Mrs. Bridge

I picked up this book on a whim from Deansgrange library, intrigued by the enigmatic cover. The story is quite simple – it follows the life of Mrs. Bridge, the matriarch of an upper-middle class family. Throughout the book we get a window into family life, including the changes and difficulties that it presents. I found this to be a particularly powerful book, showing the joys and miseries that can come with married life, and particularly the impact that this had on women in the early 20th century. It reads almost as a tragedy, to see an intelligent and freethinking woman, silenced by the double burden and an intolerant society. This book also gave an interesting perspective on the second world war, as viewed by the people who weren’t directly impacted, but rather looked on from the sidelines.