November of the Heart (Thorndike Press Large Print Paperback Series) [Large Print] [Paperback]

LaVyrle Spencer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1994 | Series: Thorndike Press Large Print Paperback Series

A man and a woman born into radically different stations in Victorian society try to challenge the rigid caste system but are torn apart and left to dream of reconciliation in separate spheres of loneliness and shame. 250,000 first printing. $125,000 ad/promo.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Good pacing, vivid dramatization and strong characterization enliven Spencer's latest work of escapist fiction. When handsome kitchen hand and boat builder Jens Harken audaciously offers to build his employer a regatta-winning yacht, he draws the attention of the master's daughter. Budding beauty Lorna Barnett, disturbingly attracted to Jens despite the restrictions of 19th-century Minnesota's high society, helps him get his chance by breaking down her father's arrogant resistance to new ideas. As the boat takes shape, Jens and Lorna give in to an ill-advised, impossible love that nearly results in a scandal and ultimately requires Lorna to risk the only life she has ever known for the life she really wants. Spencer ( The Fulfillment ) shows the world of the rich in intricate detail, but by failing to provide a similarly full portrait of lower-class society--and the obstacles it places before the lovers--she diminishes her tale's dramatic impact. Her ornate, old-fashioned language, although quaintly evocative of the period, is at times laughably florid, as when Lorna's sisters are described as "two young sylphs on the brink of womanhood," and some of the plot turns are much too neat. Still, the characters' evolution is human and touching. Literary Guild alternate; Doubleday Book Club selection; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 554 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816157014
• ISBN-13: 978-0816157013
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,984,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So unbelievably good, Im feeling speechless..., April 25, 2004

By 

M. I. "krushedvelvet" (Old Bridge, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: November of the Heart (Paperback)

well ok -not speechless- but certainly pleasantly dreamy. What a story!!!! I am IN LOVE with Jens Harkin!! Where does Lavyrle Spencer come up with these men???!!! Lorna was wonderful as well. I have never found an author that writes better heroines than LS. Both Jens and Lorna were so well developed...believable in that I didnt always agree with their actions, but fell in love with both of them regardless. This book was just riveting. I loved the conflict of their classes and all of the obstacles just had me feeling insanely impatient, but wow! What an ending. PLEASE...go buy this book and read it. You wont regret it. This is a genuine keeper that I look forward to rereading again and again.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a sensitive and touching love story, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: November of the Heart (Paperback)

I love this book! It's strength is not the plot, because it is kind of typical: two young people fall in love despite of their vast difference in social status, then family and social pressure force them apart, finally love conquers all. The strength of this book is the characters and the development of their relationship. It's almost refreshing to see their love blossoming from mutual attraction to friendship then grand passion over the summer, instead of the hero takes one look at the heroin and decides to possess her body and soul. The characters are believable and well suited for the period, the turn of the century. There are no bad guys in this book, the parents forced the lovers apart because they loved their daughter and believed it was for the best. So they may reconcile with their daughter, son-in-law and adorable grandson at the end. The love scenes are sweet and hot! There are a lot of details about sailing and boat-building, I wish I knew more about them, however, even if you don't know anything about them and skip those parts, you will still love the story, and love Jens and Lorna.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful Victorian-era love story, November 22, 1997

By 

Wynne Lewis (Seattle, Washington USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: November of the Heart (Paperback)

I loved this book! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to spend an afternoon curled up in a comfortable chair with a good book. The sailing scenes are exciting, and the story of Jens and Lorna's love and separation touching. I loved the character of Jens for his values of honesty and hard work. Ms. Spencer does a wonderful job of describing what the rich ate, wore and the activities they enjoyed, and contrasts those to the far more simple pleasures of boatracing and boatbuilding loved by Jens. I also enjoyed her descriptions of the typical behavior of the aunts and other members of Lorna's family. Aunt Agnes always fondly remembers her Captain Dearsley but Aunt Henrietta, who is so sour on men, merely warns Lorna to wear a sharp hatpin when she is alone with Taylor. Little does anyone know, Taylor is not the man Lorna is spending time with. The story of Jens and Lorna's relationship, from the first meeting in the kitchen of the Rose Point cottage to her disgrace and banishment when her parents learn she is pregnant, is funny, touching and sad by turns. The scenes I enjoyed most were near the end. I was touched when Lorna sees her son for the first time since he is born, and felt great admiration for Lorna when she risked the censure of her rich social circle by bringing her son to the regatta. LaVyrle combines plot, description and character development to make a great story. --Wynne Lewis