The Road to Lichfield [Paperback]

Penelope Lively (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1992

In The Road to Lichfield, Penelope Lively explores the nature of history and memory as it is embodied in the life of a forty-year-old woman, Anne Linton, who unexpectedly learns that her father had a mistress. With this new knowledge, Linton must now examine the realities of her own life - of her childhood, her husband - and ask, What do they really know of her? Deeply felt, beautifully controlled, The Road to Lichfield is a subtle exploration of memory and identity, of chance and consequence, of the intricate weave of generations across a past never fully known, a future never fully anticipated.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is Lively's first novel, originally published in England in 1977. It centers around British housewife Anne, whose father is dying in a nursing home. Anne goes to see him, in Lichfield, and in the process of cleaning out his house discovers that her father was someone she hadn't known well at all. "I knew my father in one dimension only," she realizes. Her relationships with her husband, brother, and lover might be similarly described. Lively's prose is clean and readable. This novel will appeal to people who are familiar with her recent works and to those who enjoy well-written stories that convey a message without beating the reader over the head. Recommended.
- Mary Prokop, CEL Regional Lib . , Savannah, Ga.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

In The Road to Lichfield, Penelope Lively explores the nature of history and memory as it is embodied in the life of a forty-year-old woman, Anne Linton, who unexpectedly learns that her father had a mistress. With this new knowledge, Linton must now examine the realities of her own life-of her childhood, her husband-and ask, What do they really know of her? Deeply felt, beautifully controlled, The Road to Lichfield is a subtle exploration of memory and identity, of chance and consequence, of the intricate weave of generations across a past never fully known, a future never fully anticipated.

"The plot of The Road to Lichfield is exquisitely constructed, and the language shimmers. . . . A journey of self-discovery-the narrative urges the reader to contemplate the larger context in which people everywhere live out their individual dramas."-Wendy Martin, San Francisco Chronicle

"A flawless novel about the role of the past by one of Britain's best."- Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)

"Like all of Lively's best novels, The Road to Lichfield contains beneath its modest veneer great depths of intelligence, perception and feeling, not to mention a thoroughly believable and interesting cast of characters."-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

"Uplifting energy . . . It breathes life into characters and seizes readers. . . . A refreshing validation of the positive aspects of change, and invigorating trust in caprice and whimsicality make The Road to Lichfield stand as a testament of confidence in human nature. Penelope Lively's spirited observations, her vivid and concise style, increase our enjoyment of the book."-Ladyce Pereira-Leite, Raleigh News & Observer --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (February 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060974613
• ISBN-13: 978-0060974619
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,645,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, February 16, 2000

By 

D. Madsen (Woodbridge VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Road to Lichfield (Paperback)

"The Road to Lichfield" is similar to Penelope Lively's other books in that it is a well-written, acutely observed portrait of intelligent, interesting characters. As a narrative device she listens in on or recreates snippets of the consciousness of various characters. The effect of this device for me is that the characters seem utterly real. In this particular story, the main character, Anne, middle-aged, married to a priggish and uncommunicative but solid and responsible solicitor, finds her ideas about herself and her family all suddenly called into question when she learns new information about her dying father and when she falls in love with a new acquaintance. Add Anne's involvement with a project to save a decaying but historic old building from demolition, and Anne has plenty of material for exploration of her ideas about the past.

The author is a historian, apparently with an interest in old buildings. I enjoyed the descriptions of the British countryside and life style, and some minor characters were delightful.

This book is extremely well written but you won't like it if you don't like novels where the main focus is on social relationships.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual, compelling, & politically incorrect., July 28, 2005

By 

J. Dunn (NYC,) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Road to Lichfield (Paperback)

I read a lot, and can often anticipate the course a plot will take. Not this time. The central characters in this book all surprised me at important junctures, though the choices they made did not interfere with the logic of their characters. Partly for this reason, the book itself becomes very suspenseful, in defiance of its setting. It ends on a note that is both shocking and, at least to me, highly disturbing, though not sensational.

I expected to enjoy it, but did not foresee how caught up I would become. The characters still haunt me a bit. This is not your typical first novel, and not your typical genteel British lady novelist. She is ruthless. She is not politically correct.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Positive Aspects of Change, July 21, 2004

By 

prisrob "pris," (New England USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Road to Lichfield (Paperback)

"Anne Linton drove northward toward Lichfield. Berkshire gave way to Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire to Warwickshire and on to Stratfordshire. Her own past, too, waved a cheery hand from over the horizon." So, the beginning of the first book by Penelope Lively. I have grown to love this writer. She provides intelligence, perception and a thoroughly believable and interesting cast of characters. She breathes life into the characters, and her vivid style increases our enjoyment of her novels.

Anne Linton is a history teacher married to a stodgy, unemotional barrister. Her husband is caught up in his career and seems to take Anne for granted. Anne is caught in the middle of her life as mother to two teenagers, teacher, wife and now daughter of a man who is dying. Anne begins the fortnight drives to Lichfield to visit her father in a nursing home and to organize the house that they had lived in. The house is actually kept quite clean by the housekeeper. It is Anne's job to look at the finances and to clean out all the morass of years of things.

Within the years collected in papers, Anne discovers that fifteen pounds a month are being sent to an unknown woman. She mentions this to her brother, Graham, who tells her that yes; her father had a mistress for many years and this may be where the money goes. Anne is astounded; this information has changed her entire perception of her life.

While Anne is visiting her father a neighbor drops by. He is a headmaster of a school, and a little older than Anne. He tells her that he and her father used to go fishing regularly and formed a great friendship. Anne and David form a friendship of their own, and she meets him whenever she comes to Lichfield. The friendship deepens into something else. A startling contrast to her father? How will she resolve this affair with her present life?

At the same time, Anne is involved with several other townspeople in trying to save an old building from being torn down. She finds them much too aggressive and dashing forward without the information they need to proceed with intelligence. She tries to tell the group her views, but they hush her and move forward. She withdraws from this group, feeling slighted and out of sorts. Her family's importance to her becomes significant. Her visits to her father renew her energy with her family and her ties to her old life. She visits the daughter of the woman who loved her father. She found surprisingly enough that he father loved music and dance. He was a different person with different needs in this household; She also found that this family loved her father. How to reconcile this family she does not know and the father she thought she knew dying in his bed?

Penelope Lively has given us a refreshing validation of the positive aspects of change. This novel is a testament of confidence in human nature. We are all good people trying to do our best in this world. Another great novel about finding ourselves, change and consequence, and the generations and future we never anticipated. prisrob