Hi Gina,When I startled making videos, I was an old lady already 70. I wanted not only to feature older women Characters in books but I also wanted to present myself as a old lady creator. That was two years ago, many Videos and friends later, I still am finding new old ladies lol. Patricia Wentworth is an author I was introduced to by Lil of Lils vintage world. Her character Miss Silver, is the most wonderful old lady you can imagine. She is a governess turned private detective. In fact I’m reading one on my Kindle right now: In the balance. I am so happy to have found you. I was around in the 70s lol. I was also introduced to Miss Reed since I joined booktube. Much love and Aloha MMM
Hi MMM. I love Miss Silver too! I am going to have to do a part 2 to this video because people are reminding me of so many great characters. I am so glad you are here :)
I love Mrs. Pollifax! She's awesome! The Marlow Murder Club is a new mystery with a fantastic old lady!! "Seventy-seven-year-old Judith Potts is blissfully happy. She lives alone in a faded mansion in Marlow, sets crosswords for The Times, and there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink." I also love Miss Silver - a retired governess.Great mysteries from the Golden Age. Also fantastic is Miss Seeton; a retired art teacher. These books were started by Heron Carvic and then continued with Hampton Charles and Hamilton Crane.
Two of the best old ladies in books that I have come across are Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg in Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy series. In the Witches books, they are two older witches who are powerful personalities; respected and occasionally slightly feared. They protect and watch over the people in their community, but their friendship and humor is the best part of the stories. They have been friends (and, as witches, in mild competition) since they were girls, Granny living her life alone and Nanny having several successive husbands, and a great tribe of children and grandchildren. Their interactions, squabbles, in-jokes, and iron-clad friendship is a treat in each of their stories.
@@GinaStanyerBooks yes; the Discworld books all take place on the Discworld, but the various series and one-off stories are only loosely connected, and you don't have to read them all to enjoy certain ones. The Witches series begins with Equal Rites, but only introduces the character of Granny Weatherwax, though Nanny Ogg is in it a bit (it's quite an introduction; in a world where women become witches and men become wizards, a young girl is destined to be a wizard. And Granny Weatherwax thinks she should get the chance. It's like an earthquake deciding your living room needs a bit of rearranging). A couple of other characters, including Nanny Ogg, are introduced in the second book, Wyrd Sisters, and the interplay and backstory between Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg begins, delightfully, to unfold.
The Richard Osman books, The Thursday Murder Club series, is set in a retirement complex. Sort of centred around Joyce and her 4 friends that she makes after moving into the complex. (Elizabeth, Ron and Ibraham) There’s much more to them than just retirees, I’ve read the first two and I believe the third one has either just come out or is about to and maybe a couple more commissioned? Fun murder mysteries which I believe Steven Spielberg has recently bought the film rights to. Worth a read! 😁
Gina, I LOVE the title of this video. We’re having 100+ degree weather in California. I love ‘An Unnecessary Woman that features a great 72-year-old protagonist. Cranford will be my next Gaskell read! ☺️ Miss Marple, Miss Read and Miss Pilcher - the Gina trio!
Hi Shelly, Thank you for the recommendation of an unnecessary woman. Next month I will be 72 so it’s apt that I read this book. I was also wants a shut in as well. Now I’m just an old teenager. Much love and aloha
I've only have traveled to europe once in my life and one of the things i remember about europeans (and some north americans) is the concerns about weather. Maybe it's a cultural thing because some booktubers from europe always start the video talking about weather. Over here (Brazil) basically nobody cares about weather since every day is almost the same. A friend of mine (from Australia) told me that to know and to feel the weather is important because in the winter everybody changes their schedules and, in the summer, everybody feels happy and go outside. That's kind of interesting because over here in Brazil, no matter how worst is the weather, no way somebody would stop going outside and have fun because is winter, summer or even the apocalipse from the bible rsrs
I love May Sarton! I have read The House by the Sea and Journal of a Solitude. Your vintage hardback is beautiful! I recommend Anne Truitt's journals, Daybook. Anne Truitt is also an old lady writing about her life as an artist.
I like the "Miss Julia" series by Ann B. Ross. Sort of cozy, simple mysteries, solved by Miss Julia with the help of an unlikely young sidekick named Hazel Marie. Set in rural North Carolina. "Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind" is the first in the series. Read one, and they're like potato chips. You just can't stop.
I too have always loved old ladies. Even as a child I had old lady friends besides the old ladies in my family. Now I am definitely one, and I still have old lady friends. I just finished Olive Kitteridge and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead and really enjoyed them both. Both of these old ladies are younger than I am, but still old ladies. One of my favorite fictional old ladies is David Copperfield's Aunt Betsy Trotwood.
