Wonder Worker [Paperback]

Susan Howatch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2004

When Alice, shy, dumpy, bored and unhappy with herself, wanders the City of London during her lunch hour, she stumbles without warning into a situation which will revolutionise her life. Brought up by a strict maiden aunt devoted to rationalism, Alice hardly foresees that she'll be drawn into the mysterious, seemingly irrational world of a healing centre based at a church, where chaos and moral breakdown is an ever-present threat to the off-beat but very human inhabitants who struggle to help others survive the maelstrom of modern life. There's Lewis, the irascible traditionalist, a priest of the old school who has problems dealing with women, homosexuals and the liberal spirit of the age; Rosalind, who appears so glamorous and successful but is in truth unhappy and unfulfilled; Francie, a woman who may or may not be deluded but who burns above all to be loved; Stacy, the naive young trainee searching for the right direction as he becomes increasingly lost; and finally Nicholas, the one-time shady wonder-worker now determined to stay honest - even as he finds himself drawn towards danger, damage and demoralisation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Three years before The Wonder Worker was released, in the afterword of the sixth installment in her Starbridge set of ecclesiastical novels, Susan Howatch dashed her fans' dreams. Absolute Truths was to be her last intellectual surplice-ripper. Did this mean we would be left forever wondering whether megacharismatic Nicholas Darrow would find a way to meld his psychic talents and his religious calling? What about his sidekick and mentor, Lewis Hall--would he ever manage to control his substantial earthly appetites? And what of gifted substance-abuser Venetia Hoffenberg? Would she be forever denied the literary chance to just say no? Luckily for us, all three are back in Howatch's latest, serious sacerdotal romp. But The Wonder Worker plays out nowhere near Starbridge's great cathedral and is not even indirectly about Anglican power struggles or traditions. It is set instead in St. Benet's-by-the-Wall, a small church and healing center in London's inner city. The book does, however, feature all of the author's strengths: vivid characterization, scenes of flamboyant and unorthodox religious power, and emotionally exhilarating personal encounters. Nicholas Darrow is back, not as chief narrator, but seen through three sets of eyes: those of Alice, a young woman who seems to see him more clearly than anyone save his mentor; Lewis; and his disillusioned wife, Rosalind. Nicholas's own viewpoint reveals his life and job as healer extraordinaire swinging out of control. In addition to the pleasures of the multiple viewpoints, there are the usual (i.e. unusual) pleasures of watching Howatch make the spiritual flesh. Though she has often been compared to Anthony Trollope, one astute reviewer has termed her "the love child of Graham Greene and Iris Murdoch." Other writers might approach her talent, but few would dare follow up a scene in which Nicholas hypnotizes his wife into sex with an even more exciting one in which he is called to order by his spiritual adviser, a nun! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In Howatch's (Absolute Truths, LJ 9/15/94) new novel, Nicholas Darrow is a fortyish priest of the Church of England who is movie-star handsome, charismatic, and adored by his parishioners. He stays in London during the week and spends weekends in the country with his wife, Rosalind, and their children. The book begins with the story of Alice, an obese, ungainly woman with a Cordon Bleu degree and a dying aunt. After Nick and Francie, a "befriender," help Alice through the death, she becomes the rectory's cook, feeding gourmet meals to Nick and his colleagues Lewis and Stacy. Over time, Francie becomes increasingly malevolent, Nick and Rosalind separate, another character dies, and yet another goes insane. Events are told in turn by Alice, Lewis, Rosalind, Nick, and Alice again, who understandably don't always see things as they are. A continuation of Howatch's long-standing series on the Church of England, this book is so well written that readers will race through it, though some might object to the "romance novel" ending.
-?Barbara Maslekoff, Ohioana Lib., Columbus
Copyright 1997 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: 624 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown P/B (January 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751535702
• ISBN-13: 978-0751535709
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,618,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nick Darrow Is Back!, January 22, 2001

By 

carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wonder Worker (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback)

Nick Darrow, the psychic Anglican priest, was one of my favorite characters in the 6 novel Starbridge series so I was very glad to see Susan Howatch reprise him in his 40s in this novel. He was much younger in "Mystical Paths," which took place before his ordination. Howatch told the Starbridge stories with one narrator in first person for each of the Starbridge novels. With this one, she returns to a device she used in her "Cashelmara" and "Penmarric" days of having alternating characters tell the story in first person. Nick has a ministry of healing and deliverance using his psychic powers. Lewis Hall, his former spiritual director, now lives and works with him. The danger for Nick is in the temptation to become a Wonder Worker. This is where he becomes a charismatic Christian healer who works in pursuit of his own fame and glory rather than God's. This book also has more of a love story develop within it than some of the other Starbridge novels did and you see it develop from the main characters' points of view. Venetia reappears from the Starbridge series also and takes up with Lewis Hall. These characters all reappear in the novel which came after this one, "The High Flier," but they are no longer the leads in that novel.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite possibly the best book I have ever read, October 5, 2000

By 

Cybamuse (Fuzzy Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wonder Worker (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback)

I can't believe anyone below gave this book a negative review! It is quite simply the best thing Howatch has ever written and quite likely the best thing I have EVER read. Although some people may be erroneously put off by the Church of England theme that runs though her Starbridge books, they are quite simply the best psychological thrillers on the market.

The book is broken into several parts and told from several people's point of view. It describes the escalating chrisis surrounding Nicholas Darrow as his life spirals out of control on a collision course for disaster of nuclear proportions. Although the first few pages (lets say, 10, maximum) are a wee bit slow and one doesn't quite identify with Alice right away, by the 11th page, the pace begins to pick up (well, early in the book anyway!). From there, it was one headlong race until the unbelievable climax where I audibly gasped and realised that I had been holding my breath for the last 3 pages. It was that gripping and suspenseful! It's a fact, NO book has EVER gripped me that much to the point where the surrounding world completely ceased to exist for me.

As far as I am concerned, everyone who fails to read this book has missed out on one of the finest examples of literature ever written. If you never read another book again, do read this one!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another compelling story of spitiual struggle and intrigue, January 15, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wonder Worker (Hardcover)

The Wonder Worker, by Susan Howatch, is another in her series about spiritual struggles within the Anglican clergy. It is not technically a "Starbridge" novel, because it takes place in London, but it does include many of the same group of characters, with a few additions. Nicholas Darrow, a psychic priest, faces a moral dilemma involving pride and the misuse of his gifts. Caught up in his healing ministry, he flounders, blunders, then regains his spiritual equilibrium with the help of an irascible colleague and a formidable Roman Catholic nun. The plot is similar, in respect to the spiritual path of the protagonist, to the others in the Starbridge series. The reader need not have read the others in the Starbridge series to enjoy the latest work. However, readers will want to explore the previous Starbridge novels after reading The Wonder Worker. Spiced with intrigue and a particularly nasty bout with demons, the novel entertains and engages as it leads to the surprising denouement.