Cluny Brown, by Margery Sharp

I got this Pocketbook paperback in a box lot of stuff on eBay a while back. The main draw to that auction was Spencer's Mountain by Earl Hamner (the Waltons was based on this book and other stories from Hamner's life).

Anyway, Cluny Brown, published in 1944, is what my friend Amy calls a "cozy". I started reading it out of boredom this week and have found it to be light and entertaining. It's not great literature by any stretch, but it's pleasant and amusing.

It takes place in England, just prior to WWII. The main character, Cluny, is an orphan who's been raised by her uncle. In her late teens, she doesn't really "fit" anywhere because she's very outspoken and "doesn't know her place". Her relatives send her to be "in service", in hopes of improving her and teaching her a vocation. So, it is at her first position as a housekeeper at an estate that she finds herself. The story's about her relationships with the people of the household, as well as the guests who come and go.

It's just a light-hearted, non-demanding book, with no deep issues or worries. Fluff. But not so bad as fluff goes. :)

Have any of you read it? If you're interested, there are oodles of them available at Half.com and on eBay for anywhere from 75-cents on up.