The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix P) [Hardcover]

Susan Wittig Albert (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix P | Publication Date: September 7, 2010

The latest tale in the "charming" (Publishers Weekly) Beatrix Potter series!

In the Lake District, noisy test flights of the new hydroplane are disrupting life in the village of Near Sawrey. Miss Beatrix Potter can barely hear herself think-which she needs to do for the new case she's just taken up. Her friend Grace Lythecoe has been receiving some anonymous letters, threatening her good name.

Now Beatrix must proceed quietly, so as not to arouse village gossip. And while her visit to Near Sawrey has proven to be anything but quiet, there is yet another piece of business for Beatrix to address: that of her own future. When she's offered a second chance at love, she decides that sometimes causing a disturbance can be well worth the trouble.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Albert's charming seventh Beatrix Potter tale (after 2009's The Tale of Applebeck Orchard) finds Beatrix at Hill Top Farm in the Lake District, where she has taken refuge from her parents, who she knows will disapprove of her secret engagement to solicitor Will Heelis just as they disapproved of her engagement six years earlier to her editor, Norman Warne, who died before the two could marry. Meanwhile, Beatrix and the local birds and animals, including a teenage dragon, must put up with "a beastly fly-swimming spluttering aeroplane" that's been careering up and down Lake Windemere. More upsetting is the serious injury to Fred L. Baum, one of the plane's developers, who's found by Rascal, a popular Jack Russell terrier, at the bottom of Oat Cake Crag. The mystery element may be mild, but Albert does a fine job of recreating the wistful, nostalgic mood of Potter's children's books.
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From Booklist

Albert’s series of mysteries set in Britain’s Land between the Lakes moves from strength to strength. Once again Beatrix Potter has returned to visit her farm and get a little peace and quiet. It is now March 1912, and war with Germany is looming. As a result, Winston Churchill, first lord of the admiralty, is becoming increasingly interested in flying machines, and one of his projects involves the testing of a new hydroplane on Lake Windermere, near Beatrix’s farm. It seems entirely possible that one of the villagers, irate over the noise from the tests, may have taken matters in his or her own hands and attacked the funder of the project, whose body is found at the foot of Oat Cake Crag. But there are other puzzles to solve as well. Who has been writing poison-pen letters to Beatrix’s friend Grace? Who is planning to marry the local vicar? What about Beatrix’s own romance with Will Heelis? As always, the animals, especially Rascal the dog, Professor Galileo Newton Owl, and Thorvaald the dragon, help Beatrix solve the puzzles. --Judy Coon

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425236617
• ISBN-13: 978-0425236611
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My husband Bill and I live on 31 acres in the Hill Country of Central Texas, and have longhorn cows, sheep, geese, as well as the wild things that roam the meadows and woods. Our best buddies are our three dogs (Zach, Lady, and Toro) and our cat, Shadow. I'm a passionate gardener and am concerned about issues of global warming and energy depletion. You can find out more about the way I live in my new memoir, Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place.

I've been writing professionally for nearly 25 years, after a stint in higher education as a faculty member and administrator. When I first started writing full time, I worked in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series--yep, you got it: I am both Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon! (How cool is that?) In the years I was writing young adult novels, with Bill or by myself, I wrote over sixty books. In addition, Bill and I wrote a series of Victorian/Edwardian mysteries together, as Robin Paige.

Now, I write three mystery series: the China Bayles herbal mysteries, the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, and a new series (starting in July, 2010) called The Darling Dahlias, about a Southern garden club in the 1930s. Writing is not only my work, but my passion. Truly a right livelihood, and I'm grateful to have found it. I am also a member (and the founder) of the Story Circle Network, a nonprofit organization that supports women who want to write about their lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally another Beatrix Potter Cottage Tale, September 19, 2010

By 

J. Zimmerman "retired teacher" (Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix P) (Hardcover)

Susan Albert's Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter are books I look forward to all year. Her description of the Land between the Lakes, its animals and humans, as well as village life, is vivid and imaginative. Like seeing it from Beatrix Potter's eyes a century ago. Susan Albert's omniscient narrator is less intrusive and opinionated, which I appreciate. This one, like all the others, was worth the wait.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining whimsical entry, September 9, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix P) (Hardcover)

Beatrix Potter continues to rusticate at Hill Top Farm in the Lake District in order to avoid her snooty upper class parents. She knows they will denigrate her fiancé and scornfully disapprove her engagement to solicitor Will Heelis that she has concealed from them. Beatrix learned her lesson when she became engaged to her editor Norman Warne six years ago only to face a barrage of criticism; she believes that they rejoiced when Normand passed away prior to their marriage.

Beatrix and the local birds and animals are irritated with the noise making new gizmo, a flying floating aeroplane that sputters with a racket more than it soar over Lake Windemere; even the loud teen dragon finds the plane disconcerting. Meanwhile at Oat Cake Crag, Rascal the Jack Russell takes her to injured plane designer Fred L. Baum.

The latest Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter (see The Tale of Applebeck Orchard and The Tale of Briar Bank) is an entertaining whimsical entry that once again captures the essence of the author and more pointedly her tales. The mystery remains in the backseat to Ms. Potter's lifestyle in the Lake District and her relationships with humans especially a touch of romance with Will and the animals. Fans will enjoy her escapades as The Tale of Oat Oak Crag is a charming cottage cozy.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reality vacation, October 28, 2010

By 

Sandy Rhoad "Insatiable reader" (Branchville, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix P) (Hardcover)

Susan Wittig is a special and gifted writer. I've read ALL of her books and each type, whether mystery, fun or serious, showcases her talent. This particular type of book - fun - tells of the first attempt at flying before the war, the stories of animals who can talk and the wonderful life of Beatrix Potter. This is a real break from the woes of this world. It is fun to lose yourself in the world of "human animals". The owl is particularly entertaining and I will miss this series terribly when she ends her stories. If you decide to purchase these special books be sure and have them individually signed by Susan or ask for bookplates that are signed. They are ever so special and should be handed down to those lovers of books that follow you.