Julia's Sister [Kindle Edition]

Charlotte Vale-Allen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Annabel Abbott's twin sister Julia has committed suicide. This act turns Annabel's life upside down. She simply cannot comprehend why Julia, who had everything, would call her life a senseless rip-off and put an end to it. While Annabel, the studious one, the boring insurance consultant, has doggedly kept moving forward year after year. The detectives who have responded to her call have no explanations to offer, but one of the pair, Harry Schoenman, is very taken with Annabel and offers unexpected comfort.

Their brief affair results in Annabel's pregnancy and also inspires her decision to create a special pregnancy insurance company for women. Working with her feisty assistant Joan and her equally feister lawyer, Frieda, Annabel begins putting her company together -- along the way encountering nonstop negativism from the men with whom she has to deal.

Surprisingly, the person who seems to understand best what it is she's attempting to do, and who takes a personal interest in Annabel is her doctor, Rhys Bowen.

As Annabel's due date draws nearer, she is forced to turn everything over to Joan and, resigned, goes home to wait for the arrival of the baby. And, frighteningly, the birth of the child proves as daunting and dangerous -- but, finally, as deeply rewarding -- as everything else in her life.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 366 KB
• Print Length: 228 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Island Nation Press LLC; 3 edition (April 16, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0026RHZF8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,675 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Charlotte Vale-Allen was born in Toronto and lived in England from 1961 to 1964 where she worked as a television actress and singer. She returned to Toronto briefly, performing as a singer until she emigrated to the US in 1966. She sold her first novel Love Life in 1974. Prior to this book's publication she contracted to do a series of paperback originals, with the result that in 1976 three of her books appeared in print. Her autobiography, the acclaimed Daddy's Girl, was actually the first book she wrote but it wasn't until 1980, after she'd gained success as a novelist, that the groundbreaking book was finally published. One of Canada's most successful novelists, with over seven million copies sold of her 39 books, Ms. Allen's work has been published in all English-speaking countries, in Braille, and have been translated into more than 20 languages. The mother of an adult daughter and grandmother of twins, since 1970 she has made her home in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Suicide, Feminism, and a little Romance Thrown in for good measure, July 11, 2007

By 

Cynthia L. Sparks (Crown Point, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Julia's Sister (Paperback)

Charlotte Vale Allen's books tend to touch upon certain social issues. In Julia's Sister, Allen touches upon suicide and feminism. Abigail is Julia's sister. Although outwardly successful, Julia commits suicide in her penthouse apartment. Abigail becomes romantically involved with the detective, Harry, who is assigned to investigate her sister's undetermined death. Abigail decides she wants a child, so she intentionally becomes pregnant by Harry. However, Abigail could also see that Harry was not the person she wanted to build a future with, so she left him. The book then shows the struggle and bias that Abigail faced as an unwed mother.
Julia's Sister was written in the late 1970's, and society, and our values have changed a lot since then. It is one of Allen's earlier works. Although it is not her best work, I have yet to read a bad book by Charlotte Vale Allen.