Product Description

Alice knows she should be happy. After all, she has a handsome husband, a beautiful apartment and membership to all the most exclusive clubs in London. So what if the rumours about her husband and anything in a skirt are becoming harder to ignore? When Joe's job transfers to New York, Alice hopes it might be a fresh start. Especially when they find a beautiful old house in Connecticut to buy. But why is the house such a steal? And why has it been empty for so long? As Alice sets about restoring it she begins to unravel the answers to these questions. And as Joe's late nights at the office start all over again, she's determined not to repeat the mistakes of the woman who once lived there.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #457718 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jane Green's sixth novel has a touch of Pygmalion about it. Alice Chambers, the heroine of Spellbound was known as "wallpaper" at school a "shy, mousy girl" who tended to disappear into the background. As an adult she runs a successful catering company but things remain pretty much the same. That is until Joe Mitchell, a crush from Alice's teenage years, decides to make her his fair lady: "with a diet, a decent hairdresser and a new wardrobe she'd be a whole new woman by the time he'd finished with her"--and, yes, you can grit your teeth at this very un-feminist idea! Joe works hard and earns lots of money, Alice has a lovely house and enviable clothes, and they both live happily ever after.

No of course they don't. Alice soon realises that "Joe is not the knight in shining armour she had once thought", largely due to his serial philandering. When his affair with a coworker is discovered, he is forced by his company to move to New York, and Alice goes too. It is at this point, in their new country home, that Alice is forced to face up to all that is wrong with her life. Feeling "quite happy" is no longer good enough, nor is staying with a man who "loves his wife", but who "is addicted to having affairs". It's time for Alice to pursue her own dreams, no matter how painful the process. Spellbound is an old fashioned story of metamorphosis, but told with the modern economy and wit that is Jane Green's trademark. --Eithne Farry

About the Author
Jane Green lives in Connecticut with her husband, son and baby girl. She is the author of Straight Talking, Jemima J, Mr Maybe, Bookends, and Babyville.

Customer Reviews

Loved it
I read books like nobody's business and if I don't think much of one I can put it down and move onto the next without much thought. But this is one that will stick in my mind. Although it doesn't stray too far from the 'chick-lit' path (I must add I love chick-lit!!) it's definitely worth a read... it was a definite page turner because I found myself desperate to see Alice finally 'wash that man right out of her hair' to use a terrible cliche... the only thing I would criticise is the use of the house they move to as one an author used to live in. To me it only had a minor role in the book. True, it was used to move the plot on in places; but I didn't feel it was necessary. As the first of Green's book I've read, I will be reading more.

A single sitting book. :-)
Try to ignore the lurid pink cover, Mills & Boon title and the prologue about the mysterious author which really doesn’t add anything at all to this novel. Once you’ve done that, you’ll find this is a highly enjoyable book; one which I devoured in a single, delicious sitting. Be prepared to grit your teeth at Alice’s husband Joe, who, after molding her into the beautiful, manicured society wife he thinks befits him, just can’t stay faithful. Find yourself liking Alice more and more as she finally shrugs off the image Joe has created for her and learns to love herself. Lust, just a little bit after Harry, who is obviously meant to be with Alice. And lose yourself in the vivid world Green creates – Joe’s minimalist mausoleum of a house in London’s Belgravia, and Alice’s tumbledown cozy cottage in Connecticut, the world of soulless society Gallery openings and benefits, and the friendliness of the neighbours in Suburban Highfield.

Even though this is chick lit, the characters are far from one-dimensional, and the situations they find themselves in are very believable. This is a warm, touching, gossipy and in places pretty funny book

Enjoyable but not her best work
I have to admit I did enjoy reading Spellbound even if it wasn't as funny as her earlier books like Mr Maybe, Straight talking and Jemima J. I have read Green since she first started prroducing chick-lit and I felt Spellbound dragged on a little, although I had much empathy with Alice. This is perfect easy reading for those rainy days when you just want to curl up with a nice glass of wine and a non taxing book.