Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Hendrickson Publishers
Description
Mary Lindsay is a born and bred Londoner who has enjoyed her city life-a prestigious job, and friends with whom she takes in the city pleasures of theatre, art and music. But fleeting memories of a childhood visit to her father's elderly cousin out in the country are revived with the news that the woman has willed her home, the Laurels, to Mary. She makes an uncharacteristically sudden and life-changing decision to leave London for the country. The gradual unfolding of her understanding of herself, of the now-deceased woman who has bequeathed her home to Mary, and of the people of Appleshaw, all weave together in a most memorable story of love's redemptive power.
User reviews
LibraryThing member satyridae
Re-read. I love this book with my whole heart. It's not at all the sort of thing you'd think I'd adore, inasmuch as it's not only steeped in Christianity, it's actually a proselytizing vehicle. Still, it's one of my all-time favorites.
The writing is stellar, the characters are compelling, the
The story unfolds as Mary Lindsay is left a cottage by her aunt, moves to the cottage and reads her aunt's diaries while becoming part and parcel of the village. Involving studies of various inhabitants and their conflicts ensue. There's redemption and love infusing every paragraph. A delight.
The writing is stellar, the characters are compelling, the
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setting (a small English village) is my dream home. Even the religion is tolerable as it's not the Christianity with which I'm familiar, rather it's a luminous love that transforms everything into a distillation of joy. The story unfolds as Mary Lindsay is left a cottage by her aunt, moves to the cottage and reads her aunt's diaries while becoming part and parcel of the village. Involving studies of various inhabitants and their conflicts ensue. There's redemption and love infusing every paragraph. A delight.
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LibraryThing member Lindsayg
I picked this one up because it was a Nancy Pearl recommendation. It's a very peaceful book. The main character, a middle aged business woman, moves from London to a tiny country town when she retires. The book tells the stories of all the residents and how they are effected by the introduction of
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a new neighbor. Not a lot of plot except for the day-to-day struggles of the characters. There's an ongoing theme about learning to take life slowly and retain your childlike sense of wonder. It was slow-paced, but very refreshing. Show Less
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
A dreamy, understated sketch of village life in England with an old-fashioned way of life. Characterisations are strongly drawn but the narrative rather frequently lacked enough tension to hold my interest.
LibraryThing member skayw
Just as beautiful the second time around.
Original publication date
1963
ISBN
9781598569056
DDC/MDS
| Fic Gen Goudge |