I first heard of Ann Bridge by way of Rachel at Book Snob when she wrote about Bridge's novel, Illyrian Spring. I thought it sounded delightful and so did many other people as posts about the book have popped up all over the blogosphere after her enthusiastic response to the story. Illryian Spring and Peking Summer were both Virago titles and perhaps her best known novels, and both are not only difficult to come by but expensive as well. Peking Picnic has since been reissued by Capuchin Classics, but her other works remain out of print.
She was actually quite a prolific author. Ann Bridge was the pen name for Mary Dolling (Sanders) O'Malley who was born in England in 1889 and married a British Foreign Office official. They traveled to many exotic locales which ended up in her novels. Her works are known for their excellent characterization. Pamela Cleaver in Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers noted "All Bridge's books have a great deal of charm, many acute observations on life and people, and are very satisfying to read." Her stories tend to focus on upper class characters in difficult romantic relationships.
Although a quick search didn't turn up any information on The Dangerous Islands, which was published in 1967, her works seemed to have been well received by critics in general. They have it all--good plotting and well developed characters whose inner lives are explored and set against a setting rich in detail and understanding. Bridge wrote a series of thrillers featuring Julia Probyn, an amateur detective. I'm not sure where this book falls in amongst the others or whether it even matters to read them in order or not. My library copy offers a description of the story.
"Julia Probyn--an old friend to many readers--is sailing off the West coast of Scotland. On the desolate island of Erinish Beg, she and her cousin are startled to see a sky-blue pole rise up out of the ground at their feet. Military Intelligence sends Colonel Jamieson to investigate this find. The action moves from the Erinishes to a tweed-shop in Tobermory, to an archaeological dig on Lewis, to an island off County Mayo, and finally to a dramatic end in the Scillies. The mystery of the sky-blue pole is solved soon enough; but there is much journeying, heart-searching and danger for Julia before the whole system of espionage is laid bare."
This sounds like quite an adventure, doesn't it? Considering my affinity to suspense these days I might have to start with it, but I'd like to read Ann Bridge's other work as well (to be honest Illyrian Spring has come home with me more than once, and what I read I liked). I'm lucky as my library has a whole shelf of her books, including The Peking Picnic. See the kinds of treasures your local library might have?!