Miss Julia Throws a Wedding [Hardcover]

Ann B. Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2002

Miss Julia is a proper lady of a certain age with a backbone of iron and perfect steel magnolia poise, not to mention the sharpest tongue south of the Mason-Dixon Line. But Miss Julia Throws a Wedding finds her a little wistful when Hazel Marie, once her late husband's paramour and now her best friend, prepares to move out and live in sin with that nice Mr. Pickens. And with her she's taking Little Lloyd, the apple of Miss Julia' s eye!

But suddenly, to her delight, a wedding is in the offing. Handsome Deputy Sheriff Coleman Bates and attorney Binkie Enloe announce their plan to run down to the courthouse next week and tie the knot. That's no way to do it, insists Miss Julia (the only person around who knows cucumber sandwiches are correct in summer and ham biscuits in winter). Taking a few shortcuts in etiquette, Miss Julia decides to organize a real ceremony herself. Will Little Lloyd sing a solo? Will anybody notice the sparkling grape juice isn't champagne? These and other hilarious hurdles on the way to the altar reinforce Miss Julia's undying motto: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you've ever lived in a small town or been active in a church, chances are you know a Miss Julia, the paragon of outdated correctness at the center of Ann B. Ross's series of comic novels. One-third busybody, one-third Southern relic, and one-third loving kindness, the elderly Miss Julia finds herself at a loss at the beginning of Miss Julia Throws a Wedding. Although her own marriage was about as uplifting as a burned pot roast, she is mortified to learn that Hazel Marie, her dead husband's mistress, proposes to move out of Miss Julia's house and into a life of sin with the perpetual bachelor J.D. Pickens. At least Deputy Sheriff Coleman Bates and attorney Binkie Enloe, longtime lovers, have finally decided to do the right thing. Now if only they would do it the right way. Intent on preserving the niceties, Miss Julia takes over the wedding for Coleman and Binkie, vetoing their plans for a quick courthouse union and struggling to pull together a tasteful formal event with one week's notice. To complicate matters, a neighborhood thief and troublemaker, Dixon Hightower, has escaped from police custody. With only her imperious nature and the force of her convictions, can Miss Julia create the wedding of her dreams for Binkie and Coleman? It's a thin but spirited romp, like a village cozy without the unpleasantness of a murder. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly

The inimitable Miss Julia pushes an indecisive couple toward matrimony in this Southern comedy-of-manners series' latest installment, which begins with the protagonist frustrated at the inability of her friend, Miss Hazel, to get her beau to propose. But another opportunity surfaces when Sheriff Coleman Bates proposes to his lawyer girlfriend, Binkie Enloe. Miss Julia immediately plows into the wedding plans, which get derailed when a major fight causes Binkie to back out. After some clever detective work, Miss Julia discovers that the real reason for Binkie's hesitation is her pregnancy, which leaves her indecisive right up to the wedding day. Coleman's frustrations pale compared to the frenzied anguish plaguing Miss Julia as she tries to keep the wedding alive, until Binkie finally changes her mind. The couple still has to get past a series of calamities that include a no-show pastor, Binkie's bout with morning sickness and the sudden appearance of a "miraculous" religious image on the wall of the church construction site, bringing a TV crew and a throng of miracle seekers. Ross gets a bit carried away with wedding details, but her cheeky style works flawlessly once Miss Julia digs into the romantic intrigue and begins to ply her unique combination of common sense and old-fashioned, smalltown wisdom. The book should please followers of this series and perhaps draw new ones who enjoy throwback romantic comedies and don't mind wading through some silliness to get to the happy ending.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (April 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670031054
• ISBN-13: 978-0670031054
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,034 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

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DELIGHTFUL STORY!, June 17, 2002

By 

LUV TO READ "LORRAINE" (RHODE ISLAND, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (Hardcover)

If you have read "Miss Julia Speaks Out" and Miss Julia Takes Over" and loved them, you will also love this third book in the series......In this book we find fiesty Miss Julia Springer back with all her friends in a delightful, warm, story that takes place in her small southern town....As Miss Julia is a proper southern lady with a penchant for proper behavior, she is quick to make arrangements for a wedding between the handsome deputy Coleman Bates and his love Binkie Enloe. Binkie and Coleman told Miss Julia that they planned to get married in a quick ceremony at city hall in one week. Miss Juilia felt this was not proper, therefore just took over the planning: flowers, preacher, cake, food, music,use of her home, etc. She engaged the help of Hazel Marie and her young son Little Lloyd. Hazel Marie was the paramour of Julia's late husband.Lloyd Springer and Little Lloyd is his son. Julia took them both in when they had no where else to go and learned to love them both......The arrangements have been completed when Binkie and Coleman decide that they do not want to go thru with it, much to Miss Julia's anguish......A few other problems arise also....... I found this to be a warm hearted story and missed the characters when the story ended.......These three books about Miss Julia remind me of the Mitford Years Series of Jan Karon. Both authors write witty, charming stories of small, friendly, southern towns....Enjoyable!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Ross Hits Another Homer, May 24, 2002

By 

William M. Bowen (Chapin, S.C. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (Hardcover)

I fell in live with Ms. Ross' writing when I read her first little mystery paper back. And I fell head over heals in love when I read her Miss Julia series. Never has there been a more deliteful group of southern characters in (almost) real life situations. Ms. Ross makes em come alive as I can't wait to get to the next chapter and the end.. But alas when I arive there I'm sorry it's over and can't wait for the next book. Keep em comin' , Ms. Ross!
Oh yes ... start with the first book and read em all in order.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss Julia's At It Again, June 8, 2002

By 

Caroline A. Ross (Kilgore, Tx USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (Hardcover)

Miss Julia is one of my favorite people.A small town Southern
Presbyterian, she can get into trouble just by following her well meaning instincts. Though she doesn't approve of Binkie and Colemon's life style, she does everything she knows how to help them get things straightened out without appearing to be judgmental. Along with this, she improves the lot of her tenants while teaching Little Loyd business skills. Or maybe he's teaching her . Then, there's the threat of an escaped kleptomaniac to reckon with, not to mention Miss Julia's resignation from the prayer chain. I can't wait for the movie !