Product Description

Flora Trevelyan, a ten-year-old misfit, has been abandoned by her self-obsessed parents to her own devices in Dinard. Amongst the privileged, well-meaning English families holidaying there she finds some kindness and the first pangs of love for Cosmo, Hubert and Felix.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #671616 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
" I loved every word of it"
-Christopher Wordsworth, "Guardian"
" It is delicious...she writes with the knowledge and wisdon of serene old age and the emotional exuberance of glowing young womanhood"
-Patrick Skene Catling, "Daily Telegraph"
" Such good company that in more than one sense it's hard to put down"
-David Hughes, "Mail on Sunday"
" This is a splendid novel; it is a delight to see Wesley in glorious form"
-Miranda Seymour, "Evening Standard"

From the Publisher
A tangled tale of falling in love - with three very different men

From the Back Cover
She was a thin, lonely child with huge eyes and an extensive vocabulary of French foul language. Amongst the elegant middle-class British families holidaying in Dinard in 1926 - leading their privileged lives of secure routine pleasures - Flora was a ten-year-old misfit. Ignored by her self-absorbed parents, unloved, and pitied by the pleasant, stylish people in Brittany that summer, Flora was - peripherally - included in their gracious circles. And there, meeting kindly civilised people for the first time, she fell in love - with Cosmo - with Hubert - with Felix. It took forty years for the love affairs to be explored, consummated, and finally resolved.

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable book with well-developed characters
This book is not so much a love story as a complete look at the changing relationships between three boys (Cosmo, Hubert and Felix) and a girl (Flora) over a period of forty years. It is an intriguing book, in which Mary Wesley shows both the integrity and folly of the children, which develops into confidence as they age, but also awkwardness as they still want to treat each other like children. The times are also well reflected in the French holidays, the blitz and peacetime. If you are looking for a book that draws you into the lives of the characters, then you will probably enjoy this and also The Camomile Lawn by the same author. However, if you prefer books more orientated around a love story, try The Vacillations of Poppy Carew and (my favourite) Harnessing Peacocks also by Mary Wesley, or books by Katie Fforde.

My favourite Mary Wesley book
Like all Mary Wesley's books this just rings true somehow. She can create characters and situations that are unusual and uplifting without seeming far-fetched or sickly sweet, perhaps because there is an occasional flash of comedy or tragedy. The plot of this one is very enjoyable, I really wanted to know what would happen to all the characters and loved the style of wtiting.