Hello, dear fellow bookish friends. I would love a little input, if you feel so moved.
As some of you may have gathered from previous occasional comments, I provide books for my very frail, completely house-bound, 87-year-old mother. We happily share some of the same reading tastes, though she tends to be more tolerant of – how shall I put it? – more romantic, or uplifting books than I, and completely uninterested in anything smacking of historical fiction, memoirs, non-fictional travel or history (unless it’s local history, and she knows some of the people referred to), fantasy, sci-fi, satirical humour, or dark realism, which eliminates a huge percentage of my personal library for sharing with her.
Joanna Trollope, Maeve Bianchy, Mary Stewart, and their ilk all find favour, as do such authors as Miss Read, Monica Dickens, Daphne du Maurier and Pearl S. Buck. Classic mystery writers such as Agatha Christie, D.L. Sayers, Patricia Wentworth and Ngaio Marsh are acceptable, and I do believe I now have most of each one of those authors’ large production! She’s read and re-read everything even vaguely suitable from my collection, and with winter coming on, with its long, dark evenings, I’m racking my brains for new authors for her to explore and enjoy.
Yesterday, while trying to pick out some likely to be appealing books, I remembered someone on some blog I frequently read speaking quite highly of Rosamunde Pilcher, and – lo and behold! – there were quite a number to choose from in the several secondhand bookstores I visited. So I’ve purchased a few – The Blue Bedroom (short stories), The Empty House, Another View, and September.
Today I’ve dipped into all of them, reading a page here and there, and several of the short stories, and I’m just not finding them terribly appealing. Is it just me, or did I pick the wrong ones, or??? These seem very “romantic fiction”, in all the worst ways. Could it be just that I’m coming off a course of Elizabeth Taylor (whom Mother did not at all enjoy when I slipped a few into her last box), and haven’t yet lowered my expectations?
What’s the general view on Rosamunde? Am I wasting my time with her, or do I need to dig deeper with a little more tolerance? Are there some books that are better than others, and if so, which would they be? Obviously The Shell Seekers must be one, as it is referenced favourably on every single flowery cover, as is Coming Home.
Your Pilcher opinions and other author suggestions most welcome!
Leaves & Pages 
I think I have read everything she published. There is a very definite trajectory in her work. The books starting with about the Shell Seekers are much better than the earlier ones. Her early stories were, I believe, written for US women’s magazines so have less substance. You may want to look at her son Robin who is still writing. His work is more even and very entertaining. And while your mother has a few years on me, her list isn’t very different from mine. Another author you might want to look at is Marcia Willett if you have not already. — Robin in Houston
That’s good to know. I’ll be looking for Shell Seekers on my next bookstore trip. Thank you for the other recommendations – I’ve noted them. Not familiar with either Robin Pilcher or Marcia Willett, but will see what I can find. Much appreciate your reply, Robin!
Coming Home is the only Pilcher I’ve ever read but I did enjoy it as a nice sort of undemanding war-time melodrama.
In terms of other suggestions, has she ever read any R.F. Delderfield? Or any of Eva Ibbotson’s adult novels (now rebranded as YA)? They are two of my favourite authors and both wrote quite romantic books. The Morning Gift is probably Ibbotson’s best (I love them all) and Delderfield’s Swann Saga and A Horseman Riding By trilogy are favourites in my family (so much so that I was named after one of the characters in A Horseman Riding By).
Hi Claire – ah – yes – “undemanding” is a good way to put it. I will go ahead & see what my mom thinks – she’s very up front if something isn’t to her taste! I find my choices are sometimes bang on, and other times way off base.
I’ve tried her on Delderfield, whom I quite like myself if I have time to sit down & concentrate, rather like that needed to digest Galsworthy – but she was underwhelmed. She did like some of the Eva Ibbotson YA novels – I had purchased those initially for my daughter (who read them and was mildly approving) but turns out I am the biggest fan. Mom informed me that she didn’t think them suitable for a young reader, because of some of the “adult situations” – I think it was A Countess Below Stairs which she was reading before that comment. My daughter (then 15) and I had a quiet laugh about that!
Would she not like D.E. Stevenson or O. Douglas?
She didn’t care for O. Douglas’ Penny Plain, but I’m wondering if Proper Place might be a better starting place.
A slight dilemma there – all of my precious copies of O. Douglas are quite fragile, so I’m hesitating to share them – sounds awful but books often come back from mom crumpled & water-damaged – they ride in the little basket in her walker & too often she is also transporting her filled water glass, or a bowl of soup (!) & such. I am no longer able to let her have library books, because she’s damaged so many – so now try to seek paperbacks & “2nd copies” so it’s not criticaL if they come back less than pristine! This has been a development of the past year or so – a sad factor of the progression of aging – and we’ve talked and agreed that perhaps the more “precious” books should be avoided so she doesn’t need to worry or feel bad after the fact.
I’m just glad she’s reading – she was very ill two years ago & subsequently had a bad spell of depression and totally stopped reading or doing crossword puzzles, and even watching TV – just sat in the dark for hours – but that has passed and she’s much more herself again, emotionally & mentally. Difficult times, ageing.
Thank goodness for the thriving secondhand book world – I sometimes spend an inordinate amount of time looking for “Mother” books, and in the process find some treasures for myself – a win-win, though a bit costly occasionally!
The earlier ones were more romance, and the later ones not so much. The Shell Seekers, September, Winter Solstice are quite well-thought of. Good stories, strong and memorable characters. She might also like Rosamunde’s son, Robin’s books. I think he’s a very good writer. Another writer in the mystery genre I think might appeal is Hazel Holt. Her Mrs. Malory books offer a wonderful heroine – a widow with a grown son in a lovely English town who comes upon murders. Terrific writing. And I wonder if she might like D.E. Stevenson. Her stories are really great, and there are a lot of them.
Yes – D.E. Stevenson is looking promising. I’m actively searching those out, and have high hopes of finding some reasonably-priced copies of at least the more easy-to-find ones in my next trip to the “southern cities” with the much greater selection than locally here in the BC Northern Interior – I’ve had good shopping in the past in Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna, Hope & the Vancouver-area satellite communities. We have some dance travel coming up, which means time to kill for me while my daughter is in session, plus we always build some extra time in to stop & book browse – she is a wonderful companion for that & enjoys the hunt and has sharp eyes & nimble joints for scanning bottom shelves!
Thank you so much (& everyone who’s commented) for the recommendations. Wonderful. 🙂