Chapters 1-6 Summary

"Excellent Women" by Barbara Pym begins with the main character, Mildred Lathbury, watching as a new neighbor moves into the flat below her own. Mildred lives in a three story apartment building in a less than posh London neighborhood. On the bottom floor is a number of offices, on the second floor is the newly occupied flat, and the top floor belongs to Mildred. Mildred had moved into the flat with a schoolmate, Dora, after her parents died. Mildred was raised in a vicarage in the country, the only daughter of a clergyman and his wife. Mildred's parents died and Mildred decided to take a flat in London with Dora and go to work at the Society for Aged Gentlewomen. Since then, Dora moved out to the country to teach at a Catholic girls' school.

All in all, Mildred is a...