Woman of Our Times [Paperback]

Rosie Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2003

Harriet Peacock has everything. What more could she possibly want? She has come a long way. From small shopkeeper and betrayed wife, she has made herself the City's darling, her name linked in gossip columns with film star Caspar Jensen. She has come a long way from Simon Archer, the man who invented a brilliantly simple game of chance and skill in a prison camp forty years ago, a game that is the foundation of Harriet's business empire. She has come a long way from her family, friends and former lovers. But when things start going wrong, Harriet finds that in love, as in the game, the quickest way to a goal can be the riskiest...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this brisk, engaging tale of entrepreneurship and romance by the author of Bad Girls, Good Women , Harriet Peacock, 30, not pretty but blessed with business acumen and drive, sells her London boutique to launch a risky venture--marketing a game of number skill and chance that is "like life." The game, "Meizu," or maze, has been invented by Simon Archer, a former WW II Royal Artillery officer and Japanese POW, now a sickly, indigent recluse whom Harriet suspects may be her father. Meizu sells grandly. Harriet buys an upscale Hampstead house; runs her firm, Peacocks; and juggles her men: Leo, the philandering photographer spouse she sheds; boyish Robin, a patrician venture capitalist; blunt, grizzled Caspar, an over-the-hill Hollywood star; and David, whom she once hid from. After one jealous lover undermines Peacocks in a treacherous takeover, indomitable Harriet pulls out her millions to start anew, fighting to have it all, loot and love. Thomas's flavorsome tale also edifies with details of commerce and real estate. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Thirty-year-old entrepreneur Harriet Peacock decides to jettison both a failed marriage and a successful clothing store to go it on her own. She markets a clever game that becomes an international best-seller, and her fame leads to romantic involvements with a succession of eligible men, including a film star whose daughter claims her as a substitute mother. Set in present-day England, the novel rises above its hackneyed "having it all" theme thanks to sensitive characterizations. Although Thomas gets off to a slow start and provides too many descriptions of elegant clothing and food, she is skillful at building suspense. In its best moments, the book's dialog crackles. Another winner by the author of the popular Bad Girls, Good Women ( LJ 4/1/89). Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/90. Literary Guild main selection.
- Joyce Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 516 pages
• Publisher: Random House (July 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 009946246X
• ISBN-13: 978-0099462460
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,617,213 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can bad characters make a good book?, December 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: A Woman of Our Times (Mass Market Paperback)

Are likable characters a prerequisite for a likable book? For one week, I read this book every spare minute I had. With every page, I disliked the main character, Harriet Peacock, less and less, but, still, I couldn't put the book down. The character of Harriet Peacock can be summed up in the description, "all business". She was too devoted to the development of her business empire, to the exclusion of her family and friends who supported her throughout the book. I absolutely disliked her character, yet I felt that the author wanted the reader to admire her character. After indirectly causing the death of the man who gave her the idea for her business enterprise, Harriet goes through a period of turmoil, deciding in the end that the death was nobody's fault. But I flew through the pages and was screaming to her in my head, "Yes! It is your fault!!" I jumped to the conclusion that, because I didn't like the main character, that I didn't like the book. Even though I finished the book a few weeks ago, I still think about it, because I realize that a well-written book is the only prerequisite to reader enjoyment, and that, perhaps, an unlikable character adds an element of conflict to the reading experience.