Book Review: My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich

My Mrs. Brown.  William Norwich.  Simon Schuster (2016). 288 pages. Genre: Fiction.

First Line:  "Early one September not long ago, a rural woman with a secret grief traveled to New York City in pursuit of a dream, to buy the most beautiful and correct dress she'd ever seen."

Summary:  Mrs. Brown has spent her life in the small town of Ashville, Rhode Island.  She has lived a quiet life, working hard, loving others and enjoying the simple things in life. She works at the local beauty parlor doing odd jobs and running errands.  Mrs. Brown has been a widow for several years, but enjoys the company of her best friend and next door neighbor, Mrs. Fox.  

When Mrs. Fox is called out of town to help her daughter, her granddaughter, Alice, comes to live in her home.  Alice is twenty-three and feels worlds away from Mrs. Brown.  However, she promised her grandmother that she would look in on Mrs. Brown daily.  The two develop a habit of sitting at Mrs. Brown's kitchen table, drinking tea and discussing their days.  Alice finds that she looks forward to this.  

Mrs. Brown has been asked by the owner of the local thrift shop to help inventory the donations from Millicent Groton's house.  For generations the Groton family had lived in a beautiful mansion on the outskirts of Ashville.   Mrs. Groton recently passed away and many of the belongings will be auctioned off by a posh international auction house.  Whatever is not deemed worthy of the auction house will be donated to the local thrift shop.  Mrs. Brown is so excited she can hardly sleep.  

The day finally arrives.  She is awed by the interior of this home that she has only ever seen from the outside.  While helping in the bedroom, she notices a dress in Mrs. Groton's closet.  

"This was a sleeveless black dress and a single-button jacket made of the finest quality wool crepe.  Its correctness was its allure.  Suggesting endless possibilities and the certainty of positive outcomes if one wore this dress.  The richness of the affect of this suit, its elegance and poise, was the work of a master."

Mrs. Brown is immediately drawn to the dress.  Never in her life has she had a dress that was so regal, so "grown-up".  She remembers Mrs. Groton wearing it on several occasions.  They were always important occasions such as lunch with the Queen or with the President and First Lady at the White House or when she gave a speech.  She always looked graceful, elegant and strong. Mrs. Brown determined that she needed a dress like this.  But how will she ever afford it?  

My thoughts:  I absolutely loved Mrs. Brown.  I filled several pages in my commonplace book with quotes about her.  She was the kind of person who lived quietly, did her duty and was content.  Some people looked down at her and made fun of her, usually behind her back, but she often overheard or just picked up their attitude.  Her feelings were hurt by this, but she never complained and continued to treat those people with kindness.  Other people's lives were made better by knowing her.  If anyone told her this she was surprised to learn it and often felt that it was the others who made her life better.

So, it maybe seemed out of character for her to desire such an expensive dress.  But, learning what it was that this dress signified to her and why was part of the mystery of the story.  It was wonderful to meet the people that came into her life and helped her on her journey to the dress.  It was wonderful to see what they added to her life and she to theirs.  It was just a really good story.  There are not many books that I finish and immediately want to start over at the beginning, but this was one of those.  

Other reviews said it reminded them of Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico.  I have not read that, but Mrs. Brown reads the book in the course of this story.  

One minor thing to note, there is some language in the story, but it is very minor.  It is always used by certain people and fits the character.

Quotes:

"Mrs. Brown was genteel.  That's not a word used much anymore, except maybe when people talk about some of the characters on PBS shows.  As it relates to Mrs. Brown, is signifies a graceful way, someone free from vulgarity and rudeness.  Aristocratic in a manner having nothing to do with money, fame, and celebrity."

"Mrs. Brown, has a noble spirit - the honorable loneliness of the American grown-up.  A life sustained by quietude and the energies of tolerance, kindness, courtesy, and acceptance.  In a blustery world, it's courageous to move quietly, claiming few, if any, treasures except one's solitary dignity."

"Mrs. Brown wasn't going to mention Delphine Staunton's nastiness.  She never thought it wise for anyone to look too long at the negative things in her life.  Where you look, there you go."

"Leaving some things unsaid is an underestimated virtue."

"It's a great fault of the current fashion system that rather than innovating on the functionality of what we wear, the industry mostly only addresses the fear of not looking young, trendy, or rich."

"Mrs. Brown remembered what her mother always told her.  If you are offered a glass of water in someone's home, always accept it, whether you are thirsty or not.  This shows that you visit with pleasure, not resistance."