The Vacillations of Poppy Carew [Hardcover]

Mary Wesley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1986

A novel by the author of "Jumping the Queue".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wesley (see review above) is considerably less successful with this tepid romance, which opens with two events: Poppy Carew's thoroughly detestable lover, Edmund, leaves her for a richer woman; and her father dies. The three men who are to become her suitors attend the funeral reception: Willy, a pig farmer; Victor, a novelist moonlighting as the caterer; and Fergus, the undertaker. Edmund shows up as well, abandons his new love interest and wisks Poppy off to Africa, where she embarks on a series of unlikely adventures. Whereas some of the characters provide moments of amusementas when Victor rescues a fish from drowning at the local fish marketPoppy is a singularly unappealing protagonist whose passivity includes her in the ranks of the worst type of romantic heroine. She allows herself to be taken to Africa by a man she now despises, she must be saved from him when he becomes abusive and she is equally inactive with her rescuer. Although the novel reads quickly and the subplots are mildly diverting, the story is uninspired, the heroine insipid and the ultimate pairings-off predictable.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Mary Wesley is high-spirited and inventive, and keeps her wayward plot moving forward at a spanking pace.”
–Daily Telegraph

“Wesley’s narration is as fast and surprising as ever; her subplots are well worked out and rich in detail.”
–Times Literary Supplement --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 262 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; 1st Ed. edition (June 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0333421191
• ISBN-13: 978-0333421192
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,532,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully entertaining read, July 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (King Penguin) (Paperback)

This book is full of charm, wit and excellent writing. The characters are richly drawn, quirky and entertaining. Wesley has a way of pinning down the fine details of human behavior and showing them in a sympathetic but humorous light. Poppy's vacillations are completely understandable and her struggles to get herself unstuck from a bad relationship are tragic yet funny. Wesley gives her characters the kind of dignity that makes us love them, even when they are not being very loveable. This is the mark of a great writer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of her very best, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (King Penguin) (Paperback)

I've read all the Mary Wesley books I can find, and this one is my favorite. It's better if you have read her _The_Camomile_ Lawn_ first; but this is a very different book, lighter-hearted than some of her stories. It is funny, sometimes touching, and refuses to turn out the way you expect. Really delightful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of her very best, May 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (King Penguin) (Paperback)

I've read all the Mary Wesley books I can find, and this one is my favorite. It's better if you have read her _The_Camomile_ Lawn_ first; but this is a very different book, lighter-hearted than some of her stories. It is funny, sometimes touching, and refuses to turn out the way you expect. Really delightful.