The Rosemary Tree

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The Rosemary Tree, by Elizabeth Goudge

I have all these books I want to post about, and really there are a couple of others that should come first, but I want to return Rosemary Tree to the library today, since it's an ILL.  So here we go.

Some time ago, some blogger (who it was I no longer know) put The Rosemary Tree on a list of her own personal life-changing books.  I really like Elizabeth Goudge a lot, and I had not heard of this title, so I put it on my wishlist and eventually got around to ILLing it.  It reminds me very much of the Eliot chronicles, being a story with a lot of different people, all connected.

We have John and Daphne, a married couple who need to connect better, their three daughters (each with her own story), the girls' school teachers, Daphne's former fiance (fresh out of prison), a great-aunt who lives on a small estate, and John's old nanny.  All of their stories intertwine to produce a really lovely novel about second chances that uplifts but is never sticky or saccharine.  I don't know that anyone could write novels like this anymore.

Someday when I'm rich, I will collect Elizabeth Goudge books.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 17, 2013 at 6:50 AM

    I've gotten Elizabeth Goudge books on PaperbackSwap before. Well, one. I only mention it in case you are on PaperbackSwap -- it's worth adding Elizabeth Goudge to your wishlist. Oh, and also, library sales. She's one of those authors like Mary Renault that you have a hard time finding in regular life but they show up at library sales pretty regularly. Then you won't have to wait until you're rich!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanNovember 17, 2013 at 9:12 PM

    Good point! I am not on PaperbackSwap. I've only managed to get one used copy--which is indeed from a library sale....

    ReplyDelete
  3. hopeinbrazilNovember 22, 2013 at 5:24 PM

    Goudge's books are way overpriced at Amazon (used), but I've gotten them for reasonable prices through Abebooks.com

    ReplyDelete

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