Customer Reviews

A Week in Winter

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Marcia Willett does indeed, as promised, follow in the wonderful footsteps of Rosamunde Pilcher. The same descriptive writing where atmosphere and details set the mood, the same unforgettable characters, the same heart-wrenching stories, even the sad-eyed dog Polonious is reminiscent of Horace in Pilcher's WINTER SOLSTICE. But Marcia Willett is more than a copy. She is a wonderful new voice now being published for the first time in the USA. A WEEK IN WINTER is truly a book to curl up with in your favorite deeply-cushioned chair while keeping your tea and chocolate close at hand.

Maudie Todhunter is the elderly protagonist and her story of life newly-widowed is told while two subplots of young love interweave with her story. The novel focuses on a wonderful English farmhouse called Moorgate which stands at the entrance to the English moors. What transpires in that house during one very special week sends ripples through the lives of a host of richly textured characters. From Maudie's granddaughter Posy, the house renovator Rob Abbott, the desperately ill Melissa and her brother Mike, to the estranged Selina and Patrick, everyone is touched forever by the event that occurs at Moorgate.

A long-held secret of deceit and betrayal comes to light in a surprise ending that leaves the reader satisfied yet longing to stay just a bit longer with these wonderful characters and the enchanting Moorgate.

This is a truly wonderful summer read. I started this yesterday and didn't ever want it to end. The book is about Maudie who has to make a decision regarding a cornish farmhouse that has been in the family for years. Maudie came into this family as a step-mother and knows that once again with this decicision she will not be thought of kindly by her step-daughter Selina. Selina has always felt that Maudie was her worst enemy even though Selina's daughter has always found her to be a great friend. But with guidance from Posey her grand-daughter and one of the great characters of the book, Polonius, an english mastiff that becomes Maudie's best companion, the trip to the end of this book is a great read. Secrets are unveiled and guilt is finally put to rest by several of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author not only reminds me of Pilcher but another great, Maeve Binchey. Anyone who picks this up will not be disappointed. Will be looking forward to more books by Marcia Willett.

Marcia Willett is no imitator. Her writing can be compared to Pilcher and Binchy as noted, and what a wonderful compliment...i.e., the descriptive writing and attention to detail so that the characters have the breath of life in them. They wound themselves around the heart of this enchanted reader.
The descriptions of Cornwall were so clear that I was transported.
The intertwining of characters, simply living their (not so) ordinary lives, becomes anything but ordinary. The main character, Maudie Todhunter, is delightful as is her step-granddaughter Posey. Posey's Mother, Selena was impossibly frightful and Ms.Willett weaves a wonderful tale of family strengths, weaknesses, falling in love (with a few mysteries thrown in) through them. I particularly loved Polonius, the dog.
I have her "A Summer In The Country" and eagerly begin another anticipated delight! Thank you Marcia Willett!

I adored this book. Marcia Willett is a true find, and I only wish there were more of her books available. I didn't think she could match THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, but A WEEK IN WINTER is every bit as good. What makes her writing so special, aside from her brilliant descriptive prose, is her characters. Even Polonius, the dog, emerges vividly, and you feel you know him. I chuckled over and over again when Willett described what he was thinking, because I could believe every word. Even the antagonists in the story, like Selina, were multi-faceted and fascinating. Willett is simply a master at creating full-bodied, believable characters who amuse, frustrate, fascinate, and engross. She also knows how to create and maintain suspense, making me want to turn the pages faster or peek at the ending (yes, I admit it, I sometimes do that). :) Please, Ms. Willett, can't you write faster? I only have one more book of yours left to read, and then what? VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This was one of the best books I have ever read! I am an avid Rosemunde Pilcher fan so I am always on Amazon trying to find books similar to her work. This was suggested in a review so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't put it down! Only two of her books are available in the U.S. so I went on Amazon U.K. and ordered every book she has ever written to be shipped to me from England. It was that good. If you love Pilcher, you will love Willett! I have never been inspired to write an Amazon review until now! Take the chance -you won't be disappointed!

This book was like a breath of fresh air...very Maeve Binchy and Rosemund Pilcher in feel...with characters who you fall in love with. Heartbreaking and hopeful...a book I would recommend to anyone who will listen.

It is unfair to compare this author with Rosamunde Pilcher, although she is every bit as good. The main character in this book Maudie is a very likeable one. The plot, and supporting characters are all very well written. I didn't want to wait for the paperback, and I'm really glad that I purchased the hardcover. It was money well spent. The descriptions of Cornwall and the moors were so clear that the reader was transported to those places. I particularly loved Polonius, the dog he was a welcome addition to the book. I would like the opportunity to read more of Marcia Willet. I eagerly await the next book.

Thank God for Marcia Willett's wonderful storytelling. It's a breath of fresh air. I have shared this book with so many friends -- we're so grateful you have come into our lives! I can't wait to read the next. Move over Rosamunde.

A Week in Winter is an engaging book. The story of several people whose lives intertwine around a Cornish farmhouse, it is elegantly written and paced. There are sadness and joy, marriage and death, but somehow the various loves of the various characters carry them through a period in their lives that is perhaps excessively filled with emotional action. The one weakness in the novel itself is its slightly pat plot--but I would have been most perturbed if the lives had not worked out so well!

The only drawback to this book, and the reason I nearly missed the pleasant experience of reading it--was the truly ghastly cover borne by the mass market paperback edition. I think that the cover is to blame for the book's presence in the Romance secion of the bookstore, and not on the fiction shelves where it belongs. It is not a bodice ripper--indeed, there is no explicit sex whatsoever in it--and it should have received better treatment from the publisher than its lurid and misleading cover. While it is romantic, there is much more to it than romance.

I have read numerous books on the claim that they are like Rosamunde Pilcher's work. Thus far, only one author has come close. It was wonderful to find another. A Week in Winter will very much please all Pilcher fans. And I will buy Ms Willett's future novels, no matter what terrible cover they receive.

I loved this book and would like to read everything this author has ever, ever written. This book was very readable, interesting and realistic. I could picture in my mind the characters and felt like I really knew them by the time I had finished the book. This was one of the best books I have read in years.