The New Rector (Tales from Turnham Malpas) [Hardcover]

Rebecca Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994 | Series: Tales from Turnham Malpas

First published in 1995, this is the first of a series. When the new rector, Peter Harris, arrives he finds the villagers welcoming but set in their ways. When the village is rocked by a spiteful trick and a gruesome murder, Peter's pastoral care is crucial, yet he is wrestling with his own private hell that may still wreck his own life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The small, gossipy English village of Turnham Malpas is the real protagonist of this entertaining first novel about life among the mannered, self-conscious British from Easter to Christmas of one year. New to town is handsome married pastor Peter Harris, who soon will react to a rather selfish suicide, figure out who pulled some nasty pranks on the town spinster and solve the murder of a local schoolteacher. The narrative is filled with drama, though the most dramatic writing has less to do with homicide than with the neurosis surrounding so-called "proper" behavior. Isn't Suzy Meadows's dress, wonder the townspeople, a bit tight and flashy for a mourning widow? And who will occupy the murdered woman's house now that it's vacant? With understanding and sympathy, English writer Shaw captures the tradition-bound, rural sensibility of people who ordinarily mean well but who have trouble communicating with each other. Sending up the British stereotypes (the repressed spinster, the noble gardener) that Americans often relish, she seems to be writing with Yankee Anglophiles in mind.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Rebecca Shaw qualified as a teacher of deaf children before embarking on marriage and a family. She is now a Sunday Times bestselling author. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 3 pages
• Publisher: Orion Books Ltd (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857975553
• ISBN-13: 978-1857975550
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,981,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tales from Turham Malpas, October 27, 2006

By 

M. Hudgens "mhleigh" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Rector (Tales from Turnham Malpas) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the village of Turham Malpas in Great Britain, there is a buzz in the air. After years of having an elderly, staid minister, there is a new, young rector in town. As the book progresses, the reader is introduced to the people of Turham Malpas, their stories, their histories, and become invested in their futures. There's romance, drama, suspense, intrigue, etc, etc.

I absolutely love this book (and the series that go with it). I read it for the first time when I was traveling Europe and it was the first English novel my poor hands had managed to find in weeks, and I was indescribably enthused . . . and this excellent first impression has never died. I don't think I could read the whole series back to back without getting tired of it, but I love to pick one up every now and then. The look into the life of a little British village (and all the drama it contains) is just plain fun. It is filled with quirky characters, well-rounded imperfect main figures, the good, the bad, the mysterious. Yay.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 31, 2011

By 

S. McEwen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Rector (Turnham Malpas 01) (Kindle Edition)

I love this book. I've just bought it for my kindle so I can always have it with me. The New Rector is the first in a series of approx 20 Turnham Malpas books by Rebecca Shaw, and it's a really good read. Like all of Rebecca's books it is a great look at the mysteries and intrigues of a small English Village. Rebecca writes in a way that makes you wish that you lived there too. All of the characters come to life on the page. Good things and bad things happen. I wait every year for the new addition to the series.... Highly Recommended.