The Ladies of Missalonghi (Harper Short Novel Series) (Hardcover)

by Colleen McCullough (Author) "CAN YOU TELL ME, Octavia, why our luck never seems to change for the better?" asked Mrs. Drusilla Wright of her sister, adding with a..." (more)
Key Phrases: lilac crêpe, mystery buyer, fairy cakes, Sir William, Aunt Livilla, Miss Wright (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Like a box of chocolates, this short novel by McCullough is seductive and satisfying; readers will want to devour it in one sitting. Set in the early 1900s in the tiny town of Byron, nestled in the Australia's Blue Mountains, it tells of the blossoming of Missy Wright, 33-year-old spinster and poor relation of the town's ruling family, the Hurlingfords. Missy, her widowed mother and crippled aunt live in genteel poverty, victims of the Hurlingford inheritance policy that gives riches and power to the male members of the family, who heartlessly abuse the women they dominate. Plain, painfully thin and doomed to dress always in serviceable brown, shockingly dark-haired in a clan of luminous blondes, Missy seems fated for da dreary future until a distant cousin, a divorcee, arrives from Sydney. Under her tutelage, Missy acquires spunk, hope and the means to a happy ending. This is an endearing tale, exuding an old-fashioned sentimentality, yet wittily told. McCullough indulges in gentle social satire, even as she uses the stock character of a mysterious stranger to introduce suspense and romance. As miniaturized in scale as The Thornbirds was vast, this first volume in Harper's new Short Novel Series again demonstrates the author's narrative skill. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection; Literary Guild alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
McCullough returns to Australiathis time in the years before World War Iin this diverting short novel. Her heroine, thirtyish spinster Missy, is a poor relation of the wealthy Hurlingford clan, who virtually own the town of Byron. The male Hurlingfords and their pampered wives have for years oppressed and defrauded those Hurlingford women unlucky enough to marry poorly or not at all. When mysterious Una arrives in town, however, she lights a spark of rebellion in repressed, downtrodden Missy. By novel's end Missy will have a husband, the oppressed will be rescued, and the oppressors neatly parted from their wealth and power. While the novel is riddled with sentimental cliches, Missy's transformation and the neatly ironic reversal of family fortunes are very satisfying. Recommended for popular fiction collections. Literary Guild dual selection. Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 189 pages
• Publisher: Horizon Book Promotions; 1st edition (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060157399
• ISBN-13: 978-0060157395
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #565,626 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, tongue-in-cheek, feminist tale, May 6, 2003

By	Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Very short, reads fast, makes you laugh. A feminist social satire set in the early 1900 somewhere in Australia. It's the story of Missy, a poor and put-upon spinster living under the autocratic tyranny of the male members of the family. She seems destined to a life of misery till a cousin, recently divorced (delicious scandal!!) arrives in town and sets the 'gentlemen' in their place with a scheme that leaves the women in the story and the readers of the book richer for the experience in every way.
Very witty and very wonderful.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairy Tales Revisited, June 24, 2000

By	Betsy Knapp (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ladies of Missalonghi

Missy Wright, a dull little brown wren of a spinster (thirty-three) lives an impoverished life with her mother and aunt. Members of a the Hurlingford dynasty, these three women and several others of their aunts and cousins have been forced into hard times, due to the greed of,mainly, the Hurlingford Men.

Missy dares to dream of romance, and with the help of the assistant librarian, she begins to plot to "catch and marry" John Smith, a newcomer to Austalia's Blue Mountains. After Missy overhears her self-centered, about to be married cousin, Alicia, describe Missy, her mother and aunt in the most deprecating terms, Missy develops a backbone she thought she would never have. An unexplained illness takes Missy to a doctor and there, she devises the plan that will help her catch the elusive John Smith. In the meantime, a mysterious stranger has been buying shares in the Byron Bottling Company, creating havoc among the Hurlingfords. Una, the assistant librarian, helps Missy to develop her plan to wed Mr. Smith. After much persistence, Missy and John Smith are wed. It is only as the story unfolds in its delightful manner that it becomes known that John Smith is the majorty stock holder of the Byron Bottling Company, and in an unexpected twist, it becomes exceedingly clear who Una is, or was. Reading this book is as though you are watching a beautifully-done Technicolor film..in your mind, thought and heart.The characters are brought to life with the time-honored descriptive writing of Miss McCullough. This book can be read, and re-read, always finding a new thought, and a new way to believe that fairy tales and dreams can come true.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A slight, delicious romp in the Blue Mountains, May 18, 2004

By	NoirDame, Vintage film/TV/radio writer & coll... (Houston, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ladies of Missalonghi

Colleen McCullough is known for long and winding novels like "The Thorn Birds," so I was surprised at the light touch in this story. It reminds me a bit of "Persuasion," by Jane Austen, but with an inimitable stamp of Australian life. McCullough really makes the charm and deceptive quiet of the Blue Mountains region - still beautiful and aloof from nearby Sydney today - come to life, and her plucky heroine is easy to like.