Customer Reviews

Harnessing Peacocks (King Penguin)

Teenaged Hebe runs away from the home she shares with her grandparents when she overhears them and her bossy older sisters plotting to get her an unwanted abortion.

We see her again as her son, Silas, is growing old enough to question his background. His mother has raised him on her own, cooking for wealthy elderly clients and "tarting" (as she calls it) for several selected men, to be able to provide him with the same upbringing she had. She is smart, fiercely independent, and vulnerable (although she doesn't realize it).

One of my favorite things about this book is Wesley's wonderfully quirky and complex characters.

If you enjoy other authors such as Barbara Pym, Laurie Colwin and Jane Austen, I think you will enjoy this book.

Perhaps it's just my American impatience but I thought the book took too long to get off the ground. Characters' habits and daily activities were explored more than necessary and by the time the farcical elements got going, I felt relief more than enthusiasm. Still, the writing was excellent and the characters were well drawn. I can see why Wesley is a popular author in her native Great Britain.