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed and An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good - while the main character is a murderess with a real sense of justice, these books are hilarious. And 100 years of Lenni and Margot. - heartwarming.I loved this book.
🌾🦋🌾Love this video! Indeed, not enough old ladies in books on TH-cam! Sunny summer (very hot...we are getting two days of 40 degrees Celsius and more here in Belgium...not the usual summer...) greetings and have a cozy sunday. Maggie 🦋🌾🦋
I love The Enchanted April. The characters are delightful. My wife enjoyed Mrs. Polifax but I haven't delved into that series yet. Another series my wife liked with an old lady character was the Aunt Dimity series.
What a perfect topic for a video, Gina! Woo! I love old ladies, too!! I'm sure it's not a surprise that your favorites are also MY favorites (I adore Miss Read and Mrs. Pollifax, though Miss Marple is definitely my ultimate fav)! 🥰❤📚🌟 I'll have to read Tales of the City - I've never heard of that before 😱Totally agree in including Elfrida Phipps from Winter Solstice...and I would also add Mrs. Montague from The Dean's Watch, Mrs. Harris from Mrs. 'arris Goes to Paris and Miss Clare from the Miss Read Fairacre Series. Loved your list!
Gina what a great video idea! I love love love old ladies as main characters. You've given me so many new books to read. 🥰 Tales of the City is wonderful, I just saw a graphic novel version at the comic bookstore. Becoming Miss Marple is a life goal.
I love this list and the idea! The first old lady character who popped into my head is Dorothea Balfour in Molly Clavering's book Near Neighbours. When she is finally free of her domineering sister, she gets a chance to really live and it's so delightful!
Margery Benson from Miss Benson’s Beetle. And Britt Marie from Britt Marie was Here. And a spinster but not that old, I absolutely loved Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. And if you can listen to the audio version read by Cathleen McCarron it adds SO much! It just completes it perfectly! I’m not the biggest fan of audiobooks over books, but in this case, I’d recommend it over reading it.
thank you! already ordered tales of the city and adding to my wishlist! I love the Miss Marple character but for some reason I find the poirot mysteries more interesting - and he's not a favorite character LOL!
I love so many of those old ladies! Wonderful choices! Tove jansson’s summer book has a grandmother who is amazing. Gabrielle Roy’s Road past Altamont has 2 wonderful older women! Louise millers late bloomers club is kind of fun.
Lovely video, Gina! Anna Madrigal is a wonderful choice for this - I love the Tales of the City books. Whilst I’ve read a lot of Christie, I don’t think I’ve read any Marple, which is terrible! Mrs Pollifax sounds brilliant- I’ve just bought the first on Kindle.
Thanks Olly, Mrs Pollifax is such a fun character I just love her! I really want to do a re-read of Tales of the City, it's been a lot of years not since I read them.
Hi Gina, after watching this video, I bought the first Mrs Pollifax novel. I loved it! Just downloaded the second novel on to my Kindle. Thank you so much for the recommendation 🙂
I think the Anne of Green Gables series has some wonderful old ladies too. I've read a few of Rosamunde Pilcher's short stories and am currently reading September. I think Shell Seekers is the only book of hers I don't own. Thanks to you and Miranda, I sought out her books and they really are a comfort read 😊📖☕
Love this, Gina. I haven’t read any of these. You might like Richard Osman’s series Thursday Murder Club if you haven’t read it yet. I would also recommend Up and Down and Albatross by Terry Fallis. He writes great older women. 😊💙
Taking notes! 📝 I also love old ladies in books! A few favorites that come to mind are The Door by Magda Szabo, The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, and Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
I gotta read Mrs Pollifax SO BAD! Those books sound awesome and right up my alley! I love Miss Marple! You may only have 6 but that's about half of her entire series! My favorite Miss Marple books are A Caribbean Mystery and the Mirror Crack'd!
Kevvie Mrs Pollifax is so much fun! I just love her :) I had no idea that there were so few Miss Marple books until I actually pulled up the list to pull them out of my collection for this video. I need to own them all!
@@GinaStanyerBooks a fun rare find for you to search for is the 13 Problems. This short story collection was the first appearance of Miss Marple, but it's no longer in print over here, the stories now being interwoven in other collections.
Love this Gina - thank you. I love older protagonists. I think someone already mentioned but Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg from the Discworld series are probably my favourite old lady characters. I recently really enjoyed Away with the Penguins which features an old lady protagonist too who was brilliant. Looking forward to The Enchanted April when I get to it - probably next April! 😂
Hi Gina, you forgot Miss Silver, I actually started to read Patricia Wentworth because of your love and enthusiasm for her. Otherwise a great vlog, thank you.
