Miss Julia is not known for holding her tongue. In fact, far from it. If she has an opinion, you will know what it is, and when Hazel Marie announces that she is leaving Miss Julia’s house to go live in sin with J.D. Pickens, that venerable widow has plenty to say indeed. It’s bad enough that Mr. Pickens is hesitant to get married, but even worse that Hazel Marie thinks that’s okay! And what of Little Lloyd – isn’t that poor child ever going to have a properly legal father?
But then Miss Julia gets some marvelous news. Her boarder, Deputy Bates, has proposed to attorney Binkie Enloe, and they are planning to run down to the courthouse next week and tie the knot. A wedding would certainly go a long ways toward comforting Miss Julia’s hurt feelings, but she can’t in all good conscience just let them run down to the courthouse. That’s just not how it’s done. There’s an etiquette to these things, you know, and Miss Julia is just the one to do it up right. With the help of Lillian, her intrepid housekeeper, she decides that she is going to throw a nice wedding for the deputy in her own home.
She is willing to let a few of the niceties slide. “We’re not inviting Amy Vanderbilt,” she says sagely. But there will be tablecloths and there will be the proper number of chairs and tea sandwiches. Oh, has anyone seen the preacher? And the bride is feeling queasy. None of this will stop Miss Julia. She has a wedding to carry out and by jove, that’s what she’s going to do!
Again, with the caution that there is some mild language, you are invited to a hysterical story of chaos and one woman’s determination to maintain her dignity at all costs. Some things just aren’t done, you know.
(This book was published by Penguin Putnam in 2002.)
Previously reviewed books in the Miss Julia Series: