And I turned to Mrs Harris MP (1965) by Paul Gallico when I was tired from the long journey and sitting on a bench waiting for a lift (that eventually didn’t come… but that’s another story). I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary SupplementMrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth charlady, content with her lot, cleaning the homes of the rich. In Mrs Harris MP it appears in the machinations of her supposed political ally… and appears perhaps more subtly in the after-effects of Mrs. She's yet a woman with determination and spunk, a big heart, and a sometimes brash way of speaking her mind.

In Mrs Harris MP, the honest as-ever old char impresses her employer with her no-nonsense political views to such an extent that he—an MP, no less—encourages her to become a voice for the people of Battersea and stand for election herself. And Mrs Harris is so full of vim and character that the bland, careful politicians don’t stand a chance. Sometimes that sting is extremely dark (as in the very brilliant Love of Seven Dolls), sometimes it’s fey ( Jennie), but it’s always there.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. When I went to the Lake District a while ago, I took a range of books – some that benefited from a long, uninterrupted read on a train, and some that would fill gaps between dashing off on multiple buses to get to a wedding, get on a train, etc. Another wonderful story by Paul Gallico, the 3rd volume in his trilogy about the life and adventures of the wise and intrepid everywomsn, the char woman, Mrs. This time, unbeknown to her, she becomes embroiled in a political plot and inadvertently gets elected to Parliament!

Anybody familiar with Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (also published as Flowers for Mrs Harris) and Mrs Harris Goes to New York will doubtless already know and love the redoubtable Mrs Harris. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.It's plenty interesting how each of her adventures has been so different, but they each fit her in a convincing way. The classic satirical novel'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well.

She is put up as a candidate for House of Commons (unbeknownst to her only as a spoiler in some political back room deals). You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.Ideal to read before falling asleep as it has a 'feel good' and hopefully would not keep one awake at night as in reading a thriller/horror etc.