Hi Gina love your name and I’m so glad I found your channel recently! I totally agree with you on the enchanted April and if you ever get a chance to watch the movie it is just like the book so I think he would enjoy that as well and I wanted to let you know I have recently re-read the Shell seekers for the fourth time and as much as I loved it the first three times reading it years ago I think I liked it even better the fourth time around and it’s about the only book in my life I’ve ever read that many times I think. I am going to check out some of your other ones that you’ve just recommended because they sound pretty good too and I’m not real familiar with them. I’m enjoying your videos and keep up the good reading!
Great video. I've just read a wonderful book by Dean Street Press called Not At Home by Doris Langley Moore. It's about a middle aged spinster who after the war enters into a house share with another woman. It's brilliant.
I really want to read the Maupin books. Have you read Agatha Raisin? She’s only in her 50s at the beginning of the series, but it’s a long series. She’s hilarious.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this video's title was Mattie Rigsbee, from "Walking Across Egypt" by Clyde Edgerton. I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to look up how old Betsey Trotwood, from "David Copperfield," is, to see if she counts as an "old lady." In any case, she's one of my favorite Dickens characters.
I know, i find it hard to identify with some current literature and characters. Thanks for being here - us ladies of a certain age have to stick together 😃
I have Tales of the City, I bought after watching the newer show on Netflix and I just loved it. I haven’t heard of most of these, I love old lady characters. My favourite is probably Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead.
Ooh great idea. I'm going to nominate Baby Khoja in Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul. She is resourceful, strong and determined. A funny and profoundly sad book. Then Mary Mathilda in The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke is unforgettable, a gripping story of the complex legacy of slavery set over just one night but centred entirely on one woman's experience and it's terrible consequences. Finally Viva Delca in Wasted Morning by Gabriela Adamesteanu. Captivating personality from page one, an uneducated woman in her seventies, chatty, gossipy and a fascinating storyteller who shows us a panoramic portrait of Romania in the 20 th century. All three are complex, compelling and irresistible..
I just heard you mention Pride and Prejudice- I'm finally trying to read those books as I just read a mystery based on the characters - The Murder of Mr. Wickham. it was good - dragged a bit in places and I'm s ure I missed a few references as I hadn't read the character's story but still good overall
@@GinaStanyerBooks I'm coming along in Pride and Prejudice- about a 100 pages left. from the little bit I'd heard about the book I thought Mr. Darcy was a bad character but I'm really finding myself tired of Elizabeth LOL! her snobbery for those she consideres less intelligent thanherself is really something else! nad I have to agree with her father's treatment of her mother and ignoring security and propriety for all their sakes is something else too...
I would recommend T E Kinsey's 'Lady Hardcastle' mystery series. I'm not sure how old Lady Hardcastle is, I don't think her age is ever mentioned but she is over the 40's age group I think. I found a book called 'Major Pettigrew's last stand' by Helen Simonson who befriends Mrs Jasmina Ali and this becomes a pairing in the book. 'The Widows' Adventures' by Charles Dickinson, two widows take to the road across America.
The two Sarton fictions that I have read are The Magnificent Spinster and As We Are Now. I love them both. I have her diaries on Kindle but haven’t read any yet.
Which Miss Marple book would you recommend. I do want to read Enchanted April. I have been reading the Haley Powell mysteries by Lee Hollis. I have a couple other series he has started. I did finish the one Nixon book I wanted to, but I have one more to read. I also have a book on Teddy Roosevelt, one on Vietnam, and one on Patton. I am going a little towards presidents and military war. The next book for book club is Tender is the land. I think this will be an interesting and sad read.
I'd start with The Murder at the Vicarage - it's the first one featuring Miss Marple and will give you a good sense of the books. I love that one a lot. I also love A Caribbean Mystery and Nemesis (which are sort of connected to each other by one of the characters).
I would suggest M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin. She is not always nice. I love multi faceted characters. She pulled herself by her bootstraps, ran a PR firm of her own, retired to the suburbs, was bore so started a detective agency. She is delightfully contrasted by the vicar’s wife and only woman friend. The new TV series has modified her character out of recognition. The book character has bite and takes names.
One of my favourite old lady characters is Hagar Shipley from The Stone Angel... I first read it as a CanLit pick in my grade 11 English class and I'm looking forward to visiting the title over again throughout my life!
