Miss Julia Meets Her Match [Hardcover]

Ann B. Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2004 | Series: Ross, Ann B.

Sharp as a tack and proper as afternoon tea, Miss Julia has won a devoted and ever-growing legion of fans. But are Miss Julia’s single days numbered? In Miss Julia Meets Her Match, her longtime beau, Sam Murdoch, wants to tie the knot. But Miss Julia isn’t about to give up her independence so easily. At the moment there are many other matters that require her attention, such as Dwayne Dooley’s plans to build the Walk Where Jesus Walked Christian theme park—a re-creation of the Holy Land complete with actors, sound effects, and trailer hookups.

Meanwhile, the whole town is buzzing with rumors. The preacher’s secretary was spotted leaving a sleazy motel with the mayor’s car parked nearby. The preacher’s wife, always sternly opposed to any "artificial adornment," is suddenly sporting a complete cosmetic and fashion makeover. Even Miss Julia’s own home is not immune to shock waves—the arrival of Latisha, housekeeper Lillian’s five-year-old pistol of a great-granddaughter, shakes up Miss Julia’s household like a bunch of Fourth of July firecrackers. But can Miss Julia’s cool-as-a-cucumber head help her heart make the decision of a lifetime?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

What do you do if you're a genteel, well-to-do widow on the far side of 70 who discovers her late husband had a mistress and a young son? If you're Miss Julia, you swallow your pride and take Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd into your home. That was four books ago. Now, in her latest outing, Miss Julia hears a rumor that another one of her husband's paramours is in town. She'd like to keep this quiet, and fortunately the people of Abbotsville have plenty else to gossip about. There's the transformation of Tony Allen into Tonya, and church secretary Norma's relationship with Mayor Beebe, and the construction of the dubious Walk Where Jesus Walked theme park outside of town. To Miss Julia's chagrin, there's also talk about her friendship with Sam, who keeps pressing her to marry him. A fun read for Miss Julia fans. Mary Ellen Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Ann B. Ross and Miss Julia are fast becoming Southern classics." -- Winston-Salem Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1st edition (March 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067003293X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670032938
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ann is the mother of two daughters and one son, and the grandmother of four grandsons (including twin boys) and two granddaughters, both of whom are her namesakes. When her children were in college, she decided to complete her own education, enrolling in the University of North Carolina at Asheville where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Literature. Reluctant to return to an empty nest, she continued her education by enrolling in the English Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned both the Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Afterwards, she taught Literature and the Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Ann's writing career began in the early eighties when two mysteries were published as original paperbacks: THE MURDER CURE and THE MURDER STROKE. A few years later, her first hardcover book was published: THE PILGRIMAGE, an adventure story set in the nineteenth century. All three books are now out of print, but occasionally a used copy of THE PILGRIMAGE appears on Amazon.com for sale.

The publication of the first Miss Julia book, MISS JULIA SPEAKS HER MIND in 1999, set Ann on a full-time writing career. This book went through six reprintings in less than a year, and was ranked #9 on the Independent Booksellers' seventy-six most highly recommended books for 1999. In addition, the book was named to the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers list. The paperback edition of the same book was listed in The Best Books of the First Five Years by BookSense, as one of the titles independent booksellers most enjoyed handselling. The book was also published by Readers Digest Condensed Books, appearing in twelve foreign languages.

MISS JULIA TAKES OVER was one of seven nominees for the Book of the Year Award (2001) by the Southeastern Booksellers Association.

All of the books in the series are available on audiotape and in large-print editions, and are also available through The Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club. All of the books, except the newest one each year, can be found in paperback editions.

MISS JULIA THROWS A WEDDING, MISS JULIA HITS THE ROAD, MISS JULIA MEETS HER MATCH, and MISS JULIA'S SCHOOL OF BEAUTY have all appeared on the New York Times Extended Bestseller List.

All of the books in the series will be published in German, Japanese, and Croatian editions, as well as on audiotape (in English) and in large print editions.

Inspiration for the escapades of Ann's much-loved character, Miss Julia, comes in all manner of ways -- a chance remark by a friend or family member, an incident she happens to see, in a dream, or by being reminded of something in her past experiences. It is always deeply satisfying to her when scenes in the book she is working on suddenly seem to fit together to make a good story. She does not outline or make detailed plans before starting a story. She does, however, have a general plot in mind before beginning to write, but this usually entails only the conflict and the final resolution, with few ideas of how they will be worked out. So, with just the beginning and the end of a book decided on, Ann relies on the characters themselves to fill in the middle with first one subplot after another. This, she says, is the joy of writing -- when a character suddenly does or says something unexpectedly, leading her to funny and surprising 'mini-scenes' that seem to delight readers.

