Tara Jupp and her sister Lucy,
along with six other siblings, live with their widowed vicar father in his
Rectory in the Cornish countryside. We learn of Tara’s life growing up, the
loss of her mother, her love of horses. She has a beautiful singing voice and
this will be the asset that steers her life in a whole new direction. Her
beautiful elder sister Lucy has a keen interest in preserving historic houses
and their contents. Tara becomes acquainted with the owner of Trellanack, a
large old house in Cornwall near her home, and the owner asks if Tara and Lucy
would befriend her daughter Matilda. The friendship and events between these
three girls will shape their lives.
Tara is our first-person narrator
throughout; from her carefree days spent riding horses to the moment she enters
a recording studio in London, we are there to experience the dramatic changes
in her life with her.
Tara and Lucy experience
first-hand the excitement of the early sixties in London; the world of famous
models, photographers and hit music makers, the new fashions and the ‘in’
places to see and be seen.
This is an enjoyable, atmospheric
and engaging read that brings another time and place vividly to life. The
writing is warm and witty and the characters, especially Tara, are charming and
come to life as you read; you feel part of the journey, spirited back to the
sixties with Tara and Lucy as they grow up, fall in love, leave their familiar
surroundings to take on the world and follow their dreams.
Published by Heron Books, an imprint of Quercus, on 17th January 2013
I originally reviewed this book for lovereading.co.uk - thanks to them and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.
Visit the Heron Books site here
Visit the Heron Books site here
Sounds interesting, Lindsay. I think the same Eva Rice wrote The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets which I read and enjoyed a few years ago. Is she Tim Rice's daughter?
ReplyDeleteYes that's the same author and she is indeed his daughter too! Thanks for commenting Treez.
DeleteThis is a new-to-me author...sounds interesting. Thanks for reviewing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. The author also wrote a novel called The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets but I haven't read that one, so she was new to me with this book.
DeleteGlad to see a review of this book; it hasn't been covered by anyone in my region yet (Manitoba, Canada). I received my copy this morning and ploughed through the first 50 pages during my lunch break today. So far so good! I picked up The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets when I was living in London several years ago and fell in love with it, so I was thrilled when this one came out! No print copies at my local bookstores unfortunately...what did we do before Amazon?
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