THE WIT & WISDOM OF HILDA FFINCH.

 My sincere apologies that seriously ill in hospital I was unable to participate in the Blog Tour. Still, better late than never, here are my thoughts on THE WIT & WISDOM OF HILDA FFINCH by JULIET WARRINGTON, my review of which contains some mild adult human.

One of several bloggers to be participating in the Blog Tour of Juliet Warringon's The Wit & Wisdom Of Hilda Ffinch, for the full list please see the Tour Schedule below.

England, 1940. With Adolf Hitler and his henchmen goose-stepping about the place and ranting for the Fatherland on the far side of the English Channel, the villagers of Little Hope in deepest, darkest Yorkshire, are doing their very best to Keep Calm and Carry On. It isn’t always easy though, even with the best of intentions.  There are evacuees to deal with as well as nightly air raid warnings and suspected fifth columnists. Worse still, there’s a dire shortage of spotted dick and knicker elastic.

But help is at hand! Enter Mrs Hilda Ffinch, horrendously rich and terribly bored lady of the manor who takes it upon herself to step into the role of Agony Aunt at the local newspaper.  

Unshockable, unshakable and completely devoid of any hint of tact whatsoever, Hilda soon has the villagers flocking to her banner as she dishes out her own unique brand of gin-fuelled advice.

What could possibly go wrong? ... Summary

"What do you mean you're 'a little short on communion wine again?" asked the Bishop, peering over the top of his spectacles at the Reverand Aubrey Fishwick, who appeared to be listing to port a little, "How big is your congregation?" ... First Sentence, 1: Welcome To Little Hope

 

"Whatever is that hullabaloo?" asked Hilda, looking up from her correspondence pile and simultaneously reaching for her gin.

"It does rather look as though your husband has got his cock out again," replied Mrs Fox, sipping her own gin thoughtfully before popping on her pince-nez to get a better look. "I don't know that I've ever seen such a big one, its attracting quite a crowd ..." ... Memorable Moment, V. How To Handle Cocks (and other barnyard animals

MY THOUGHTS ... Written in the form of various correspondences between any number of the imaginatively named residents of Little Hope who are seeking advice from 'the bird with all the answers', Hilda Ffinch, not a format I generally like but here it worked incredibly well: the advice both asked for and given, well ...

Let's just say that I found myself not so much laughing out loud as snorting in laughter at some of the humour which, be warned, can be full of innuendo and word play of a sexual nature.

Set in deepest, darkest Yorkshire in WW2, Hilda is, emm, probably less grand than she'd have folks think; (not quite 'all fur coat and nee knickers' as my nana was wont to say but not far off). A no nonsense 'agony aunt' who isn't afraid to call a spade a spade (another one of my late nana's sayings). Her sage advice to everyone from Mrs N Batt who is seeking advice on how to 'prevent the local dogs (and the occasional male human) from trying to lick the gravy browning off her legs' (Pg 111) to 'Charles' who has a dirty bayonet 'that no matter how matter how much he rubs the blessed thing just won't shine despite the fact that even his good old wife has had a bash at it too, spitting on it and then getting a bit of muslin and rubbing vigorously' (Pg 195) is bawdy for sure but also reflects just some of the problems that would have been faced by villagers living at that time.

SUMMED UP IN A SENTENCE ... If your a fan of double entendres and humour of the typical British sea-side kind, chances are you are going to find this The Wit & Wisdom Of Hilda Ffinch uproariously funny. 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK ... 

Title: The Wit and Wisdom of Hilda Ffinch

Author: Juliet Warrington

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: 22nd September 2020

Page Count: 342

Publisher: Clink Street Publishing

Links: GoodReads ~ Amazon

AUTHOR INFORMATION ... Juliet Warrington was born on a small (and now totally defunct) RAF station in the Libyan part of the Sahara Desert, some 30 odd miles from the Egyptian border. Constantly on the move as a child due to her dad’s job, she grew up in Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Cyprus and London. Long-term friendships were hard to form without internet and mobile phones and so books became her constant companions. She lived in Limassol with Lorna Doon, Aylesbury with Tom Sawyer and hid The Scarlet Pimpernel in the garden shed in Uxbridge on more than one occasion. She currently resides just outside Wrexham, in North Wales. 

FIND JULIET WARRINGTON ...

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram

TOUR SCHEDULE ... 

~ Monday 21st September: Jazzy Book Reviews ~ Tuesday 22nd September: Alex’s Books ~ Wednesday 23rd September: Varietats ~ Thursday 24th September: Donna’s Book Blog ~ Friday 25th September: Rambling Mads ~ Saturday 26th September: The Pewter Wolf ~ Monday 28th September: Big Book Little Book ~ Tuesday 29th September: Bookish Blue ~ Wednesday 30th September: Dash Fan Book Reviews ~ Thursday 1st October: Pen and Paper ~ Friday 2nd October: Books Fountain ~