Echoes of the Dance [Hardcover]

Marcia Willett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2007

In the mellow stone house of his childhood, Roly Carradine has found refuge in the stream running past the garden where a heron makes his nest. A broken marriage and a terrible burden of guilt made Roly remove himself from his busy London life; here in Cornwall he welcomes Kate, who also seeks refuge from the grief of losing her husband, and young Daisy Quin, a dancer recovering from a back injury.

 

Roly's son Nat, a garden designer with his own secret, lives not far away, and is plagued by the unsympathetic visits of his mother Monica, Roly's ex-wife. Daisy, her burgeoning talent frustrated by her back problems, has been taken in by Mim, Roly's sister and a brilliant ballerina until an accident forced her into early retirement. Living in Bath, Daisy thinks she has found love with the attractive schoolmaster in the nearby flat---but her dreams prove to be false ones.

 

Treating Marcia Willett's ardent fans to a return visit with some of her most endearing characters from previous books, Echoes of the Dance is a gem of a story to be savored.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For her latest warmhearted take on love, change and relationships, Willett brings back Kate Webster (First Friends; A Friend of the Family), now a newly widowed grandmother living in Cornwall not far from Roly Carradine, a retired London photographer. While trying to persuade grieving Kate to adopt his newest stray dog, Floss, Roly agrees to take in a stray person, Daisy Quin, who, like Roly's sister, Mim, years before, has just suffered an accident that threatens to end her dancing career. Mim became a successful and beloved dancing instructor and wants to help Daisy follow her example, but Daisy is not ready to face that she may never dance again, or that the man she's in love with is not all he seems. Likewise, Roly's manipulative ex-wife, Monica, still pines for him; Roly retains a guilty secret; and Roly and Monica ignore the fact that their son, Nat, has secrets of his own. Chez Willett, friends help friends when they get "wumbled" (worried and jumbled) while courtship and marriage just wumble things up. Willett gets a bit wumbled herself, overexplaining the psychology of her characters and avoiding a happily-ever-after ending by substituting stagy sentimentality. Appealing, durable, human characters like Kate, Roly, Mim and Daisy deserve better. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this sprightly tale of true confessions, troublesome challenges, and transient pleasures, Willett reacquaints readers with Kate Webster, a cherished character from previous novels (First Friends, A Friend of the Family, both 2006), as a catalyst in reuniting an estranged father and son, and introduces Daisy Quin, a promising young ballerina whose career is in jeopardy. Mourning the death of her longtime lover, the emotionally fragile Kate ponders an uncertain future on her own, while her dear friend Roly faces a stunning revelation concerning his son, Nat, that will either forge a strong new bond between them, or push them farther apart. Leave it to the delightfully forthright Daisy to show both Kate and Roly the simple solutions to their complex problems, a favor Roly gladly repays when Daisy finally realizes her days as a dancer are over. With an agile mastery of multiple story lines and an uncanny knack for creating sympathetic characters, Willett winsomely creates congenial worlds that welcome loyal fans and new readers with ease. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312361009
• ISBN-13: 978-0312361006
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,273,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Families, Old Friends Unite in Cozy Tale of Tragedy and Renewal, May 28, 2007

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Echoes of the Dance (Hardcover)

Marcia Willett brings her special brand of English charm to this family saga set in the Cornish countryside. Mim Carradine is an acclaimed ballerina who suffers a career-ending tragedy, the details of which have far-reaching consequences. She finds comfort in managing a school to train dancers for the stage. Uncannily, history seems to repeat itself when one of her former star pupils also suffers a career-ending accident. Lured to Mim's family home in Cornwall, Daisy rediscovers her inner strength as she choreographs a Christmas matinee and puts to rest the remnants of a love affair gone sour. Pivotal to this novel is Mim's brother, Roly Carradine, who harbors a long-standing secret that has led him to alcoholism, divorce, and a rocky relationship with his son.

Followers of Willett's series will be delighted with the reappearance of Kate Webster, one of Willett's most endearing characters (First Friends, A Friend of the Family) as she has reached her senior years and has many problems to bear: her grief as a widow, finances that are forcing her to sell her family home, and the fact that her son Guy and his family are moving to Canada. It's all too much to bear for Kate, but she finds consolation and help from her dear friend Roly Carradine, his son Nat, and Nat's friend Janna.

Along with enchanting new characters like Janna, Nat, and Daisy, there are glimpses of old friends from previous Willett novels: Harriett, Michael, Gemma, Guy, and Giles all appear and there is mention of Cass, Felicity, and Bruno. The old and the new mix wonderfully for an enchanting new story that lets the reader see how Kate and her sons have progressed through the years.

As with all Willett novels, loose ends are resolved nicely and everyone is looking to the future with new hope. If family sagas with happy endings are your cup of tea, you will find this one spot on.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Read!, May 12, 2007

By 

Anna Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Echoes of the Dance (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of Marcia Willett and her latest book didn't disappoint me. Many of the characters have been in previous books and it was so nice to revisit them as they have aged. It was like visiting relatives you haven't seen in a while. Added to the story were new characters that I hope will be in future novels. Her stories are so good that you just want to live in the places she describes and be good friends with the characters.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious Return to the Moors, July 22, 2007

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Echoes of the Dance (Hardcover)

Oh what an inestimable treat to find our old friends Cass Wivenhoe (although only mentioned in passing, but very much in our hearts) and Kate Webster, whom we met in First Friends and Friend of the Family!

When I eagerly picked up this latest from wonderful Marcia Willett, I had no idea it was a sequel of sorts, and so was doubly delighted to find dear Kate Webster, whom we last saw happy at last in a new and companionable marriage. Now she is widowed, and in the throes of indecision: sell or keep the house? Give her heart again to a dog (as readers of the series know, Kate has been a dog breeder, but now has no dogs at all!)? She is in a "dither," and our hearts go out to her.

Then there are all the new and wonderful people to get to know: Roly, a friend of Kate's of long-standing; his choreographer sister Mim, whose brilliant dancing career was halted after a serious accident many years before; a lovely, fey young dancer, Daisy, recuperating after her own serious injury and in love with the wrong man; and so many others. Willet's genius is that she allows the reader to get to know her characters as they would real people...slowly, and with growing understanding.

There is a sweet and understated plot, as always, but I won't belabor it here. Suffice to say that this book absolutely can't be missed. I recommend it as a first Willet read or, for those of us who have become enamored of this wonderful British author, an absolutely delicious sequel. Enjoy!