Copyright © Louise Bostock 2007-2013. Please give credit where credit is due.
Book Notes No. 10 : The Little House, Philippa Gregory
Eighteen degrees at 7am. Heavy showers. Otherwise damp and humid.
Philippa Gregory's The Little House.
What to do when the in-laws get too much... Philippa Gregory is, of course, best known for her historical novels centring for the most part on the Tudors. The Other Boleyn Girl is probably her best in this genre, telling the story of Ann Boleyn (she of the extra finger and the witchy ways which eventually led her to the chopping block) and the less famous sister who preceded her in Henry VIII's bed. They're great, although after more than a few I started to get tired of them, and I never finished The Constant Princess, the themes had become so tedious.
Time was, though, before Gregory had struck the Tudor mother lode, that she wrote a fairly diverse range of novels, including two set in the modern era : Perfectly Correct (a very funny English farce, which strangely enough reminded me of David Lodge's 'university' tales); and this book, which the Daily Mail dubbed a "psychological chiller".
The story of The Little House centres on two women : Ruth and her mother-in-law, Elizabeth, against whom, it seems, Ruth can never measure up. When Ruth has a baby and together she and her husband decide to move to a cottage at the end of her in-laws' drive, the cracks start to show - in her relationship with her husband, with her control-freak in-laws and in her own sanity.
A fairly simple story that builds from low-key beginnings to a fairly shocking but very satisfying ending. A cautionary tale for mothers- and daughters-in-law everywhere.
Book Notes No. 10 : The Little House, Philippa Gregory
Eighteen degrees at 7am. Heavy showers. Otherwise damp and humid.Philippa Gregory's The Little House.
What to do when the in-laws get too much... Philippa Gregory is, of course, best known for her historical novels centring for the most part on the Tudors. The Other Boleyn Girl is probably her best in this genre, telling the story of Ann Boleyn (she of the extra finger and the witchy ways which eventually led her to the chopping block) and the less famous sister who preceded her in Henry VIII's bed. They're great, although after more than a few I started to get tired of them, and I never finished The Constant Princess, the themes had become so tedious.
Time was, though, before Gregory had struck the Tudor mother lode, that she wrote a fairly diverse range of novels, including two set in the modern era : Perfectly Correct (a very funny English farce, which strangely enough reminded me of David Lodge's 'university' tales); and this book, which the Daily Mail dubbed a "psychological chiller".
The story of The Little House centres on two women : Ruth and her mother-in-law, Elizabeth, against whom, it seems, Ruth can never measure up. When Ruth has a baby and together she and her husband decide to move to a cottage at the end of her in-laws' drive, the cracks start to show - in her relationship with her husband, with her control-freak in-laws and in her own sanity.
A fairly simple story that builds from low-key beginnings to a fairly shocking but very satisfying ending. A cautionary tale for mothers- and daughters-in-law everywhere.
Philippa Gregory's The Little House.
No comments:
Post a Comment