Customer Reviews

The Tale of Applebeck Orchard (Wheeler Hardcover)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book along with the others about Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert has continued to enchant and satisfy my two grandchildren (8 & 10), my daughter who reads to them every night and me, an old, old lady. How I ever picked up the first one is beyond me but I am so glad that I did. I see each book in color, in action and look forward to any others she writes. I appreciate the opportunity of sharing these comments.

I've enjoyed the other entries in this series, although I will admit that all of them are rather thin on plot. Nevertheless, I've found the characters, human and animal, likable. I've enjoyed following along on the various adventures set out in each book.

Unfortunately, this entry lacks focus and goes beyond cosy to overly cutesy. The author engages in too many addresses to her audience, in a tone that might be found in a book addressed to Beatrice Potter's audience. I had the feeling while I was reading it (skipping pages of Ms Albert's addresses to the reader) that the author had contracted for a book and simply tied this and that together to meet a deadline.

There is no real plot, no questions to be answered, and precious little action of any kind. The incident mentioned in the teaser review (the closing of the footpath)is almost lost in the lesser tales, with the solution to the "mystery" of the fires obvious almost as soon as the characters at the orchard are introduced.

To all who read the reviewer who said this book has "no plot" -- of course it doesn't and don't expect one. These books are a "Jerry Seinfeld" trip - no plot, no reality -- just fun. It is as if you were a spirit flitting around in the towns of Near and Far Sawrey, drifting in and out of homes and lanes and the lives of the animals and just observing and listening. It's FUN - get it --- a FUN read. It is also a collectible set of books by an excellent author and you will not be disappointed to pick them up again after a first read - on a sleepless night or a cold evening and reread in comfort. You will be SORRY when it ends. Excellent series - do buy them.

These little books by Susan Wittig Albert never fail to please. Her writing style is absolutely top notch and I love the way she has the reader "eavesdropping" on the activity. She's obviously done a huge amount of homework on Beatrix Potter's real life and managed to create a whole new set of stories that are both whimsical and factual. The books are like a trip to a favorite candy store. Bravo!
The seller was very prompt with the shipment and the book was in excellent condition.

An incredibly romantic and satisfying book for fans of this series. Very, very cozy so don't expect any huge action scenes. If you've invested in the lead characters at all, you will enjoy this book. One caveat, if you are new to the series, DO NOT start with this one.

As someone who has stayed in a rental near Hill Top Cottage, I am so familiar with the settings of Susan Wittig Albert's books about Beatrix, and the tales get better with each one. I enjoy the almost poetic descriptions of the sunrise and other nature descriptions. May she write more, as Beatrix's life involved the National Trust,and it's heritage, as well as her lovely animal stories. I would love to talk to Susan! G.R. Drysdale

I adore Susan Wittig Albert and read all her books. I was therefor quite startled to find that she has changed her style of writing in this last of the Beatrix Potter series (Applebeck Orchard). she tells the story and then invites the reader to come into it as she herself is there observing what is happening - it gets tedious and makes it more of a children's book. I hope that this is not going to be THE NEW APPROACH in the series.
Susanne Servin

In 1910 Miss Beatrix Potter is able to get away from her parents who are vacationing at a vacation spot in the Lake District. She goes to her properties in the Land Between the lakes, Hill Top Farm and Castle Farm, which is where her heart belongs. Miss Potter is accepted by the villagers as one of them although she is only a part-time resident.

Trouble is brewing in the hamlet when Mr. Harmsworth barricades the foot path running through his property, Applebeck Farm. He claims he did it because someone lit a fire to his hayloft; either an enemy or a day-tripper (tourist to you non Beatles' fans). The truth is someone wants to buy his property but only if the foot path is closed. Miss Potter learns from Harmsworth's orphaned teenaged niece Gilly that she saw someone from her window in a cape with a cowl carrying an old fashion lantern. In between helping her friends, Miss Potter figures out who he arranged the sale to, but not before another fire ruins a place of business shocking the small community.

Whimsical, fanciful and magical describes this precious tale in which the creatures of different species talk to each other and Bosworth Badger XVII owns the Brockery, an animal hostelry on Holly Hew where they come to relax. There is a bit of romance as Miss Potter and solicitor William Heelis begin to understand their feelings for each other although each tries to conceal their attraction as her high society parents would disapprove of him and for that matter any suitor as they plan on their only offspring to care for them in their dotage. Once again Susan Wittig Albert provides her audience with a charming cottage tale of Beatrix Potter.

Harriet Klausner

Even as an adult, I love this series! I like the author and enjoy the content.

Did you ever wish you were a fly on the wall to witness or overhear something? In The Tale of Applebeck Orchard, you can immerse yourself in the lives of the people and animals through the eyes of the narrator--our proverbial "fly on the wall."

In the year 1910, Beatrix Potter is still struggling to balance her life between her duty to her parents with their almost bourgeois lifestyle and her own wishes to live the quiet country life of a farmer, writer and villager. When finally able to break away from her parents for a short, relaxing trip to her country home, Beatrix finds herself drawn into a controversy about the barricading of a popular local footpath. The animals from the Lake District are also drawn to the problem and only by cunning and strength of character will the two groups work in their own ways to solve the problems that arise around Applebeck Orchard.

If you want a charming, cozy story full of mischief and antics--this is your book. If you want to explore the depths of Victorian romance and accepted behavior--this is your book. And if you want to delve even deeper--this is the book that will take you into the questions on the equality of women--for the people (and animals!) in this story question the highly debatable issue of women's rights and duties and the unfair discrimination of the "fairer" sex. And did I mention the ghost? Or ghosts? On all levels, Albert delivers.

by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women