Great video Gina. Between you and Jack I guess I need to check out Cranford for victober this year. Will check out The Shellseekers and Miss Marple too. I 5 stared Jane am Prudence. Barbara Pymn is a great balance between Jane Austen and Miss Reed.
I love this! I've not read about any of these old ladies. I have yet to read any Elizabeth Gaskell but really want to! Cranford sounds great! The Enchanted April also sounds like something I'd be interested in. I also haven't read any Mrs Marple mysteries yet..
Love Mrs. Pollifax and Miss Marple cause mysteries are my favorites! The others look interesting. Have you tried any Anne George mysteries? They are funny with old ladies who are sisters set in Northern Alabama. "Murder On Girl's Night Out" is the first in the series. Also Corinne Holt Sawyer has a series about widows set in southern California that are fun. "The J Alfred Prufrock Murders" is the first in that series.
On the memoir front, Diana Athill wrote a number of good books in her 80s and onward. And Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book is good and focusses on a grandmother and her grandchild. Margaret Laurence’s Stone Angel features a cantankerous and sadly deluded woman.
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Hi Gina,When I startled making videos, I was an old lady already 70. I wanted not only to feature older women Characters in books but I also wanted to present myself as a old lady creator. That was two years ago, many Videos and friends later, I still am finding new old ladies lol. Patricia Wentworth is an author I was introduced to by Lil of Lils vintage world. Her character Miss Silver, is the most wonderful old lady you can imagine. She is a governess turned private detective. In fact I’m reading one on my Kindle right now: In the balance. I am so happy to have found you. I was around in the 70s lol. I was also introduced to Miss Reed since I joined booktube. Much love and Aloha MMM
Hi MMM. I love Miss Silver too! I am going to have to do a part 2 to this video because people are reminding me of so many great characters.
I am so glad you are here :)
I love Mrs. Pollifax! She's awesome! The Marlow Murder Club is a new mystery with a fantastic old lady!! "Seventy-seven-year-old Judith Potts is blissfully happy. She lives alone in a faded mansion in Marlow, sets crosswords for The Times, and there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink." I also love Miss Silver - a retired governess.Great mysteries from the Golden Age. Also fantastic is Miss Seeton; a retired art teacher. These books were started by Heron Carvic and then continued with Hampton Charles and Hamilton Crane.
Ooooo, great recommendations Janelle! I haven't heard of Judith Potts or Miss Seeton!
Two of the best old ladies in books that I have come across are Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg in Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy series. In the Witches books, they are two older witches who are powerful personalities; respected and occasionally slightly feared. They protect and watch over the people in their community, but their friendship and humor is the best part of the stories. They have been friends (and, as witches, in mild competition) since they were girls, Granny living her life alone and Nanny having several successive husbands, and a great tribe of children and grandchildren. Their interactions, squabbles, in-jokes, and iron-clad friendship is a treat in each of their stories.
I've never read any Terry Pratchett! The witches sound fantastic.
If I haven't read any Discworld is it possible to read the Witches? If so, any recs on where to start?
@@GinaStanyerBooks yes; the Discworld books all take place on the Discworld, but the various series and one-off stories are only loosely connected, and you don't have to read them all to enjoy certain ones. The Witches series begins with Equal Rites, but only introduces the character of Granny Weatherwax, though Nanny Ogg is in it a bit (it's quite an introduction; in a world where women become witches and men become wizards, a young girl is destined to be a wizard. And Granny Weatherwax thinks she should get the chance. It's like an earthquake deciding your living room needs a bit of rearranging). A couple of other characters, including Nanny Ogg, are introduced in the second book, Wyrd Sisters, and the interplay and backstory between Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg begins, delightfully, to unfold.
@@stevengentry9396 Love Nanny Ogg and Weatherwax!
One could also start with the Tiffany Aching series as those two wise women are in those as well
The Richard Osman books, The Thursday Murder Club series, is set in a retirement complex. Sort of centred around Joyce and her 4 friends that she makes after moving into the complex. (Elizabeth, Ron and Ibraham) There’s much more to them than just retirees, I’ve read the first two and I believe the third one has either just come out or is about to and maybe a couple more commissioned? Fun murder mysteries which I believe Steven Spielberg has recently bought the film rights to. Worth a read! 😁
Oh yes, I have heard of that one! It sounds right up my alley.
I enjoyed those. Hope they leave the setting where it is if Spielberg is doing it and utilize all those talented British actors.
Lovely to hear May Sarton mentioned. I too am a collector of her books and have found comfort in her autobiographies that have a vivid sense of place.
Thank you Patricia. I love her a lot.
Love this idea. Older female characters are very overlooked
I agree!
💯 agree
Gina, I LOVE the title of this video.
