2 and in that sense they are interesting even to readers who are not part of the generation in which Drabble,born in 1939,came to maturity.Probably,however,most readers will find the early Drabble novels appealing,not just because of their social realism,but also because of the persuasive voices of the first person narrators.These women charm us with their sincerity,wit and good sense. Drabble has said she wrote her first novel as if she were writing letters to a good friend (Milton interview 60), and it probably is the simplicity of the technique of A SUMMER BIRD-CAGE that is part of its beguiling quality. At the same time,Sarah's voice is not all that different from the narrative voices in the later novels which, although developed through more complex techniques,retain the seductive quality of making readers feel as if we are listening to a good friend.The friend sometimes even says things with which we disagree,but as in most friend- ships,the listener is usually willing to hear the narrator to the end.Often by the time Drabble's narrator finishes the tale,the voice has made us forget our objection.So,when Drabble says novels are inspired gossip,she probably has analyzed one of the principal secrets of her success.While some critics find a soap- opera sequence in the structure of the later works,a careful ear hears in the narrative voice of all of the