Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Winifred Watson

Apr 2024 · Macmillan Collector's Library · Narrated by Frances McDormand

About this audiobook

Set in 1930s London, Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day recounts twenty-four hours in the life of a governess who turns up for a very unexpected first day at work. Watson’s comedic, light-hearted novel is read by Academy Award-winning actress Frances McDormand, who plays Miss Pettigrew in the 2008 film production.

Middle-aged governess Guinevere Pettigrew visits her employment agency one morning and is mistakenly sent to the glitzy home of a nightclub singer. Miss Pettigrew meets the glamorous Miss Delysia LaFosse and embarks on a whirlwind adventure. These two very different women soon become friends, and Miss Pettigrew proves to be the perfect companion. Instead of having to look after unruly children, Miss Pettigrew spends her evening at a party. But what will happen when the day finally ends?

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is part of the Persephone Audiobook Collection, a series of forgotten classics including neglected fiction and non-fiction by women writers. First published in 1938, this edition includes a preface by author and retired academic Henrietta Twycross-Martin.

About the author

Winifred Watson was born in 1907 and brought up in Newcastle. Her first novel, Fell Top, appeared in 1935. Her publisher Methuen were initially hesitant about Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day but, at Winifred's insistence, the novel was released in 1938 to instant acclaim. Watson published two more novels, but stopped writing not long after the birth of her son in 1941. She lived in Newcastle for the rest of her life and died there in 2002.