We’re having 100+ degree weather in California.
I love ‘An Unnecessary Woman that features a great 72-year-old protagonist.
Cranford will be my next Gaskell read! ☺️
Miss Marple, Miss Read and Miss Pilcher - the Gina trio!
Thanks Shelly! I hope that your parents have AC!
I own An Unnecessary Women but have yet to read it. I really want to get to it soon.
Hi Shelly, Thank you for the recommendation of an unnecessary woman. Next month I will be 72 so it’s apt that I read this book. I was also wants a shut in as well. Now I’m just an old teenager. Much love and aloha
I've only have traveled to europe once in my life and one of the things i remember about europeans (and some north americans) is the concerns about weather. Maybe it's a cultural thing because some booktubers from europe always start the video talking about weather. Over here (Brazil) basically nobody cares about weather since every day is almost the same.
A friend of mine (from Australia) told me that to know and to feel the weather is important because in the winter everybody changes their schedules and, in the summer, everybody feels happy and go outside. That's kind of interesting because over here in Brazil, no matter how worst is the weather, no way somebody would stop going outside and have fun because is winter, summer or even the apocalipse from the bible rsrs
I love May Sarton! I have read The House by the Sea and Journal of a Solitude. Your vintage hardback is beautiful! I recommend Anne Truitt's journals, Daybook. Anne Truitt is also an old lady writing about her life as an artist.
Thank you for the video! You and the commenters have made this old lady happy. And a new subscriber.
Awwww thanks so much! I’m so glad you are here😍
Yay for old ladies!! I am enjoying our weather right now too!! Oh! I am reading cranford this month! 😍😍😍
Oh fun! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it.
I like the "Miss Julia" series by Ann B. Ross. Sort of cozy, simple mysteries, solved by Miss Julia with the help of an unlikely young sidekick named Hazel Marie. Set in rural North Carolina. "Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind" is the first in the series. Read one, and they're like potato chips. You just can't stop.
Thanks for the recommendation.
I too have always loved old ladies. Even as a child I had old lady friends besides the old ladies in my family. Now I am definitely one, and I still have old lady friends. I just finished Olive Kitteridge and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead and really enjoyed them both. Both of these old ladies are younger than I am, but still old ladies. One of my favorite fictional old ladies is David Copperfield's Aunt Betsy Trotwood.
What a wonderful comment. Thanks so much.
Drive you plow is an amazing book. It really stuck with me. 🙂
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed and An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good - while the main character is a murderess with a real sense of justice, these books are hilarious. And 100 years of Lenni and Margot. - heartwarming.I loved this book.
The Churchill and Pemberley mysteries by Emily Organ. Two old ladies, a detective office, a detective 🐕🐕🐕. They are so much fun!!
OMG, that sounds so good!
I just bought the first one on my Kindle :) Thanks for the recommendation!
This was a great video, Gina! I love Cranford, Miss Marple and, thanks to you, Miss Read!
🌾🦋🌾Love this video! Indeed, not enough old ladies in books on TH-cam! Sunny summer (very hot...we are getting two days of 40 degrees Celsius and more here in Belgium...not the usual summer...) greetings and have a cozy sunday. Maggie 🦋🌾🦋
Thanks Maggie :)
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Oh yes, Mrs Palfrey is a great one! I definitely need to do a Part 2 for all the great characters I forgot about LOL.
What a great topic! I adore Miss Read so I loved this very much! Hope you have a lovely week!! ❤️🌿☀️💕
Thank you!
I love The Enchanted April. The characters are delightful. My wife enjoyed Mrs. Polifax but I haven't delved into that series yet. Another series my wife liked with an old lady character was the Aunt Dimity series.
Oh yes, that's a good one - I own some Aunt Dimity but have never read any of them!
What a perfect topic for a video, Gina! Woo! I love old ladies, too!! I'm sure it's not a surprise that your favorites are also MY favorites (I adore Miss Read and Mrs. Pollifax, though Miss Marple is definitely my ultimate fav)! 🥰❤📚🌟 I'll have to read Tales of the City - I've never heard of that before 😱Totally agree in including Elfrida Phipps from Winter Solstice...and I would also add Mrs. Montague from The Dean's Watch, Mrs. Harris from Mrs. 'arris Goes to Paris and Miss Clare from the Miss Read Fairacre Series. Loved your list!
Thanks Gina. I haven't heard of the Dean's Watch! I love Mrs Harris (but I HATED the ending to Paris)
Gina what a great video idea! I love love love old ladies as main characters. You've given me so many new books to read. 🥰
Tales of the City is wonderful, I just saw a graphic novel version at the comic bookstore.
