Beulah Kettlehole and the Patriarchal Ice

By: BARBARA P. PARSONS

This is a reissue of Beulah Kettlehole and the Patriarchal Ice, originally published by Writers Club Press in 2001.

Set in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1971, Claire Chesterton, blonde, on the flashy side, and bit overdone, arrives at the Trade Delegation as a typist. She fears that her marriageable time is up, when a makeover results in her unexpectedly having several suitors. This atmospheric and satirical story features a cast of characters including the delegation’s Number Three, the insidiously charming lush Jeremy Jooning, whose humdrum marriage quickly puts him on to the scent of Claire’s new-found confidence. Claire’s fragile hopes for success are quickly dashed by Jooning’s cruel infidelity when, at last, she finds herself on the brink of true liberation. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Barbara Parsons born 1930 in naval family, Portsmouth, England, As career civil servant in British Foreign Office, worked in consulates and embassies in East Asia, North Africa, Europe, South America, and U.S. Married and lives in Charlottetown, PE.

REVIEWS

"Wickedly funny powers of observation, and the ability to translate those observations into vivid descriptions of people and places." - Lucia St. Clair , Author of Ride the Wind

"In this droll and delightful novel Barbara Parsons gives us a rueful reminder that, from Bogotá to Broadway, women take dictation while men will always be men." - Phyllis C. Robinson, Author of Willa, the Life of Willa Cather

"Set primarily against the backdrop of turbulent Colombia, BEULA KETTLEHOLE is an impressive and eloquent novel written with conviction and passion about one woman’s struggle to rise above those who delight in degrading women." - Murray Polner, author of No Victory Parades: The Return of the Vietnam Veteran

"...sad and funny novel in a colorful setting. Highly original." - Wilma Shore, author of short stories, O Henry Prize Stories, etc.