by Jane Oliver

This was a very cute epistolary novel set in a large London department store of the 1930s. It strongly reminded me of another novel, Dear Enemy, by Jean Webster. Not only are both books written in letters, mostly by our heroines, but they share the same humorous breezy tone, satirical takes, and many elements of their plots. Both of our young heroines write to loved ones describing their adventures in new and unfamiliar environments. They both illustrate their letters with their own humorous drawings. Both girls are wealthy debutantes leading frivolous lives, who find themselves employed in jobs in which they are, at first, way over their heads. But both manage not only to survive, but prevail, and greatly change their new environments for the better. That is a lot of similarities, but there are even more. They are both engaged to eligible “suitable” men who don’t understand them, but find true love with men who are heavily involved with and supportive of their new endeavors. In Business as Usual , most of Hilary’s letters are written to her fiancé who is a doctor. In Dear Enemy, Sallie’s are written to her best friend Judy Abbott, of Daddy Long Legs fame, and the local doctor, the “Enemy”, with whom she continually butts heads and whom she completely misunderstands at first.

Webster’s novel, written in 1915, 18 years prior to Business as Usual, is one of my most fondly regarded books. In fact, I fear I am in danger of letting Dear Enemy completely take over this review which is supposed to be about the other book! In spite of their similarities, it really is not fair to compare the two. In Dear Enemy, Sallie is tasked, by Judy, of reforming and overhauling the repressive antiquated orphanage in which she grew up and of which she is now the titular head. Hilary’s adventures take place in a London Department store and has more of a comedy of errors feel to it. Young lives and futures are at stake at the John Grier Home, so in Dear Enemy there is much more scope for humor, drama, and pathos. The orphans are mostly funny, but there is potential tragedy looming as well. Important social issues of the day are tackled albeit in a light and humorous way. Social conditions are explored to a lesser extent in Business as Usual including one game-changing incident involving an unplanned pregnancy. Sallie is much more of a force of nature than Hilary, although both are extremely admirable and likable. The romance is much more developed and emotional than in Business as Usual, in which we barely get to know the man whom Hilary begins to realize is more her soulmate than her fiancé.

Business as Usual is set in early 1930s London and I quickly became charmed and immersed in that other world. Hilary has just become engaged but since they can’t get married for another year she decides to spend that year in London, working at a real job and seeing if she can support herself and be independent away from her somewhat shallow life. She ends up in Everyman’s, a huge department store, and starts out as a lowly clerk. Precisely because she is so intelligent and over-qualified (Oxford educated!), she is not very good at it. Her unconventional thinking and sense of humor make her a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. But due to a chance encounter, she comes to the attention of Mr. Grant, the powerful and revered “head of publicity,” or “minor prophet” as Hilary calls him. He immediately recognizes her great qualities, and she is soon rising through the ranks in the book department, much to the consternation of some of her co-workers and her stick-in-the-mud fiancé. Her adventures are chronicled in letters to her parents and to bad boyfriend Basil, as well as internal store memos and such. She has her work cut out for her trying to survive in London on her meager salary. It is a light fun book, and I loved the authenticity of the setting. My copy had helpful footnotes explaining terms and words used, the meanings and significance of which have been long forgotten.

The book also strongly reminded me of another book I read and loved a long time ago, Here Come the Brides, by Bernard Glemser. That one was set in the bridal department of a huge New York Department store where our heroine has to deal with difficult customers and fellow employees, just like Hilary in the book department of Everyman’s. I really liked Business as Usual and I recommend it to those in the mood for a frothy humorous novel with a very likable heroine who finds real love in the London of a very different time and a very interesting setting. But I loved it more for the sake of the two books I read and loved long before. **3 1/2 stars**