Ann was once asked by an interviewer how she knew when something she'd written was good. She replied, "I know it's good when I fall off my chair laughing." From that response, we can be sure that she enjoys writing about her characters as much as we enjoy reading about them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MISS JULIA MEETS MORE THAN HER MATCH, April 5, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Julia Meets Her Match (Hardcover)

Has Miss Julia Springer met her match? Well, if not her match evidently her mate. At long last she has agreed to marry persistent suitor, Sam Murdoch. Yes, she's willing to order new stationery and store her monogrammed linens. As chronicled in "Miss Julia Meets Her Match," fifth in a popular series by Ann B. Ross, the road to saying yes has not been smooth, but rather filled with a few shocks, and much laughter.

As many know, Miss Julia is a prim, extremely proper Presbyterian lady who has met many a challenge with spirit and determination. That's not always easy to do in the small town of Abbotsville where everyone knows everyone else's business. Nonetheless, in sensible shoes with head held high Miss Julia has overcome a great deal.

Wesley Lloyd, her late not great husband was a pillar of the church and an equal opportunity philanderer. He is now gone but surely not forgotten because he left a child. As Miss Julia puts it he dallied for more than a decade with Hazel Marie Puckett who produced a son. Then he left Miss Julia "to clean up the mess and end up with both mistress and son living under my roof. " Nonetheless, the two women have become fast friends and both dote on Little Lloyd.

There's scant time to dwell on the past as news from Velma's Beauty Shop is astonishing: the pastor's secretary, Norma Cantrell, otherwise known as "Miss High and Mighty," was seen leaving the Mountaintop Motel while the married Mayor's car was parked nearby. More startling news: pious and plain Emma Sue, the pastor's wife, has gone to Velma's for an after hours make over. Emma Sue who often says "there'll be no Avon or Mary Kay products in heaven" now bats "the longest eyelashes ever seen outside of a package in Eckerd's Drugstore." This transformation devastates the pastor who fears she will tempt Christians to sin, "stirring the loins of every man who sees her."

Religion plays a large part in Miss Julia's life, especially since the arrival of Dwayne Dooley. He's a man on a mission "to do the Lord's work in Abbotsville and environs." He plans to build a religious theme park on 20 acres of Miss Julia's land. It will be called "The Walk Where Jesus Walked Christian Theme Park," and boast a manger with live animals, "his earthly daddy's carpenter shop in a real-live village," a temple, Jerusalem, and the cave where Lazarus was buried.

Miss Julia's serenity is further interrupted by the arrival of her housekeeper's five-year-old great-granddaughter, Latisha. She's a tiny brown-skinned girl with large eyes and a head full of plaits and barrettes." "How you do, ma'am," the child says upon meeting Miss Julia. "You got a real nice house somewhere down here in North Car'lina, `cept I don't know where that is, but it's where I'm at now." Latisha is much more than anyone has bargained for, including Little Lloyd.

Both funny and endearing "Miss Julia Meets Her Match" is peopled with quirky Southerners who charm. Capricious and sometimes even a tad tetched this cast of characters leads readers on a merry romp that ends too soon.

- Gail Cooke

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really cute book!, February 13, 2005

By 

Rebecca Henderson (Johnson City, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Julia Meets Her Match (Hardcover)

If you're looking for a "feel good" book, this is the one for you, as are the other books in the Miss Julia series. Each of the books can certainly stand by itself, but I think they would probably read a little easier if you read them in the order in which they were published. A great book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great light reading, January 19, 2005

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Julia Meets Her Match (Hardcover)

Miss Julia's household gets a new addition in this book -- the very spontaneous five year old granddaughter of her housekeeper (who is living with her temporarily). And Miss Julia is being urged to marry by Sam, her lawyer boyfriend, but Miss Julia's first marriage to a controlling philanderer has made her wary of a second marriage. She loves Sam and doesn't want to lose him, either -- he's a "catch." And if that weren't enough, Miss Julia has some spin control problems -- she's heard that another of her late husband's lover is back in town (she didn't know he had more than one) and she doesn't want her husband's son (by his lover -- this gets complicated) to hear about yet another lover (for reasons that are never very convincing). So she has to get the woman to leave town before the gossip begins in earnest. This woman is part of a group that's building a Jesus-based theme park just outside town. One of the pillars of this small southern town has a son return to visit -- only now he's a daughter... And then there's the pastor's secretary seen leaving a motel...and the pastor's wife has suddenly started wearing makeup...So this gossipy little town has plenty to talk about.

You get the idea. Lots of the little things that make up everyday life. I think this is probably a woman's book, and probably even an older woman's book (Miss JUlia is no spring chicken). It's about small town life in North Carolina, although I have no idea if it's acccurate. Miss Julia is a likeable, believable character, and this book is quite amusing.