Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

by Ann B. Ross

Book Overview

When Wesley Lloyd Springer passed away, he left his proper Southern wife two legacies. The first, as befits a gentleman of means, is the whole of his sizeable estate. The second, so astonishing thereupon hangs this wonderful and witty tale. Miss Julia, recently bereaved and newly wealthy widow, is only slightly bemused when one Hazel Marie Puckett appears at her door with a youngster in tow. But this perfectly practiced composure is quickly reduced...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688167888
• ISBN13: 9780688167882
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

This book is mildly amusing.

This book can be funny at times. Unfortunately, particularly towards the end of the book, it crosses the line from humor to outright silliness.

i enjoy these series

i have read 5 books so far and just ordered # 6 . i can not wait to get it so i can start on it.

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

I love the Miss Julia series. She makes you laugh and at times want to cry, but through it all she makes you love her. I will be buying all the books in this series.

What a series!!!!

Light and funny (really funny) you really get into the characters and that Miss Julia, we all need one of her in our life... In our corner

Perfect

I read this series years ago. Rediscovered them, bought them and enjoying them more now than ever! Perfect transaction.

Miss Julia Books are the BEST I have ever read

I love Ann B. Ross, and have read everyone of the Miss Julia books. I have laughed until I pure cried at every single book. Please start with book #1 and read them in order. I like to describe myself as being exactly like Miss Julia because I behave just like her. I too, grew up having a housekeeper like Lillian, who is in most all of the Miss Julia books, and I can relate to my childhood comparing "Susie" our housekeeper, to Lillian, who is Miss Julia's best buddy and longtime housekeeper and cook. The mischief, the turmoil, the humor of the many situations that Miss Julie, Little Lloyd, Hazel Marie, Lillian, Etta Mae get into will have you doubled over in laughter. Each book you will find has not one but several issues/problems going on and the way Miss Julia constantly gets into mischief is unbelievable and hilarious. They just keep getting better and better and you will find yourself reading them over and over through the years. They are all apart of my family.

This Is What I Love About the South

Ann B. Ross writes in a soothing Southern cadence that has you undeniably falling in love with Miss Julia, her maid Lillian, and all the quirky characters that inhabit this small Southern town. Miss Julia gets the shock of her life when not only the mistress of her late husband but also their illegitimate offspring suddenly appear at her door. Just when Miss Julia was getting on with her life and actually enjoying being free of the overbearing, pompous, and hypocritcal Wesley Lloyd Springer, his bleached blonde mistress and pathetic little son show up and change Miss Julia's life in ways she never expected. As she often reminds the reader, she never asked for any of this. But what she gets is heart-warming, fast-paced, and hysterically funny. The story may be slightly far-fetched, but the characters are so typically Southern---from the unscrupulous and conniving pastor to the slick televangelist and the down-home lawyer--- that you'll fall in love with this unlikely mix of characters and delight in the ways they touch each other's lives.I can't wait to read the sequel "Miss Julia Takes Over" cause I'm sure she will. She is forever telling us that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself and I'm sure, like all Southern women, Miss Julia will do it just perfectly. So pour yourself a tall glass of lemonade, settle down on the front veranda, and listen to Miss Julia tell her story.

Truly fun to read, Miss Julia is wonderful and cantankerous

I just finished this one and it was an absolute delight from start to finish. If you like Southern novels, you won't want to miss this one. Miss Julia absolutely seemed real, quirky, obstinate but also...at the beginning of the novel, at least... more than a bit naive. Married to a "pillar" of the community, a man with an impeccable reputation, Miss Julia has lived quite a contented, if somewhat restricted life, enjoying the luster of her husband's reputation and place in the community. This life came with a cost, however, as her husband controlled nearly every aspect of their life. When he suddenly dies, she is looking forward to some freedom, when she suddenly is faced with a major crisis. It seems that the man she thought she knew so well had a secret life and a child with another woman. Even worse, the child is deposited on her doorstep by his destitute mother, leaving Miss Juila not only in shock but with a nine year old child to deal with. From this beginning, the writer creates a funny, heartwarming and very engaging story of a woman who has to deal with the unexpected and with advice from her "friends" and even her minister (who is more than a bit self-interested) about how to handle her finances and her life. But what is most appealing about this book (besides the wonderful character, Miss Julia) is the very unique voice and writing style of the author.

Miss Julia's speaking my language!

Oh, you've just got to read this book! Miss Julia will inspire you. She is a firecracker, full of spunk, and witty to boot. You feel sorry for her for the life she led as wife (or second-class citizen--same thing in her eyes), but root for her for the life she now leads as widow and step-momma. And she definitely speaks her mind, which makes this novel so wonderful and fun to read. The language is so vivid and fresh, the cast of characters are as loopy as all get out, and even Miss Julia shows a bit of naivete at times. An absolute winner for southern fiction fans. Just wish I knew more people like Miss Julia.

A Gut Splitter

"MISS JULIA SPEAKS HER MIND," pokes fun at every institution in the Old South from city officials, the clergy, and even the home and marriage. At the same time that the novel is poking fun, it is the funniest novel I have read in many a moon. Miss Julia is a terrific character who faces life head on and comes out on top of every situation. The church (Presbyterian) is pictured as a meddling money grabbing institution that uses modern medical knowledge along with the legal system to better its self. I especially liked the way Miss Julia handled her nymphomania! Some of the words I would use to describe this book are delightful, extremely humorous, tender, and a must read.

Southern Humor shines in Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind represents the best of Southern humor--it's quirky, candid and offers keen observations on the social rules that govern life in a small town. While some have likened it to Jan Karon's Mitford books, I find it closer in tone to Michael Malone's Handling Sin or John Kennedy Toole's Confederacy of Dunces. Miss Julia has much more pepper than any of the Mitford residents I've come across, and her unveiling of hypocrisy spares no-one. Still, the novel is good-natured at its heart and the narrator's warmth and vitatility are what ultimately triumph. For a fast-paced, hilarious and thoroughly fun summer read, this is the book to pick.