Book Description

Marcia Willett’s previous novel, A Week in Winter, her first to be published in the United States, received a rousing welcome from readers and reviewers alike. Her new novel, A Summer in the Country, introduces an equally beguiling cast of characters whose lives become intricately entwined at Foxhole, a charming and cozy country house on the wild edges of the Devon moors.

Brigid Foster has inherited Foxhole from her father, and has created two guest cottages, which she rents during the holidays to tourists. Brigid’s delight at welcoming Louise Parry, one of her regular summer visitors, is tempered by the irritating presence of Brigid’s monumentally judgmental mother, Frummie. Having abandoned Foxhole (and Brigid) forty years earlier, Frummie makes no secret of her disdain for the glorious natural splendor of her surroundings, nor of her preference for Brigid’s flightly but fabulous half-sister, Jemima. Jemima, meanwhile, has problems of her own.

When a stranger begins lurking in the isolated byways of the lonely countryside, Brigid turns to her oddly elusive father-in-law for comfort and protection. But both Brigid and Louise Parry are hiding certain essential facts, and each woman’s fragile sense of haven and security is threatened by disclosure. A Summer in the Country is the story of the enduring, but often painful love that exists between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives. It describes with exquisite sensitivity and tenderness the precarious journey each of us undertakes as one generation makes way for the next, as each indelible and priceless relationship grows, changes, blossoms, or dies. Marcia Willett writes novels that will last.

RELEASE NOTES:

"SUMMER" theme is just right for the prize box....

Lovely! Another summer book I can hunker down with in the depths of a Manitoba winter. No Seasonal Affective Disorder for me this winter!

Thanks mississippimom.

This book is going on vacation with me to BC and I hope to release it there. Thanks for the great reads this year, mississippimom.

What a delight this book was! I had never read any Marcia Willett books before but I can see this is a lack I will have to remedy.

There really is no main protagonist but rather 3 main characters. The story starts with Louise taking the train to Devon for a holiday while her husband golfs with buddies (or is he?) She will be staying in a vacation cottage owned by Brigid, a wife of a naval officer who is used to his long absences and rather enjoys her solitary time. For the last little while though her mother, Frummie, has been living in one of the guest cottages. Frummie abandoned Brigid and her father when Brigid was quite young and their relationship has never been warm but Frummie had nowhere else to go so Brigid took her in. Brigid's life seems pretty idyllic, especially to her half-sister, Jemima, but she has a big problem that could impact her husband's retirement and she doesn't know how to tell him. Jemima is single and seems to enjoy her lifestyle with occasional visits from her married lover. Then she falls in love and her world is turned upside down. How these three women interact and help solve each other's dilemmas is an intriguing story. It reminded me a lot of the best of Maeve Binchy but I think Willett has even better descriptions of the countryside. I felt like I was on the moors and at the seashore in Devon.

My one quibble with the writing is the overuse of the word "whilst". Sometimes it would appear 2 or 3 times on a page. Maybe English use the word more than North Americans but it seemed excessive to me. But that's a minor problem in an overall great book. Thanks again mississippimom.

RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book on the payphone. This release is for the Keep Them Moving challenge.

Novel idea, enjoyed book. From Medicine Hat to High River, Alberta. Going to Mexico sometime soon.

CAUGHT IN MEDICINE HAT ALBERTA CANADA