The Tennis Party [Import] [Paperback]

Madeleine Wickham (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Black Swan; Paperback Original edition (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552996394
• ISBN-13: 978-0552996396
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tennis with the Macbeths, May 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tennis Party (Paperback)

If Shakespeare's Macbeths had held a tennis party, it would have been just as Madeleine Wickham describes it in her wonderful novel, The Tennis Party. This is a book about the haves, the have-nots and the just plain obnoxious. Caroline and Patrick Chance invite three couples to their English country house, ostensibly to play tennis. Annie and Stephen are overmortgaged and so poor that Annie can't afford tennis clothes for the party and has to borrow from Caroline. Smarmy Charles, an old friend of Patrick's, comes to the party with his spoiled, obnoxious wife, the wealthy Cressida. Equally obnoxious are Don and Valerie, an aggressive father and daughter team who are the only ones who really believe that the weekend is about tennis - and care about nothing but winning the weekend games. But the real game is the one Patrick plays off the tennis court in the den of his country manor, where he attempts, one by one, to persuade each of his male guests to engage in a shaky financial scheme in order to earn a huge bonus to keep up his lifestyle. Only the over-trusting and gullible Stephen buys into the scheme, but, fortunately, is rescued by his wife's and his good sense before the story is over. Nothing is as it appears, as Charles finds out that his wife's financial situation, which he believed to be unshakable, is a disaster. Cressida, for her part, finds out that her husband has been dallying with his ex-paramour, and Stephen learns that his good friend Patrick is little more than an opportunistic crook. The entire situation blows up into a fracas that is both amusing and satisfying. Wickham's sly and understated British humor is evident throughout the book, as is her excellent writing style. Readers who crave Rosamunde Pilcher with an edge will love Madeleine Wickham's The Tennis Party.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This appears to be a reissue., September 4, 2011

By 

Judy Lawson - See all my reviews

This review is from: 40 Love: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'm very disappointed to report that this seems to be a reissue of The Tennis Party. I read it years ago and it was a pretty good book, but I don't want to purchase it again! The reviews for both 40 Love and The Tennis Party discuss the main characters Patrick and Caroline Chance, and their residence White House. I doubt I'm putting 2+2 together and getting anything other than 4!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not loving this book, September 19, 2011

By 

T. DeBrock (Atlanta, Ga United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 40 Love: A Novel (Hardcover)

I always wait for Ms. Wickham's latest novel with baited breath, so when I saw that her book the Tennis Party was being released stateside with the title 40 Love, I was elated! Unfortunately 40 Love turned out to be one of my least favorite books by Ms. Wickham. It's obvious the book was written early on in her career and she was still working on her writer's voice. That is not to say I didn't enjoy this book, it just wasn't my favorite by this author. 40 Love is the story of several couples who once lived on the same road and became friends. Their lives go in different directions, each getting married or breaking up, having children, and enjoying different levels of professional, financial, and personal success. Until one day, one of the couples decides to have all their old neighborhood friends over for a weekend tennis party. Being thrust together once again many discoveries are made and some of the couples' lives are changed dramatically by what was supposed to be an innocent gathering of friends... I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Madeleine Wickham's, just know going into it that this is not her best work.