Hattie's Mill [Paperback]

Marcia Willett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 1997

Hattie Weatherall's heart leapt when she first saw Abbot's Mill, and with her dog and an assortment of wild fowl for company she sets about renovating the mill. Sarah Farley feels a pang of envy for Hattie's freedom. For over twenty years, Sarah has tolerated her husband's infidelities - and her love for him is about to be tested again...As Hattie settles into life at the mill, she befriends two young boatmen. Toby is recovering from a broken marriage and, when he has a another chance at happiness, Hattie is glad welcome his new family into the fold. Joss's problems are not so easily solved, but when he turns to Hattie for help, the motherly love that blossoms in her heart enables them both to heal old wounds...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marcia Willett was born in Somerset, the youngest of five girls. She now lives in Devon with her husband, Rodney.

From AudioFile

Hattie decides to retire from nursing and buy a place of her own. In spite of the objections of her dear friend, she falls in love with a mill, its adjoining cottages, and its river location in Dartmouth. The story details the next five years at Hattie's mill, in particular the people who find their lives changed through their friendship with Hattie. June Barrie's voice draws the listener into the story and brings alive the joys and sorrows of the characters. This is a tale of the English countryside, as well as the people who inhabit it, and Barrie describes the area in a way that allows us to visualize it completely. D.M.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (May 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747254273
• ISBN-13: 978-0747254270
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Triple Treat: English Charm, Romantic Relationships, and Cozy Setting, February 5, 2007

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hattie's Mill (Paperback)

Marcia Willett writes in the warm, comforting style of Rosamunde Pilcher and Pilcher fans will relish her relationship dramas set on the English coast. HATTIE'S MILL, in part, continues a story first begun in FIRST FRIENDS (English title: THOSE WHO SERVE) while introducing many new and multi-dimensional characters. Fans of FIRST FRIENDS will recall the devastating affair that ended in tragedy, but in this book that same affair is seen from the viewpoint of the wronged wife, Sarah Farley. Sarah's dearest friend happens to be Hattie, a retired naval nurse who falls in love with a picturesque mill on the river Dart and buys the mill with its two adjoining cottages. How she builds a small community that becomes more like family and how their lives intertwine and change over the course of five years unfolds with charm for those familiar with the previous story or for first time readers as well.

In addition to Hattie, you will meet a boatyard operator, his estranged wife, their teenage daughter, his mistress and her children, a veteran of the crisis in Northern Ireland, a young law student, and more. Issues of adultery, alcoholism, and child abuse figure prominently, but it is the extended family atmosphere and lush English setting that make this such a compelling and worthwhile story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like Binchy and Pilcher, you will love Marcia Willett, May 12, 2009

By 

Petunia (Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hattie's Mill (Paperback)

Marcia Willett's writing style is very much like Maeve Binchy and Rosamund Pilcher. She creates likable (and some unlikable) characters that you grow to care about. The settings are so well described you feel like you are there, on the river, in the cottage or the mill, walking in the wood or having tea with a neighbor who is more like family. The relationships are deep and the people interesting. I love that she always includes a dog as an important part of every story, but not overpowering. Very relaxing book to enjoy by the fire with a cup of tea. I didn't want it to end.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hattie's Mill, May 13, 2010

By 

Eileen L. De Genova (Delmar, Md.) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hattie's Mill (Paperback)

I find Marcia Willett a writer whose rich landscapes and complex characters keep me reading far into late evening and wanting more after I am done each novel.