I like her work very much, though I've only read 2 of the novels: HOTEL, which is very funny - offbeat - and The Last September. That's a strange one, too. Both novels set in 20s-30s ish. So far, there has been a young woman, very lonely, with an odd background, as main protatgonist in each. THE LAST SEPTEMBER is set in Ireland where, of course, she hails from. HOTEL is set at a hotel in Italy (I think), and is about the people who spend the winter there - mainly the English.

Her short stories are wonderful - she is, perhaps, best known for these.

Dido

yoyo Elizabeth Bowen represented a dying breed of a small group of Anglo-Irish known as the Ascendancy. The Protestant, land-owning class, for the most part once hated by the 'irish Irish' but in rural areas the providers of work and homes for a considerable part of the population. Many of their houses were burnt down during the unsettled years of the early 20th century.
OT but I stayed with one such family in the mid-sixties in County Tipperary. In some ways they might as well have been living on another planet or time-warp.
They had a Georgian house (farm) tacked onto the side of a medieval castle from the days when the family had been granted land in Ireland in about 1170 (give or take a year) when King Heny II had been 'given' Ireland as a present by the Pope. They had their own Deer Park surrounded by a high stone wall and a wonderful collection of ancient artefacts that would have sent an antique dealer into raptures. For eg one of those v early 'bicycles' made entirely of wood that had to be propelled by 'scooting' your feet along either side . . .that was in the hay loft. A nasty looking sabre that had been used at the Battle of Waterloo but then used to cut the corn. A wonderful sundial made in the early 17 hundreds inscribed with names of early sugar plantations such as St Kitts, Nevis.
The whole house was damp, cold and mildewing and the family virtually lived in the kitchen but, despite their poverty they still had a Patriarchal attitude towards their workers and the 'lady of the house' still put a proportion of their wages into a savings account before she paid the men each week (else they would have 'drunk it away' before their wives saw it)
I listened to an amazingly 'Victorian' exchange between this woman and one of the farm-hands.
She "Tommy, how are your wife and the new baby?"
T. "Oh they are both doing fine and she's back on her feet, thank you for asking"
She "Now tell me how many children do you have?"
T "It will be seventeen all told."
She "I said to you last time that is quite enough, your poor wife is exhausted; so no more babies."
T "Right, yes, I do understand, we will be having no more babies."

The poor bloke, in a Catholic country where every part of life was ruled by the Church and where 'this' family, being Protestants could say no more than "Good Morning" if they met the parish priest . . . because his parishoners would complain to their Bishop if he was seen talking to those 'outside the Faith'!

Sorry yoyo; got carried away there! Another funny/clever writer of that period is Molly Keane a friend of Bowen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Molly Keane

I read some of her short stories ages ago and found them very atmospheric; however, I also tried one of her novels which was disappointing. As far as I can recall, it was about three women who had made some kind of time capsule in a cave, but I may be getting things totally wrong. The story left very little impression on me; I only remember finding the characters vaguely irritating.

Having checked her titles on Fantastic Fiction, I think the book may have been The Little Girls, published in 1964, i.e. a rather late work.

Veer....a wonderful detour! Thanks for reminiscing.

I've read The House in Paris, The Heat of the Day and Death of the Heart, and probably a couple of Elizabeth Bowen's other works--sorry I can't recall the titles!

I love her fiction.