Miss Julia's School of Beauty [Hardcover]

Ann B. Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2005

Miss Julia’s wildly popular escapades have kept readers coming back again and again. In Miss Julia Meets Her Match, she finally succumbed to Sam’s charms and became Mrs. Murdoch. Will marriage dampen this proper lady’s sense of adventure? Fortunately for her growing legion of fans, the answer is no. In Miss Julia’s School of Beauty, Hazel Marie is organizing a beauty pageant to raise money for the sheriff’s department and enlists Miss Julia’s help in teaching the contestants etiquette and poise. Between settling into a new, unfamiliar home and refereeing the squabbles between Sam’s housekeeper, James, and her beloved Lillian, Miss Julia could use a distraction. But when Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd—who are still in residence at her old homestead—have a dangerous domestic mishap that only she can set right, Miss Julia packs up and moves back home, Sam in tow.

Just when everything seems to have returned to almost normal, the town erupts with rumors about a marriage mill that may be performing fraudulent ceremonies. What would the town think if they found out Sam and Miss Julia might be living in sin?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Abbotsville, North Carolina's arbiter of all things proper, Miss Julia, and her friend Sam are finally married--or are they? Something is not quite right about their spur-of-the-moment nuptials at the Wedding Ring Chapel near Dollywood. The fact that she may have been living with Sam without being legally wed sends the normally unflappable Miss Julia into a tailspin, but that's not all she has to contend with. Her late first husband's erstwhile mistress, Hazel Marie, whom Miss Julia now thinks of as family, is organizing a beauty pageant to raise money for the sheriff department's canine unit and enlists Miss Julia's help. Also on the pageant committee is Etta Mae Wiggins, who once set her cap for Sam. Housekeeper Lillian and Sam's man James are feuding over who is the better cook. And LuAnne Conover is planning a big surprise reception for the supposed newlyweds at the country club. Fun for series fans, although a few of Ross' characters teeter dangerously close to being stereotypes. Mary Ellen Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

It is impossible not to like irrepressible, perfectly proper Miss Julia. -- The Roanoke Times

Miss Julia is one of the most delightful characters to come along in years. -- Fannie Flagg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking; 1st edition (March 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739453661
• ISBN-13: 978-0670033881
• ASIN: 067003388X
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,952 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

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The title is a tad misleading, April 8, 2005

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Miss Julia's School of Beauty (Hardcover)

Miss Julia, that spitfire of a widow from North Carolina, has gone and eloped with lawyer Sam Murdoch. Avid readers of this series will remember that Sam pursued Julia at every turn, and she was too close to see his attention for what it was. She's still not sure about his intentions, even though they're now married -- or are they? Seems the minister they ran to in Tennessee wasn't ordained by a legal church. Ooops! So Julia and Sam are in trouble, as are a few dozen other couples and a famous country singer whose wedding-gone-awry story appears in a supermarket tabloid.

That's only the minor storyline here. The big news is that Hazel Marie is planning a local beauty contest, and to that end she enlists the help of Miss Julia and her nemesis, Etta Mae Wiggins. The six contestants must be taught how to walk, talk, dress, and make themselves appealing to the audience and the three judges. Hazel Marie and Etta Mae do most of the work with the girls, so no formal School of Beauty exists. But to Miss Julia's credit, she takes the most needy contestant under her wing and does pretty well with her. And the pageant is a success.

Other readers may think this episode is somehow lacking, but I laughed out loud more than once at Miss Julia's observations and succinct assessments. Her constant appraisal of everything that comes her way is one of her endearing qualities. She *does* need to calm down where Sam is concerned and simply trust that he is indeed a good man who is hopelessly devoted to her. Perhaps time will tell in that respect.

An entertaining read with memorable characters.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Miss Julia--married or not?, August 19, 2005

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Julia's School of Beauty (Hardcover)

Miss Julia and Sam Murdoch have eloped to the Smoky Mountains and have had a family honeymoon at Dollywood. Unfortunately, there seems to be some doubt as to whether the wedding chapel preacher is really qualified to perform weddings. Since proper behavior is #1 with Miss Julia, she tells Sam that they must have separate quarters until the marriage mystery is cleared up. Meanwhile Hazel Marie, Miss Julia's erstwhile housemate, is involved in a beauty pageant which will raise money for the sheriff's department. She, Miss Julia, and the flirtatious Etta Mae Wiggins, are in charge of the pageant and the contestants, a rag-tag group of six girls which present a real challenge to their mentors. This book is not quite as much fun as its predecessors in the series, because of Miss Julia's unfounded concerns about Sam's fidelity and whether he truly wants to be married to her. Otherwise, it's the usual romp with the characters which have become to beloved in the other books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still cute, but..., April 5, 2005

By 

Kirsten Wallevand "Knitaholic" (Farmington, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Julia's School of Beauty (Hardcover)

While I enjoyed this latest "Miss Julia" novel, some of the aspects of the series are getting a little old. For instance, Julia's tendenancy to jump to conclusions and get herself into a completely misdirected tizzy is starting to feel farfetched and tiresome. As is the meddling of her "friends" and neighbors. When Julia's friend, Luanne Conover, wants to throw Julia and Sam a wedding celebration and Julia refuses, Luanne chews her up one side and down the other. I cannot believe that anyone would put up with it the way Julia does. And the day my pastor aimed his sermon at me specifically would be the day I found another church. For such a strong, opinionated character, Julia sure lets people run rough-shod over her.

The premise of "School of Beauty" is that Hazel Marie is organizing a beauty pagent to help raise funds for the sheriff's department. Miss Julia is brought in to help the contestants with deportment. The second story line is that the validity of Julia's and Sam's marriage is called into question when it surfaces that the minister who performed the ceremony in Pigeon Forge, TN might not be authorized by the state to officiate. Of course, this causes problems for our ever proper Miss Julia as she goes into full panic mode about "living in sin" (another far-fetched notion...I mean, we are in the 21st century and no one will sew a scarlet A to her blouse). All I can say is, God bless Sam for putting up with her.

All in all, it was a good book, but the character of Miss Julia isn't continuing to evolve into the strong, independent woman I hoped she'd be. She still cares too much about what others think and still allows their opinions to dictate her actions.