Acting Up [Hardcover]

Libby Purves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

The Andersons are a military family with honors and traditions stretching back two hundred years. When the second Iraq war breaks out, it is only natural that their newest generations should be represented in the ranks of British officers. At 24, Lieutenant Susie Anderson delays her wedding to handsome fellow-officer Callum and joins her regiment on the hot sands of Kuwait. Real difficulties come, though, when Callum comes home injured, altered and bitter, and Susie and her family feel as though their lives are shattered. The solution to this tangle comes from the most unlikely source of all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An eclectic mix of meticulously researched settings ... Purves's prose is clear and unfussy' -- Observer 'Convincing and enjoyable ... there is a warmth and sincerity about this novel that makes one care about its outcome.' -- Sunday Telegraph 'A joy to read' -- Good Book Guide

About the Author

Libby Purves is a writer and also a broadcaster who has presented the talk programme Midweek on Radio 4 since 1984 and formerly presented Today. She is a main columnist on the Times and in 1999 was named the Granada "What the Papers Say" Columnist of the Year, and awarded an O.B.E for services to journalism. She lives in Suffolk with her husband the broadcaster and writer Paul Heiney, and their two children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton; Signed edition (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340826304
• ISBN-13: 978-0340826300
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,708,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gallantry; the battle with oneself, February 6, 2005

By 

rachelreader (London UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Up (Hardcover)

Review of Libby Purves Acting Up

This is one of Libby Purves' better efforts. Military family, daughter Susie goes as officer to the Gulf, son Francis continues his career as a `drag chanteuse.' Both show the inherited family courage, whether at war or under fire from a discontented audience - he insists on facing them again with a different act. Francis also puts on what is described as his own private ENSA act when Susie's fiancé is sent home wounded from the gulf. Some sailing action for those who like that and all - or at least most - of the different characters face trials with guts and kindness. There's even a happy ending for this enjoyable read