Becoming Miss Marple is a life goal.
Hi Lisa! Becoming Miss Marple sounds like a book title! LOL you should write that one.
@@GinaStanyerBooks 🤣 that would be so much fun!
I love this list and the idea! The first old lady character who popped into my head is Dorothea Balfour in Molly Clavering's book Near Neighbours. When she is finally free of her domineering sister, she gets a chance to really live and it's so delightful!
I can't believe I forgot about Dorothea! Near Neighbors has been one of my favorite books of the year this year!
@@GinaStanyerBooks It was such a fun read!!
Margery Benson from Miss Benson’s Beetle. And Britt Marie from Britt Marie was Here. And a spinster but not that old, I absolutely loved Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. And if you can listen to the audio version read by Cathleen McCarron it adds SO much! It just completes it perfectly! I’m not the biggest fan of audiobooks over books, but in this case, I’d recommend it over reading it.
thank you! already ordered tales of the city and adding to my wishlist! I love the Miss Marple character but for some reason I find the poirot mysteries more interesting - and he's not a favorite character LOL!
Miss Marple is my favorite old lady character. I’m reading my very first Miss Read story now.
I hope you love Miss Read!
I love so many of those old ladies!
Wonderful choices!
Tove jansson’s summer book has a grandmother who is amazing.
Gabrielle Roy’s Road past Altamont has 2 wonderful older women!
Louise millers late bloomers club is kind of fun.
Ohhhh those sound like great characters, I'll check the out. Thanks for the recs Deea!
Lovely video, Gina! Anna Madrigal is a wonderful choice for this - I love the Tales of the City books.
Whilst I’ve read a lot of Christie, I don’t think I’ve read any Marple, which is terrible! Mrs Pollifax sounds brilliant- I’ve just bought the first on Kindle.
Thanks Olly, Mrs Pollifax is such a fun character I just love her! I really want to do a re-read of Tales of the City, it's been a lot of years not since I read them.
@@GinaStanyerBooks I started the first Mrs P book last night and I'm loving it so far!
Hi Gina! I love Marilla’s character in Anne of Green Gables. Definitely a firm, but loving spinster. 😊
Oh yes Rosemary! That is a good one!
My sister and I LOVED listening to Mrs Polifax! For a while I wanted to be a spy for the CIA because of her!
Isn’t she wonderful?!
Hi Gina, after watching this video, I bought the first Mrs Pollifax novel. I loved it! Just downloaded the second novel on to my Kindle. Thank you so much for the recommendation 🙂
They are so much fun! I love Mrs Pollifax.
I think the Anne of Green Gables series has some wonderful old ladies too.
I've read a few of Rosamunde Pilcher's short stories and am currently reading September. I think Shell Seekers is the only book of hers I don't own. Thanks to you and Miranda, I sought out her books and they really are a comfort read 😊📖☕
Oh yeah, Marilla is a good one, but I've always had a secret fondness for Rachel Lynde!
@@craigmccausland1183 Loved when they lived together!
A character in SEPTEMBER is first introduced in THE SHELL SEEKERS. Wonderful, wonderful stories. ❤️ Rosamunde Pilcher a favorite author no doubt. 🌹
Love this, Gina. I haven’t read any of these. You might like Richard Osman’s series Thursday Murder Club if you haven’t read it yet. I would also recommend Up and Down and Albatross by Terry Fallis. He writes great older women. 😊💙
Thursday Murder Club is definitely on the list Jolene!
Taking notes! 📝 I also love old ladies in books! A few favorites that come to mind are The Door by Magda Szabo, The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, and Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Have to read the last one because that title rocks!
@@janetmccausland8953 I hope you do!
Ooh. Agree about The Door. Emmerice lives in my head even months after reading that book.
I gotta read Mrs Pollifax SO BAD! Those books sound awesome and right up my alley! I love Miss Marple! You may only have 6 but that's about half of her entire series! My favorite Miss Marple books are A Caribbean Mystery and the Mirror Crack'd!
Kevvie Mrs Pollifax is so much fun! I just love her :)
I had no idea that there were so few Miss Marple books until I actually pulled up the list to pull them out of my collection for this video. I need to own them all!
@@GinaStanyerBooks a fun rare find for you to search for is the 13 Problems. This short story collection was the first appearance of Miss Marple, but it's no longer in print over here, the stories now being interwoven in other collections.
I have 13 Clues for Miss Marple, I wonder if it’s the same thing with a slightly different title???? They seem to do that a lot with Christie.
