A Celebration of Friendship
I sought out this book after getting acquainted with one of its co-authors, Margaret Masson, who was then teaching literature at the University of Durham in the UK. She was (and still is, I assume) a dynamic lecturer, and the book she wrote with her friend Ivy George is wonderfully compelling.
As I made my way through the book for the first time (and I've read it several times since), I thought, "I want to buy a copy for every one of my single female friends." Further into the book, I thought, "I want to buy it for *all* my female friends, whether they're single or not!" (I've gone on to recommend it to several male friends and colleagues who report having enjoyed it, too.)
AN UNCOMMON CORRESPONDENCE explores Margaret Masson's and Ivy George's searches for companions in marriage, demonstrating all the while that they are learned, complex women not merely on "the marriage market." Because Margaret is a Scotswoman who grew up in Africa and Ivy is a native of India, they are particularly well equipped to discuss and critique courtship practices from different cultures. Moreover, both are committed Christians who believe that their religious faith must inform all their choices. By the time the book ends, though, their friendship has taken center stage, and readers sense that whatever turns their romantic lives will take, their friendship will enrich both their journeys for years to come.