There is something very cozy and interesting about reading the books written during a countries peaceful time and the decade
or so after World War Two seems to have been just such a one, in England, Lewisham anyway . The Cold War was looming and the threat of nuclear war and
atomic bombs was imminent and the empire was changing into The Commonwealth, but the novels of the time had so much wisdom, a lot of it laying forgotten in old bookcases. Neil Bell was a popular author from the thirties to the sixties and Mrs Rawleigh and Mrs Paradock was published in 1958 about a pretty young wife whose husband has disappeared and her wise working class house keeper who helps her make a living for both of them. About the different types of human nature they meet as they try a variety of different businesses and the notes of humour and common sense the story builds along the way on the journey to enlightenment. The sort of book you can still find at boot fairs or out of the way
charity shops.