Publication
London : Orion Books, 2015.
Collection
Call number
Fiction J
Physical description
399 p.; 25 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood. Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love.
Genres
User reviews
LibraryThing member cynthia.hpl.oba
Saskia houdt van haar werk als boekrestaurator. Ze besteedt haar dagen aan het voorzichtig restaureren van de vele beschadigde en kwetsbare boeken die haar worden toegezonden. Maar als ze op een dag een handgeschreven notitieboekje vindt, dat zorgvuldig verborgen is in een oude Bijbel, is haar
Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love... (less)
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nieuwsgierigheid gewekt. Wie heeft al die moeite genomen dit document te verbergen, en waarom? Saskia komt op het spoor van een hartverscheurend verhaal van liefde in tijden van oorlog… / Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love... (less)
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LibraryThing member cynthia.hpl.oba
Saskia houdt van haar werk als boekrestaurator. Ze besteedt haar dagen aan het voorzichtig restaureren van de vele beschadigde en kwetsbare boeken die haar worden toegezonden. Maar als ze op een dag een handgeschreven notitieboekje vindt, dat zorgvuldig verborgen is in een oude Bijbel, is haar
Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love... (less)
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nieuwsgierigheid gewekt. Wie heeft al die moeite genomen dit document te verbergen, en waarom? Saskia komt op het spoor van een hartverscheurend verhaal van liefde in tijden van oorlog… / Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love... (less)
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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
There are two intermingled stories in this book. The present-day one is about an unusual family: two grandfathers, one father, and a twenty-something daughter called Saskia.
A young man called Matthew has just inherited an old house, and invites Saskia’s father to inspect and value the immense
The other subplot takes place in the 1940s, in an old diary that Saskia discovers. It features two people who worked for the intelligence service during World War II. There’s a link between this diary and the main part of the story, which I suspected almost immediately.
As with most of Erica James’ novels, it's primarily character-based, and I found myself identifying mostly with Saskia. I was a bit confused in the early chapters, with quite a significant number of main characters; I also had a hard time distinguishing Saskia’s grandfathers, even though they had quite different roles. However, it didn't matter much.
There are one or two shocks, making this a little darker than some of the author’s other books; it’s also rather deeper. On the whole I enjoyed it very much. Definitely recommended.
A young man called Matthew has just inherited an old house, and invites Saskia’s father to inspect and value the immense
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library that his benefactor collected over the decades...The other subplot takes place in the 1940s, in an old diary that Saskia discovers. It features two people who worked for the intelligence service during World War II. There’s a link between this diary and the main part of the story, which I suspected almost immediately.
As with most of Erica James’ novels, it's primarily character-based, and I found myself identifying mostly with Saskia. I was a bit confused in the early chapters, with quite a significant number of main characters; I also had a hard time distinguishing Saskia’s grandfathers, even though they had quite different roles. However, it didn't matter much.
There are one or two shocks, making this a little darker than some of the author’s other books; it’s also rather deeper. On the whole I enjoyed it very much. Definitely recommended.
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LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
When Saskia's mother and two grandmothers are killed in a car accident, her father and both grandfathers pool together and buy Ashcombe, a rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green. There they raise 10-year-old Saskia together, journeying through the healing process,
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rebuilding their lives, and each finding their niche within their new family. Now an adult, Saskia is a book restorer and still lives at Ashcombe. When she discovers a notebook cleverly concealed in an old Bible, Saskia finds herself drawn into a tale of wartime love and loss as she follows the story to Bletchley Park and the codebreakers working there during World War II. A lovely warm-hearted book about love, loss and family. I love those two grandfathers! Show Less
LibraryThing member Maydacat
Saskia has grown up in a house shared by her father and her two grandfathers, after a tragedy that affected them all. Now she repairs old books while her father sells books and evaluates their worth. Saskia finds a notebook cleverly concealed in an old Bible, and becomes engrossed in the tale in
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its pages of wartime love and romance. She shares her find with the rightful owner of the notebook, and he, too, is soon caught up in the story. Thus begins the tale of the dandelion years. In this well-written novel, the story vacillates from present day to the war years in England. Both story threads are equally compelling and engrossing. Both have delightful characters and intriguing plots. It’s a story that is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming. The duel narration with Emma Gregory and Lee Maxwell in the audio version adds much to its enjoyment. Show Less
ISBN
9781409146117