June 2014 Guest Editor Freya North on Not That Sort of Girl...
Mary Wesley, Rose Tremain, Barbara Trapido and Jane Gardam – I really do owe my career to them. But this book in particular really did change the course of my life. I read it during my finals at University after which I headed off to do an MA and was all set to start a PhD in Art History. But deep down I knew that all I really wanted to do was write fiction. I love the way that Mary Wesley marries gentle romance with quite surprising sexiness in all her novels – but here in particular. For over fifty years, Rose is loyal to her husband Ned while also maintaining a relationship Milo. I loved the way this novel puts our perception of morality in a centrifuge – there’s nothing dissolute or duplicitous about either of Rose’s relationships, rather it’s about enduring love. This book really proves how commercial fiction can be deceptively simply – a pleasure to read through the clever, beautifully written and thoughtfully woven layers.
From the bestselling author of The Camomile Lawn comes the ';amusing' story of a widow reflecting on her past as she looks toward a new future (Publishers Weekly). Rose Peel had never loved her husband. Their marriage had simply made sense, being built on honor and respect and mutual needs. But love was not a part of their unionfor Rose has always kept that part of herself for Mylo Cooper, whom she was forbidden to marry. Upon the death of her husband, Rose suddenly finds herself free after almost fifty years of marriage. But as she reflects on her lifeher passionate adoration of Mylo, the promises she made to her husband, the lies they both told each other, the tragedies she survived, and the joy she sharedshe finds herself unsure of her next step, or what she truly wants. A finalist for the Sunday Express Book of the Year Award, Not That Sort of Girl is an unforgettable and emotional triumph of Wesley's one-of-a-kind insight and vivid characterization.
