Friend of the Family » (Bargain)

Born in Somerset, in the west country of England, Marcia Willett was the youngest of five girls. Her family was unconventional and musical, but Marcia chose to train as a ballet dancer. Unfortunately, her body did not develop with the classic proportions demanded by the Royal Ballet, so she studied to be a ballet teacher. Her first husband was a naval officer in the submarine service; their son, Charles, is now married and a clergyman. Her second husband, Rodney, himself a writer and broadcaster, encouraged Marcia to write fiction. This is the second of several of her early novels that are being published by Thomas Dunne Books; her more recent novels include A Week in Winter, A Summer in the Country, The Children's Hour, and The Birdcage.

Praise for Marcia Willett

"A must for women fiction readers."

- Booklist on The Children's Hour

"Like Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy, Willett creates such fully dimensional characters that readers feel as if they should phone or e-mail them to keep in touch."

- Rocky Mountain News on A Week in Winter

"Thoroughly engrossing, with richly drawn characters, a mysterious locale, and a beautifully crafted plot."

- The South Florida Sun-Sentinel on A Week in Winter

"Readers will enjoy the heartwarming ending, vibrant characters, and excellent depiction of the English countryside."

- Booklist (starred review) on A Summer in the Country

Kirkus Reviews

Over the course of a few years, an interconnected group of friends living in the English countryside experience their share of laughter and tears. After her naval-officer husband dies of cancer, Felicity Mainwaring hardly expects to be alone for long. After all, for more than 20 years, she has been carrying on with his close friend and fellow officer George Lampeter, a longtime bachelor with a compliant personality. She is understandably stunned, then, when George, with some interference by his formidable mother Esme, meets and marries Thea, a sheltered young woman in her 20s. That George is happy with Thea matters naught to Felicity, and she plots and schemes to wreck his marriage. Thea's devoted cousin Tim then takes it upon himself to help Thea by having his fiancee's father David, a famous painter, befriend the not-so-merry widow. Romance ensues, and love brings out a whole new side of Felicity. Sadly, it does not last long, and Felicity is found dead after inadvertently mixing her migraine medication with gin. Her death sends shockwaves through the Moorland community, with both George and David feeling tremendous guilt. Meanwhile, Thea's bored and drifting friend Polly leaves her loveless marriage to a self-absorbed scientist to discover several willing suitors, including an affable dog-breeder-and the now-married Tim. Polly's reawakening as a confident and somewhat ambitious young woman takes up much of the novel's second half, but Willett (First Friends, 2006, etc.) weaves in plenty of quiet subplots involving babies, tentative love affairs and sudden snowstorms. Revisiting several characters from Willett's previous work, this 1995 British release seems overlong and often dated.And with the exception of the conniving, birdlike Felicity, the characters are interchangeable and far from engaging. Cozy and almost life-affirming, but unlikely to win new fans.