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GUEST POST- Mrs P’s Journey by Matthew Ruddle (A Book Review)

Book Review: Mrs P’s Journey

by Matthew Ruddle

Mrs P’s Journey by Sarah Hartley

Phyllis got lost in London. We’ve all been there. Lost in a big city, trying to find that little, hidden gem a friend told us about, going around in circles, walking down the wrong side street, and ending up in a dead-end. We retrace our steps, double-check the street names, and somehow, accidentally, find our destination. Finding your way around an American city, for example, isn’t too bad, due to the way the streets are set out in a systematic grid system, but in older European cities, like London, the streets are unpredictable and haphazard, with complete disregard for logic or common sense.

These days, help is readily at hand; we can check our phones, use sat nav, or click on a website and find the way to our destination in a matter of seconds. However, Phyllis Pearson didn’t have the technologies of today when she got lost in London in the 1930s. There wasn’t even a street map available to help her.

Phyllis, who? I hear you ask. Well, she had an unremarkable name, but lived an extraordinary life, and founded one of the UK’s most famous and recognizable brands.more Phyllis Pearson, the Mrs. P of the book’s title, created the world’s bestselling map of London, the A-Z. She literally walked all of London’s 23,000 streets, by herself, during the course of one year, to make a new map of London, to help people find their way around the city. Her company, Geographers’ Map Company, was founded in 1936 and is still going strong today: http://www.az.co.uk

However, this book isn’t really about the A-Z publishing phenomenon. Sarah Hartley captivates the reader with Phyllis’ life story, from the moment her father first met her mother, through childhood and boarding school, her many adventures abroad, and her chaotic family life. The very fact that Phyllis survived being raised by her two extremely mismatched parents would be an achievement enough; indeed, the story of her parents’ explosive marriage would have made a remarkably entertaining and engaging story all by itself, without Phyllis ever being mentioned. The author herself says that, at times, Phyllis’s life story seems too unbelievable to be true. It reads like an engaging novel rather than a straight forward biography, with so many sudden changes in circumstance. As a child, Phyllis receives a baby elephant as a birthday present, which indicates how wealthy her parents had become, but later she finds herself homeless in Paris, sleeping rough on the streets and rummaging for stale bread to eat, dipping it in fountains to make it more edible.

The author blurs lines between fact and fiction, choosing to write imagined conversations and created scenes, alongside quotations from Phyllis herself, and text taken from letters and telegrams between Phyllis and her family. Some readers might become frustrated at Hartley’s storytelling style, but I enjoyed the ways in which the story is so vividly bought to life. The author expertly guides the reader through the colorful twists and turns, creating a rich and entertaining map of Phyllis’ extraordinary life.

Mrs P’s Journey is one worth taking.

Written by Matthew Ruddle, author of the following blogs:

Libraries and Education

Departures travel blog

View Comments

libraryguy says: May 24, 2015 at 12:33 AM Reblogged this on Libraries Connect Communities and commented: A little off topic, but a book review I wrote has been published by a fellow blogger, check it out...
libraryguy says: May 24, 2015 at 12:44 AM The blog links above are out of date. They should be as follows: https://librariesconnectcommunities.wordpress.com/ https://pastdepartures.wordpress.com/ Thanks!
Akylina says: May 24, 2015 at 1:23 AM It sounds like such a peculiar but undeniably interesting book! :) I never thought a London map could have such an intriguing life story hidden behind its creation.
pamkirst2014 says: May 24, 2015 at 6:42 AM Sounds fascinating! I will watch for this book.
Joseph Nebus says: May 25, 2015 at 5:41 AM Sounds like a remarkable person. I admit I'm suspicious by nature of books that seem to blend fact and fiction. But I'm also cranky about nonfiction that assumes thoughts in the participants without a clear attribution.
beverley says: May 26, 2015 at 11:08 PM This sounds like an interesting book to look out for and read - of course.
ireadnovels says: June 14, 2015 at 1:39 PM Getting lost is a nightmare. I remember 19 years ago before sat nav being in Paris and us not being able to find our hotel. My youngest daughter was crying 'oh no we wont have any where to sleep if we can't find our hotel'.

Reblogged this on Libraries Connect Communities and commented:
A little off topic, but a book review I wrote has been published by a fellow blogger, check it out...

The blog links above are out of date. They should be as follows:

https://librariesconnectcommunities.wordpress.com/

https://pastdepartures.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Aman(@amanhimself) says: May 24, 2015 at 12:47 AM I'll update the link.

I'll update the link.

libraryguy says: May 24, 2015 at 12:49 AM Cheers! Thanks for sharing my writing here, I really appreciate it.

Cheers! Thanks for sharing my writing here, I really appreciate it.

Aman(@amanhimself) says: May 24, 2015 at 12:50 AM You're most welcome :)

You're most welcome :)

It sounds like such a peculiar but undeniably interesting book! :) I never thought a London map could have such an intriguing life story hidden behind its creation.

libraryguy says: May 24, 2015 at 4:20 PM It does sound like a weird book, and a strange premise, but trust me, it's a great read!

It does sound like a weird book, and a strange premise, but trust me, it's a great read!

Sounds fascinating! I will watch for this book.

libraryguy says: May 24, 2015 at 4:22 PM My wife gave me a used copy as a gift, I would never have chosen it, but it's a great read!

My wife gave me a used copy as a gift, I would never have chosen it, but it's a great read!

Sounds like a remarkable person. I admit I'm suspicious by nature of books that seem to blend fact and fiction. But I'm also cranky about nonfiction that assumes thoughts in the participants without a clear attribution.

libraryguy says: May 25, 2015 at 3:49 PM Yeah, it is an interesting blend of genres, and as I said in my review, many people might find it annoying the way the writer writes, making this story read almost like a novel. I didn't mind it, however.

Yeah, it is an interesting blend of genres, and as I said in my review, many people might find it annoying the way the writer writes, making this story read almost like a novel. I didn't mind it, however.

This sounds like an interesting book to look out for and read - of course.

Getting lost is a nightmare. I remember 19 years ago before sat nav being in Paris and us not being able to find our hotel. My youngest daughter was crying 'oh no we wont have any where to sleep if we can't find our hotel'.

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