Four women take a pledge of eternal friendship shortly before World War I as the world they have known descends into chaos and their different destinies, which include obsession, murder, and insanity, begin to be played out. A first novel. 25,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The usual historical romance ingredients--women's friendships, unplanned pregnancy, adultery, illness, war, political conflict, generational tension--are deftly handled in Saunders's ( The Prodigal Father ) latest offering. Set in Ireland, England and France during WW I, the plot centers on four girls who swear an oath of eternal friendship on their final night together at an Irish boarding school: Rory, a feisty Irish lass who plans never to marry; Francesca, a delicate beauty forever shamed by childhood incest; Eleanor, who will fall for an abusive lover; and Jenny, who will battle her fiance's mother for years. As the four go about their intertwined adult lives, readers experience their dramatically changing circumstances, as well as the near dissolution of friendship between two of the women, who fall for the same man. Though Saunders concentrates on Rory (her presence in a retrospective narrative in 1935 suggests that the novel is a sort of letter to her daughter and to the next generation of women), each of the heroines' characters are developed in surprising and subtle ways. With its lively dialogue and carefully researched period details, the novel reproduces a bygone era while charging it with timeless human emotion. First serial to Good Housekeeping .
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In 1907, four school-aged girls make a solemn vow that they will always be friends. One can only guess at the upcoming tribulations that these young women will face- tribulations that inevitably test the strength and fabric of their commitment to one another. In that regard, Saunders won't disappoint readers; her characters swirl through an assortment of dilemmas, including wife abuse, a deaf child, and a love interest with the unfortunate name Muttonhead. Still, it's been done before, and libraries with limited fiction budgets should consider this book an optional choice.
Margaret Hanes, Sterling Heights P.L., Mich.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Margaret Hanes, Sterling Heights P.L., Mich.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic,
This review is from: Night Shall Overtake Us (Paperback)
Most of the reviewers discuss the characters of this book and the romance, and I agree with their assessments that this book is excellent on that score. However, the main reason this book is good is that it artfully demonstrates how the characters were changed by World War I. As the book begins, the characters are interested in society, social conventions, getting married, etc. They expect WWI to be over quickly. It is not, and the way it affects the people and the society makes this book a real standout. I bought this book when it was first published and recently re-read it, which says a lot, because I rarely re-read fiction. This book delivers much more than its cover indicates.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect,
By A Customer
This review is from: Night Shall Overtake Us (Paperback)
This is a book filled with everything and anything that you may be looking for. It's has romantic momets as well as tragic ones. There are funny and serious parts too. But the best thing about this book is that it is done in a biografical form which starts from their chilhood until adulthood. This book is definitely a book worth reading.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unputdownable,
By A Customer
This review is from: Night Shall Overtake Us (Paperback)
I read this book in a day and have read it sveral times since. It has everything you could want in a historical novel. The characters were so well drawn too - Tertius was adorable. And the ending was extremely satisfying.
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