Wendy Jones was the first person to complete an MA in Life Writing at University of East Anglia and is currently completing a PhD in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, where she teaches. She is the author of the biography Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl and hosts Interesting Conversations, a literary program aired on Resonance FM. She lives in London.
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Wendy Jones
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With August just beginning, we have plenty of summer ahead of us to settle into a comfortable deck chair and read a good book before heading back indoors this autumn. Grab a chair and join me for a list of my good reads. Perhaps you’ll find a book here that sparks your interest.— Aug 1 2015![]()
Wendy Jones’ novel “The World Is a Wedding” picks up where her earlier novel, “The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals,” left off. Price is the undertaker in the Welsh town of Narberth. He is an extrovert, and his good looks,...— Jul 4 2015![]()
At the close of The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals, all seems well in tiny Narberth, Wales. Wendy Jones's debut concluded with a hard-won resolution, but in The World Is a Wedding, the author returns to Narberth to find that the state...— Jun 12 2015![]()
Thoughts and Happenings is a helluva lot of fun. An undertaker who is juggling two young women. A very innocent undertaker. Wilfred, that poor sap, has managed to get himself caught up in a mesh of small town morality and womanly wiles, but when he realizes that the mesh...— Jun 2 2015![]()
Thoughts and Happenings is a hell of a lot more fun than one might expect. An undertaker who is juggling two young women? Wilfred, that poor dummy, has gotten caught up in the mesh of small town morality and womanly wiles, but when he realizes that he's been caught in an invisible...— May 15 2015![]()
Jones expertly conjures the speech patterns, mores and physical details of a bygone world in this remarkable novel set in Wales.— Dec 24 2014![]()
Downton Abbey’s 5th season premieres in the U.S. ages from now, on January 5th, though it’s been airing in Britain since September. This isn’t (perhaps) Revolutionary War material, but it is certainly aggravating! If you need something to tide you over, check out The...— Oct 14 2014![]()
The title of this debut novel by Wendy Jones, The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals, suggests a fun, light, old-fashioned read, which it partly is. But it also deals with serious, timeless subjects, though the resolution reflects the time...— Sep 1 2014![]()
––In the days leading up to my husband Owen's death, he visited Alison's house every afternoon. "Life Drawing," a novel by Robin Black ––In the summer of 2005, I was having coffee at Burger King with Harper Lee. "The Mockingbird Next Door: Life...— Jul 20 2014![]()
"The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals," Wendy Jones' playfully poignant debut, blossoms out of an irresistible premise. The titular Wilfred Price, 27 years old and still a virgin, momentarily loses his head in the presence of the provincial...— Jul 2 2014![]()
“It was because of a yellow dress. She was wearing a yellow dress and her arms were bare. It was slightly tart, the colour of lemon curd. He couldn’t remember seeing a dress in that shade before. It was pleated silk and sleeveless, with a low waistband and a square neck...— Jun 26 2014![]()
“He wasn’t able to meet her eyes – he’d been gazing at her waistband when he’d inadvertently proposed [marriage] in a shame-faced way. It wasn’t that he had intended to get down on one knee – he hadn’t intended anything at all. What he had meant, if only...— Jun 19 2014![]()
“‘He looked at her fingers which were already purple and bloated, and wondered if Howard Carter had had this problem with Tutankhamun. ‘There was a tomb that Tutankhamun had!’ he remarked to Mrs. Howell-Thomas. ‘Absolutely magnificent!’ “what are you talking...— May 26 2014![]()
Many books don’t receive the media attention or readership they deserve; we could’ve made this list of the year’s most unfairly neglected books at least twice as long. When a book becomes a hit, everyone wants to read it. That’s great news if you’re one of those lucky...— May 6 2014![]()
The best word to describe Jones’s novel is “quaint”: It’s a love story set after World War I, in a small town in Wales, and even its peculiar title recalls a gentler era. In the spring of 1924, Wilfred Price, a shy undertaker in his late 20s who still lives with his widowed...— May 2 2014![]()
This skillfully drawn comedy of manners, set in a Welsh village in 1924, has a whimsical start. Wilfred, a local undertaker, confusedly proposes to the daughter of the town doctor in a moment of awkwardness. By the time he realizes his mistake and tries to retract, Grace has...— Apr 28 2014![]()
Book 9 Review & Interview: The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals, Wendy Jones My 9th Book this year was the lovely novel 'The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals'...— Apr 14 2014![]()
The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones (Europa Editions) Are you a fan of Downton Abbey? The same company that produced the BBC blockbuster has already optioned Jones' comedy of manners, set in 1924 in a small Welsh...— Mar 28 2014![]()
Editor’s Pick: The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones Wilfred Price has established himself as a respectable, reliable member of his small and tightly woven rural community of Narberth, Wales. He performs his duties impeccably...— Mar 24 2014![]()
THE THOUGHTS AND HAPPENINGS OF WILFRED PRICE, PURVEYOR OF SUPERIOR FUNERALS By Wendy Jones Europa Editions, 272 pp., paperback, $17 In 1924 in Narberth, Wales, population 300, undertaker Wilfred Price is something of a catch: young, handsome, and devoted to his...— Mar 18 2014
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