Francesca's Party (Paragon Softcover Large Print Books) [Paperback]

Patricia Scanlan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Paragon Softcover Large Print Books | Publication Date: September 2002

As the novel opens, Francesca's banker husband is supposedly off to a conference in Brussels. But when she drops him off at the airport, he forgets his cell phone. Considerate wife that she is, Francesca parks the car, and hurries to catch him before his plane leaves. She catches him all right, just as he's passionately kissing one of his female colleagues like there's no tomorrow.

But there is a tomorrow, and what happens in the days to follow is hilarious. Readers will cheer for Francesca all the way to her triumphant revenge. . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crowd-pleasing Irish import Francesca's Party is the latest from Patricia Scanlan (City Girl; Finishing Touches). When Francesca Kirwan drops her husband, Mark, off at the airport, he forgets his cell phone; she goes to return it, only to find him kissing svelte young Nikki. The narrative moves back and forth between spineless Mark and spunky Francesca, focusing on the latter, who gradually begins to find solace in her independence and eventually strength and happiness. Family members, like Francesca's unsympathetic mother and devoted teenaged sons, provide as much friction as support. The dialogue is crisp and intelligent, and there are plenty of amusing scenes, including a showdown between Francesca and "cheeky little tart" Nikki, that will have readers cheering for the modest heroine. Scanlan shows that living well is indeed the best revenge.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Francesca Kirwan, who at 40 has been married for 22 years, is firmly entrenched in her role as mother and housewife. Her sons are both grown, but she still takes care of her crotchety father-in-law and self-centered, investment banker husband, Mark. Then her life suddenly and drastically changes when she catches Mark kissing Nikki, a sexy younger woman. Francesca soon learns that Mark and Nikki have been having an affair for some time, so she kicks Mark out, and he moves in with Nikki. Although Nikki would like to get married, her relationship with Mark never evolves that far. Though reminiscent of Elizabeth Berg's Open House, this book is different in that readers get the perspective each of the main characters. Readers are therefore aware of Nikki's manipulation and are not surprised when Mark wants Francesca back. The titular party comes near the end when it's clear Francesca has taken a situation that seemed disastrous and turned it into an opportunity for growth. A former librarian, Scanlan lives in Dublin, where this book takes place; she is the author of eight previous novels (City Lives, Apartment 3B). Fans of women's fiction and authors like Maeve Binchy will enjoy. For most public libraries. Karen Core, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754090973
• ISBN-13: 978-0754090977
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,611,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have read in a long time, September 8, 2002

By 

Pamela Claughton (charlestown, ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Francesca's Party: A Novel (Hardcover)

Well, I picked this up initially because the blurb on the jacket said that it was like Maeve Binchy. Then I read the first few pages and I was hooked. Because of this book, I did not get anything else accomplished all day! I just lost myself in it, and that has not happened in a very long time. If you like Maeve Binchy, you will LOVE Patricia Scanlon. She writes very real, warm characters, and you can even sympathize with the "bad" ones because they are so well developed and have reasons for their actions. She takes a fairly simple story, that of a woman who after 20 years or so of marriage is shocked to the core to discover that her faithful husband is cheating. How she deals with this and grows over the course of the novel is told in a riveting way....she keeps the reader turning pages, and given that this is not a suspense story, she keeps the tension high, so that you just need to know what will happen next.

I will be trying to track down her other books now as I guess she is pretty big overseas, but virtually unknown here. I do not recommend authors lightly.....this is a great, warm pageturner....read this book!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great book from a great author, January 10, 2003

By 

Kelly A. fuller "certified book nut" (Pennsville, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Francesca's Party: A Novel (Hardcover)

I have to first say that I love Patricia Scanlan. I have been a fan since I first read City Girls a few years ago and I have read everything she has published since then. I love her work and her stories always hook me in immediately. This book was no different.

From reading the book jacket, you would think that this is your average, run of the mill, divorce story. Bitterness, fights, heatrbeak and trauma. But its much more than that. I think this story was oddly uplifting. A dependent woman learns to stand on her own two feet. She suffers a terrible tragedy but learns that she make something of herself. This is her chance to become the type of woman she always admired. There is lots of drama and heartbreak along the way, making this an inticing read. I definitly recommend it anyone, not just fans of Maeve Binchy. I think that Patricia Scanlan is in a category all her own!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest to goodness story-telling, February 11, 2004

By 

martin o'donnell (Dublin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Francesca's Party (Mass Market Paperback)

It's a testament to the strength of Patricia Scanlan's writing that her readers, whether male or female, can empathise with her characters. In this tale of a betrayed wife, we meet a real woman: no Jackie Collins-esque maneater, but a real human being, complete with frailties, faults and vulnerablility. Scanlan manages to avoid the obvious trap of creating a cartoonish lothario in Mark and a martyred heroine in Francesca. Even "the other woman" is portrayed with depth and sensitivity. And that's what keeps you reading. You KNOW these people: you work with them, you live with them, you've grown up with them. You quite possibly might BE them.

This is old-fashioned story-telling at its best. No pretensions. No clever-cleverness. Something some of Ms. Scanlan's peers might care to note. In an age where there is a worrying return to the boorish objectification of women (check MTV, magazines and many youth-orientated TV dramas if you don't believe me), it is refreshing to presented with such a credible character in a book. Somewhere out there, there MUST be a TV producer who can recognise the excellent mini-series waiting within these pages. And when that is broadcast, perhaps Scanlan's wonderful "Promises, Promises" and "Mirror, Mirror" will be filmed too.