Glove Shop in Vienna [Hardcover]

Eva Ibbotson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1984

A collection of short stories by the author of Madensky Square reveals the writer's ability to write funny and erudite historical fiction.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Known for her neatly fashioned romance fiction, Ibbotson (Madensky Square) here collects 19 decorous stories of love gained and lost. With settings that range from the early 1990s to the present day, they generally feature surprise endings, some of them sadly contrived. In the title story, Max, a lawyer and confirmed bachelor in pre-WW I Vienna, attends the opera, where Helene, a singer of Wagnerian heft, is hurt in an onstage accident. She hires Max to file suit; they marry; later, Max takes a mistress. On his wife's death he is free to marry his paramour, but Helene's will dictates otherwise--she knew that forbidden fruit is sweetest. The London grocer in "Doushenka" is obsessed by Russia. Traveling to St. Petersburg, he falls in love with a young ballerina, but their relationship is ended by his sacrifice on her behalf, and for the rest of his life he must be content with the memories of his Great Love. A Great Love is the essential element in these old-fashioned tales, of which "Sidi" is the most celebratory--and blatantly sentimental. Eschewing the angst and alienation discussed in much contemporary fiction, Ibbotson offers leisurely details of a more genteel era whose passing she obviously laments. Her stories, however, are oversweet and ultimately cloying.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Women who enjoy romantic fiction will enjoy these heartwarming stories, first published in Great Britain in 1984. Ibbotson concentrates on the infinite variety of Great Love--its discovery, development, recognition, loss, and denouement. Her characters, males and females of all ages and professions, are frequently seen during the Christmas season and in prewar Vienna and Russia. In many stories, people find and lose each other--often with an O. Henry twist. Ibbotson, a winner of the Romantic Novelists Association award, writes charmingly about love, forgiveness, loss, and happiness. Highly recommended.
- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Century (September 13, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0712604677
• ISBN-13: 978-0712604673
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,337,246 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 More of what we like!, November 11, 2009

By 

Mrs. S. Owen "Sally O" (Aberystwyth, Wales) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Glove Shop in Vienna and Other Stories (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of Ibbotson's teenage novels; the ones where beautiful young ingenues end up with the man of their dreams, despite wars, aggressive fathers, or spiteful aunts, then this is a collection of short stories you will enjoy.
Set in both Britain, and Ibbotson's beloved Austria (where I am determined to visit one day, just to see if it is as wonderful as she makes it sound!), the tales combine humour, pathos, true love and genuine hearbreak.
Don't read it back to back - take a break between stories; they do all begin to be over-familiar after three in a row. If you spread it out over a fortnight, you'll have a warm glow for the whole time!

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully charming stories. An unusual writer., August 7, 2004

By 

Kelly Collins (Sedona, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glove Shop in Vienna and Other Stories (Hardcover)

Eva Ibbotson is a wonderfully charming writer with memorable and funny characters. Yes, as the review above states, her stories are as light and sweet as the Viennese desserts she often refers to, but her heroines are not sacharine or dull. But, let's face it, who would you rather spend your afternoon with: charming, witty and fun characters or someone from Hannibal? Ibbotson developes characters with personalities you want to meet and know. I highly recommend Glove Shop as well as any and all of her books, her adult ones as well as her juvenile fiction. Let's face it, if you like books filled with "throbbing and panting" or congealed blood Ms. Ibbotson is not the writer for you.