Title:
Nightingale Wood
Author: Stella
Gibbons
Genre: Romance, Comedy
About the book….
Viola, a
common shop girl, married into the wealthy Withers family. Unfortunately, the
death of her husband leaves her with no other option than to move in with her in-laws
and join in the dreary world they inhabit. This world is about to change,
though, when love strikes the Withers family and turns their world upside-down. Nightingale Wood was Stella Gibbons fifth
book, first published 1938.
What I think…
I tend to avoid romance books
unless they’re classics, but having thoroughly enjoyed other things by Gibbons
I thought I would give this a try. As the back of the cover states, it is a “Cinderella”
type story with a modern twist in the 1930’s sense, which I liked about it. This
made it a little predictable at times, but Gibbons has some delectable ways of
making it her very own.
I love Gibbons’ witty way of writing and poking fun
at British social structure and customs. The way the characters react to those
of other classes, their expectations based on experience, and their attempts to
keep and retaliate against social norms paints an interesting picture of the
time and the changing attitudes that were occurring between generations.
Going
off of that, another aspect I enjoyed about this book was the variation of the
characters and how Gibbons chooses to portray them. You have just about every
type of character type you could hope for: a sad and lovelorn widow, a chauffeur,
loads of snobs, a miserly father-in-law, a thoughtful bookworm, a not so
eligible bachelor, frustrated daughters, a hermit, a washerwoman (mother of the
chauffeur)…just name a character type you’d expect to find in a rural romance
and you’ll find them. The multiple plot lines that focus in on different
characters and the third person narrator’s occasional quips only helps to make
them all the more charming and delightfully human.
Overall, I was a little disappointed
with this as a whole. For some strange reason, I started reading this with the
impression that it was going to be more similar to Cold Comfort Farm (in some aspects it was, but then again, I would
have been irritated if it had been almost the same), which made it difficult
for me to get into. I don’t think I was in the right sort of mood to read this
when I started it, so I stopped reading it, read something else, and then came
back to it to find I enjoyed it much more.
To sum it all up…
Not a book I
would consider my most favorite, but worth a read if you’re looking for a light
weight romance that was written and takes place in the 1930’s and definitely if
you’re a fan of Stella Gibbons.♥
I haven't heard of Stella Gibbons, but might give it a try once I get through all my to-read list.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll like her if you get a chance to read one of her books!
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