Mrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant's wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life - a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she's never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she's never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris. When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way. This treasure from the 1950s introduces the irrepressible Mrs Harris, part charlady, part fairy-godmother, whose adventures take her from her humble London roots to the heights of glamour.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris & Mrs Harris Goes to New York
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well. I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie 'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary Supplement 'Wherever she goes Mrs. Harris seems to sprinkle fairy dust over those she meets. YET she's very realistically drawn and the book is fraught with painful setbacks ... In the end Mrs. Harris' yearning for the dress is secondary. The friendships that are made because of her quest are what change her life forever. This book was a delight from start to finish' Worthwhilebooks.blogspot 'A heartwarming, engaging novelette' Bookmark
About the Author
Paul Gallico was born in New York City, of Italian and Austrian parentage, in 1897, and attended Columbia University. From 1922 to 1936 he worked on the New York Daily News as sports editor, columnist, and assistant managing editor. In 1936 he bought a house on top of a hill at Salcombe in South Devon and settled down with a Great Dane and twenty-three assorted cats. It was in 1941 that he made his name with The Snow Goose, a classic story of Dunkirk which became a world-wide best-seller. Having served as a gunner's mate in the U.S. Navy in 1918, he was again active as a war correspondent with the American Expeditionary Force in 1944. Paul Gallico, who later lived in Monaco, was a first-class fencer and a keen sea-fisherman. He wrote over forty books, four of which were the adventures of Mrs Harris: Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (1958), Mrs Harris Goes to New York (1959), Mrs. Harris, M.P. (1965) and Mrs Harris Goes to Moscow (1974). One of the most prolific and professional of American authors, Paul Gallico died in July 1976. He was married four times and had several children.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This edition combines two books, Mrs Harris Goes To Paris and Mrs Harris Goes To New York. Both are set in the late 1950's. In the first book, Mrs Harris, a London charlady in her early 60's, dreams of owning a Christian Dior dress. She scrimps and saves to be able to realise her dream and the book follows the ups and downs of her personal journey. The story is light, charming and uplifting in nature. Not only is the main goal interesting but equally the effect that the indomitable Mrs Harris has on those she meets, of whatever class or station in life. In the second book, set a few years later, Mrs Harris is invited to accompany one of her employers, an American woman, to New York while she and her husband (who has had a massive promotion) re-establish themselves in society. Mrs Harris uses the opportunity to smuggle the child who lives next door to her, abandoned by his English mother and US GI father and who is being abused by his foster family, into the US to try to find his father and re-unite him. Of course, such an act of blind faith and naivity has some unexpected consequences which make the book very entertaining. Paul Gallico was a prolific American author who lived for some years in the UK. As such he has a very good feel for both cultures and the class distinctions of the time. In Mrs Harris he has created a powerful character who demonstrates all that was seen as good and to be admired in the British working class, namely, the capacity for hard work, grit and determination, a fine sense of what is right, and an independence of spirit and charm that breaks down all class barriers.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By hiljean
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This is actually two books in one: Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, and Mrs Harris Goes to New York. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris was originally published as Flowers for Mrs Harris, so be careful not to buy the same story under another title!
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is an enjoyable light read, perfect for dull grey winter days. A London char, Mrs Harris has a knack of endearing herself to everyone she meets from the lowliest person to the highest in the land. Admittedly this is a little whimsical but if you can suspend your disbelief the story jogs along quite nicely and has a good, and quite moral, twist at the end.
Mrs Harris Goes to New York is somewhat less successful in my view. Apart from Gallico's inability to reproduce genuine cockney speech, which irritates after a while, plausibility really is stretched to the limit in this tale in which she tries to reunite a GI child with his father.
This new Bloomsbury edition of the two-books-in-one is littered with mistakes and has been poorly proof-read. A shame as the cover design is rather good.
If you are new to Gallico, I would recommend you start with his wonderful animal stories such as "Jennie" and "Thomasina".
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is an enjoyable light read, perfect for dull grey winter days. A London char, Mrs Harris has a knack of endearing herself to everyone she meets from the lowliest person to the highest in the land. Admittedly this is a little whimsical but if you can suspend your disbelief the story jogs along quite nicely and has a good, and quite moral, twist at the end.
Mrs Harris Goes to New York is somewhat less successful in my view. Apart from Gallico's inability to reproduce genuine cockney speech, which irritates after a while, plausibility really is stretched to the limit in this tale in which she tries to reunite a GI child with his father.
This new Bloomsbury edition of the two-books-in-one is littered with mistakes and has been poorly proof-read. A shame as the cover design is rather good.
If you are new to Gallico, I would recommend you start with his wonderful animal stories such as "Jennie" and "Thomasina".
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By bookworm
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Mrs Harris books are the ultimate feel-good stories. Paul Gallico pays homage to that British institution - the Char lady - and here we have a good, down to earth character who seems to possess a magic that works it's way through those that she meets on her journeys. Sensible, no-nonsense - these books could easily have bordered on the syrupy but Mr Gallico keeps Ada Harris's feet firmly on the ground. The stories are to be read and re-read when the days outside are gloomy.
They are written in the 50s and that must be taken into consideration when reading them and although some dialogue may look dated, Mr Gallico expresses himself eloquently and the writing is a delight.
They are written in the 50s and that must be taken into consideration when reading them and although some dialogue may look dated, Mr Gallico expresses himself eloquently and the writing is a delight.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mrs Harris goes to Paris
A well written story that is true to life, that is a seemingly light read; but actually quite motivational.
I highly recommend it.
I highly recommend it.
Published 21 days ago by Madu
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lovely read
This isn't a great literary masterpiece, but is written well and showing an enormous understanding of humanity with all its goods and bads. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Mrs. J. Bloomer
5.0 out of 5 stars
A simple but good read
A lovely, well written story which although "light" reading is observant, thought provoking and although now nostalgic of previous generation is still relevent today. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ellena Fox
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Gallico Spell
A really good read. So enjoyable, amusing....I have now read all the Mrs Harris books, & wished there were more.
Published 1 month ago by Jay
4.0 out of 5 stars
Teenager
An interesting read. The character sketches were so good and a London charlady comes to life.
Paul Gallico is a brilliant writer.
Paul Gallico is a brilliant writer.
Published 4 months ago by everanne
4.0 out of 5 stars
England as imagined by Americans
This book was recommended to me by an American friend from the deep south. It's how Americans imagined England to be in the 1930s - 1950s. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gloria Cooper
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read!
These two novels are priceless! I absolutely loved Mrs Harris the London char with buckets of charm. I highly recommend both books. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. Vivienne Ann Fenton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heartwarming read
Mrs Harris is very down to earth cleaning lady who gives the impression of the cockney Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2011 by Vivienne Serendipity
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light reading
Written in a different age. 1930's, with different expectations but with basic good honest values underlying . Oh that some things could remain the same. Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2010 by Mary Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars
Paul Gallico
I am a uk guy , 62 yrs old and watched tv during its formative years of the 50's and 60's. During this period there was a series called the Adventures of Hiram Holliday, based on... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2010 by Dramatic121
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
