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L'ultima Estate A Deyning Park (2013)

by Judith Kinghorn(Favorite Author)

3.85 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

8842922730 (ISBN13: 9788842922735)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Nord

review 1: It’s the lovely fresh vibrancy of the narrative voice that immediately draws you into this novel. And the deft pulsing characterisation of the young heroine, Clarissa. The author has a real feel and love for the era and there’s a big warm heart beating through this story. Initially Clarissa is living in an almost idyllic world. An elegant country house with servants and all the trappings of the ruling classes of that era. This world masterfully and beautifully evoked. The prose in its fresh understated lyricism reminded me of Rosamond Lehman, Elizabeth Taylor and early Elizabeth Bowen, all writers I greatly admire. Then Clarissa falls in love with Tom, the son of the housekeeper. Tom, of course, is the forbidden fruit. He brings knowledge, knowledge of the heart. When ... moreTom is called away by the war Clarissa is forced to realise the war has now found her. From then on, it’s a gripping story of Clarissa’s struggles to acquire autonomy, to remain faithful to the imperatives of her heart in a sullied and disenchanted world. “When spring finally comes she never ceases to surprise me with the lightness and warmth of her touch, her early dawns and frenzied revelry. She is a symphony of rapturous colour and vibrant luminosity; she is memory restored, senses reawakened---brought back to life; and I fall in love once more.” Like spring, Judith Kinghorn restores to us a memory – except it’s a memory we never had, a moving insight into the struggles and prejudices, the innocence and horrors, the obsessions and heartbreak of an era that still has a haunting spell a hundred years later.
review 2: This is a love story set in years leading up to, during and after WW1 in England. It is a sort of a Downton Abbey story i.e. the young privileged daughter falls in love with the son of the housekeeper It is a comedy/drama of manners in which fans of Downton Abbey will identify. I think this is the author's first novel. She developed the characters well and while some of what happens is predictable, it is still a good read. I highly recommend this book. less

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