In the London Season of 1939 Olivia met the Honourable Harry Crawford, heir to the Wharton country estate in Norfolk and he seemed like the perfect catch. It looked even better when his mother invited her to spend the summer at the estate and before long they were married. There were problems even before Harry went to fight in the Far East, but Olivia was determined that the marriage would work.
| Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: An intriguing story full of moal dilemmas set around the Second World War and in the present with atmospheric locations. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 592 | Date: November 2010 |
| Publisher: Penguin | |
| ISBN: 978-0141049373 | |
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In the present, in a small house on the Norfolk coast at Blakeney, Julia Forester was struggling to come to terms with the death of her beloved husband and two-year-old son in a car crash some months before. By profession she was a concert pianist, but nothing could lift her from her depression. The first sign of being interested in anything came when her sister asked her to come to a sale at Wharton Park. Julia's grandfather had been a gardener there and she remembered with fondness the times she spent in the hothouses with him. Going back might help.
In the course of renovations at the estate a war-time diary was discovered and it's this that sets in train a series of events which will lead to the story of the love affair which almost destroyed the estate.
It's a great story, full of atmosphere as it moves from Norfolk to the South of France and to Thailand. There are several great love stories in there and a plot with plenty of twists. It could have seemed far-fetched, but wasn't mainly because Lucinda Riley has cleverly highlighted the moral dilemmas which were frequent in the thirties and forties when personal freedoms and wishes so often had to take second place to the needs of family and country. The dilemmas are real and the repercussions effectively portrayed. This is the strongest and most compelling part of the book.
As the story moves back and forth in time I occasionally found myself confused about who was who. It was only momentary but it's annoying to be pulled out of a story you're enjoying to place someone. I came to the conclusion that some of the supporting characters were not quite strong enough, particularly when the geographical backgrounds were so effortlessly strong.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this type of book appeals to you then you're sure to enjoy The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.
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