The unmarried Anne Todd, a wonderful secretary as well as a devoted bedside nurse to her decrepit mother, is an archetypal Thirkell heroine: plucky, determined, resourceful, but acutely aware that being safely married would be a better alternative. The current resurgence of interest of Thirkell, several of whose 40-odd novels of life in imaginary "Barsetshire" before World War II are being reissued, has awakened a nostalgia for the sharp glittering surfaces of her work. High Rising is Thirkell at her warm, easygoing best.