Love this Gina - thank you. I love older protagonists. I think someone already mentioned but Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg from the Discworld series are probably my favourite old lady characters. I recently really enjoyed Away with the Penguins which features an old lady protagonist too who was brilliant. Looking forward to The Enchanted April when I get to it - probably next April! 😂
Hi Jack!
@@GinaStanyerBooks hi Gina! 😘😘😘
I read The Enchanted April for the first time just this year, and loved it...had me dreaming of wisteria all day
Me too, I want to spend a month in Italy!
Great list. One of my favourites is Ofelia in Remnant Population (sci-fi) by Elizabeth Moon. Her journey of self-discovery begins when she's about 70.
That sounds wonderful!
Author Barbara Taylor Bradford's six book series: The Emma Harte Saga. Beginning with A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE. ❤️. Fabulous stories.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Gina, you forgot Miss Silver, I actually started to read Patricia Wentworth because of your love and enthusiasm for her. Otherwise a great vlog, thank you.
Hi Gina love your name and I’m so glad I found your channel recently! I totally agree with you on the enchanted April and if you ever get a chance to watch the movie it is just like the book so I think he would enjoy that as well and I wanted to let you know I have recently re-read the Shell seekers for the fourth time and as much as I loved it the first three times reading it years ago I think I liked it even better the fourth time around and it’s about the only book in my life I’ve ever read that many times I think. I am going to check out some of your other ones that you’ve just recommended because they sound pretty good too and I’m not real familiar with them. I’m enjoying your videos and keep up the good reading!
Thanks for the nice comment Cathy. I love love love The Enchanted April movie. I actually think I love it even a smidge more that the book.
The enchanted April is one of my faves! As is this channel!
Awwww! Thanks so much!
Great video !!!
Thanks!
I read „Stadtgeschichten“ by Maupin 30 years ago. When you showed it I remembered the landlord at once. I loved her, too!
Great video. I've just read a wonderful book by Dean Street Press called Not At Home by Doris Langley Moore. It's about a middle aged spinster who after the war enters into a house share with another woman. It's brilliant.
I love Dean Street Press! I'll check this one out, thanks for the recommendation.
I really want to read the Maupin books. Have you read Agatha Raisin? She’s only in her 50s at the beginning of the series, but it’s a long series. She’s hilarious.
Oh yes to Agatha Raisin!
Tales of the City is so good. I want to do a reread and see how it’s aged.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this video's title was Mattie Rigsbee, from "Walking Across Egypt" by Clyde Edgerton.
I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to look up how old Betsey Trotwood, from "David Copperfield," is, to see if she counts as an "old lady." In any case, she's one of my favorite Dickens characters.
Loved Walking Across Egypt. I think Aunt Betsy Trotwood is an old lady, and I love her.
I have to confess I've not read David Copperfield! It's on the list :)
ohhhhhh Thank you for this! I am 53 and I struggle to find characters that are my age or older. Everyone seem to be 20 something in modern literature
p.s. i adore May Sarton 🥰
I know, i find it hard to identify with some current literature and characters. Thanks for being here - us ladies of a certain age have to stick together 😃
I have Tales of the City, I bought after watching the newer show on Netflix and I just loved it.
I haven’t heard of most of these, I love old lady characters. My favourite is probably Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead.
I just ordered that book Fraser. I'm creating a TBR of all these recommendations!
Ooh great idea. I'm going to nominate Baby Khoja in Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul. She is resourceful, strong and determined. A funny and profoundly sad book. Then Mary Mathilda in The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke is unforgettable, a gripping story of the complex legacy of slavery set over just one night but centred entirely on one woman's experience and it's terrible consequences. Finally Viva Delca in Wasted Morning by Gabriela Adamesteanu. Captivating personality from page one, an uneducated woman in her seventies, chatty, gossipy and a fascinating storyteller who shows us a panoramic portrait of Romania in the 20 th century. All three are complex, compelling and irresistible..
My favorite old lady characters are SOPHIE from the howls moving Castle and the old Mrs. Pepperpot
I'm not familiar with either of those!
I just heard you mention Pride and Prejudice- I'm finally trying to read those books as I just read a mystery based on the characters - The Murder of Mr. Wickham. it was good - dragged a bit in places and I'm s ure I missed a few references as I hadn't read the character's story but still good overall
Pride and Prejudice is so good. It may take some time to settle into the writing style but once you do it's very easy to read!
@@GinaStanyerBooks I'm coming along in Pride and Prejudice- about a 100 pages left. from the little bit I'd heard about the book I thought Mr. Darcy was a bad character but I'm really finding myself tired of Elizabeth LOL! her snobbery for those she consideres less intelligent thanherself is really something else! nad I have to agree with her father's treatment of her mother and ignoring security and propriety for all their sakes is something else too...
