Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Themes
Society and Class
British society is very concerned with keeping up appearances. Just look at programs like Downton Abbey, its predecessor Upstairs Downstairs, or the very appropriately named Keeping Up Appearances....
Tradition and Customs
Life in the country is a lot slower than life in a big city. The people walk at a more leisurely pace, there isn't as much traffic or honking, and change… happens… slowly… Oops. Sorry, we nod...
Old Age
These days, with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, RED, and all their sequels, old people are having the hottest time of their lives since Cocoon in 1985. Most movies, TV shows, and books feature mai...
Principles
The Major is a man of principles. He has strong beliefs on what is right: standing up for a lady, for example, or having a coordinating tea set. He also has strong beliefs on what is wrong like sel...
Race
You wouldn't expect a tiny English countryside village to be a hotbed of racism, but in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, that's pretty much what you're gonna get. Well, okay, Edgecombe St. Mary isn't...
Family
The families in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand are not the Brady Bunch. They're not the Partridge Family. They're not even the Munsters. These families are fractured and divided. Aside from physical...
Literature and Writing
People often bond over their love of books. If they didn't, book clubs wouldn't exist, right? Whether the bonding experience takes place at a book signing, in the classics section of a used booksto...
Marriage
Lots of books deal with falling in love, planning a wedding, or navigating a tricky first marriage (perhaps ending in a first divorce). But the characters in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand are expert...