (and probably she herself) felt rather lost, and just plain tired. Not that its tone is all that depressing, it's still a comedy of manners with an engagement at the end. But it certainly has a different feel than, for instance, Wild Strawberries. ( )

Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series pokes gentle fun at English life beginning in the period between the wars, and continuing through the 1950s. Each book was set in “real time,” so the publication dates are a useful guide to English and world events that may have affected the people of Barsetshire. Love Among the Ruins was published in 1948. The country was in a “rebuilding” period, with Winston Churchill (Conservative) succeeded by Clement Attlee (Labour) in 1945. A number of social and economic reforms took shape. Thirkell touches on these, mostly in a tongue-in-cheek way, with the people of Barsetshire holding on to the past, uncertain what “They” (government officials) were really up to.

But this is just a backdrop to the comedy of manners that is country life. Like all of the Barsetshire novels, the cast of characters draws from prominent families and some of the servant or working classes. Family parties, country festivals, and other rituals of village life provide most of the “action.” There is always at least one romance, with an inevitable engagement or marriage by the end of the novel. And with each passing year, there are also poignant moments as familiar characters age. Love Among the Ruins had all of these elements and several familiar and enjoyable set pieces. If there was a weakness to this novel, it was the huge supporting cast and frequent references to events in their past. Having read the previous books, I enjoyed these throwbacks but they were so numerous that eventually I had to consult a secondary source to refresh my memory on the plots and characters of the previous books. And yet, when the agricultural fair finally set up the opportunity for a couple’s engagement, I sighed with satisfaction. There are hints of both romance and sadness coming in the next books, which I am sure to read sooner rather than later. ( )

A complex and engaging Thirkell from 1948, in which practically all the characters out of her earlier books seem to reappear. There's a great deal of good stuff, some very good lines, and a splendid finale at the combined Barsetshire Pig Show and Conservative Rally. We're kept nicely guessing until right at the end about which, if any, of the possible romances in the book will come to anything.

Unfortunately, there's also a great deal of Thirkell's bitterness — at the Attlee government, post-war austerity and the imminent demise of the English landowning classes — being vented here, which gives the book a rather nasty taste at times. Her views are understandable, of course, even if we're not very likely to have much sympathy for them: they were shared by quite a few other novelists on the right of the political spectrum, Nevil Shute and Mary Renault, for instance. They both emigrated in disgust, something that Thirkell couldn't very well do again without looking rather silly. ( )

I love Angela Thirkell's humor and much of her writing--the only reason I don't give her five stars is that her opinions (heavily peppered throughout her work) can be wearisome at times. But she is definitely worth discovering! ( )