I would recommend T E Kinsey's 'Lady Hardcastle' mystery series. I'm not sure how old Lady Hardcastle is, I don't think her age is ever mentioned but she is over the 40's age group I think. I found a book called 'Major Pettigrew's last stand' by Helen Simonson who befriends Mrs Jasmina Ali and this becomes a pairing in the book. 'The Widows' Adventures' by Charles Dickinson, two widows take to the road across America.
I love Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand for all of the characters and the story. Wouldn’t it make a wonderful movie? But made in UK not Hollywood.
I love Major Pettigrew too!
Do please read the Lady Hardcastle Edwardian mysteries. It is written I think by TE Kinney.
Oh, that is a great recommendation! I've heard of it but never read it.
@@GinaStanyerBooks You are welcome.
The two Sarton fictions that I have read are The Magnificent Spinster and As We Are Now. I love them both. I have her diaries on Kindle but haven’t read any yet.
Which Miss Marple book would you recommend. I do want to read Enchanted April. I have been reading the Haley Powell mysteries by Lee Hollis. I have a couple other series he has started. I did finish the one Nixon book I wanted to, but I have one more to read. I also have a book on Teddy Roosevelt, one on Vietnam, and one on Patton. I am going a little towards presidents and military war. The next book for book club is Tender is the land. I think this will be an interesting and sad read.
I'd start with The Murder at the Vicarage - it's the first one featuring Miss Marple and will give you a good sense of the books. I love that one a lot. I also love A Caribbean Mystery and Nemesis (which are sort of connected to each other by one of the characters).
106° down here in Sacramento today. I’m here for the old ladies.
Hoo boy Erin. We had that terrible heat wave last year, but so far this year it’s been amazing.
@@GinaStanyerBooks I think I would love a PNW summer. I'm happy with our drier and shorter winters though.
I would suggest M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin. She is not always nice. I love multi faceted characters. She pulled herself by her bootstraps, ran a PR firm of her own, retired to the suburbs, was bore so started a detective agency. She is delightfully contrasted by the vicar’s wife and only woman friend. The new TV series has modified her character out of recognition. The book character has bite and takes names.
Hi Sheryl, I love MC Beaton (and Agatha Raisin)!
I agree about the tv series. I watched a few episodes but then lost interest - it really didn’t capture the fun of the books.
One of my favourite old lady characters is Hagar Shipley from The Stone Angel... I first read it as a CanLit pick in my grade 11 English class and I'm looking forward to visiting the title over again throughout my life!
Oooo, I'm not familiar with that book or author. Thanks for the recommendation!
I liked the one in the tusday murder club
Great video Gina. Between you and Jack I guess I need to check out Cranford for victober this year. Will check out The Shellseekers and Miss Marple too. I 5 stared Jane am Prudence. Barbara Pymn is a great balance between Jane Austen and Miss Reed.
Hi Amy! I agree, Barbara Pym has a bit of a bite to her books that I really enjoy.
Among my absolute favorite books of all time are the Mapp and Lucia series by E F Benson. I reread these every few years.
I've read the first one and loved it! Need to get to the rest of the series.
I love this! I've not read about any of these old ladies. I have yet to read any Elizabeth Gaskell but really want to! Cranford sounds great! The Enchanted April also sounds like something I'd be interested in. I also haven't read any Mrs Marple mysteries yet..
The Enchanted April is also a really lovely movie - one of my favorite adaptations (I think I may even love the book more than the movie!)
Oh, come on! Miss Havisham from Great Expectations! Possibly one of the best overall characters of any age in literature!
Ooooo, that’s a good one!!
Oh, and Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which from a Wrinkle in Time, although I'm not sure they qualify.
Just finished reading "Still Life" and thought Evelyn was a great old lady character.
Oh, that’s a good recommendation!
Yes! A beautiful book all around.
Love Mrs. Pollifax and Miss Marple cause mysteries are my favorites! The others look interesting. Have you tried any Anne George mysteries? They are funny with old ladies who are sisters set in Northern Alabama. "Murder On Girl's Night Out" is the first in the series. Also Corinne Holt Sawyer has a series about widows set in southern California that are fun. "The J Alfred Prufrock Murders" is the first in that series.
I enjoyed the Anne George mysteries with my Mom who was and old lady.
On the memoir front, Diana Athill wrote a number of good books in her 80s and onward. And Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book is good and focusses on a grandmother and her grandchild. Margaret Laurence’s Stone Angel features a cantankerous and sadly deluded woman.