The Empty House

The Empty Novel

After reading the Sample for this book on my Kindle, I knew how it would play out, but not how quickly it would do so. I wish that instead of spending $7.99 to read this novella, or long short story, I'd spent $8.99 to add her best novel, The Shell Seekers, to my Kindle for $8.99, given the paper book away. It's a book worth reading many times.

SPOILER ALERT

There was very little character development of the few characters and not much of a plot before the abrupt ending, with the female protagonist, widowed only a little over three months, deciding to marry a Cornish farmer because she loved his cozy country farmhouse kitchen with its scrubbed table and pots of geraniums. She had fantasized about that kitchen during her ten years of marriage, having been invited there once for a cup of tea by the farmer's mother.

"Romancing the Flagged Stone Floor" should have been the title of the book.

Rosamund Pilcher, in my less than humble opinion, is one of the very best writers of gentle fiction. Of course, I have read The Shell Seekers and loved it, but haven't read anything of hers for a few years. I came across this short novel - not a novella - in a hospital bookstall and of course pounced on it. I read it in around 3 hours while waiting for clinics and travelling home on the train.

Written in 1973 and first published in 1990, Pilcher's style of writing will no doubt not be fast-paced enough for the modern younger reader, but those of us who are rather longer in the tooth will be able to appreciate the delicate development of the quite traditional story. True to it's time, "House" is rich in imagery, more so than modern books,but fortunately not so much that one would skip pages!

Virginia, widowed only three months, has been pressured to marry at eighteen by her intimidating mother, then to "turn a blind eye" by her husband. His nanny and her mother-in-law, Lady Keile, are continuing the trend in successfully intimidating her into doing exactly what they want. But of course, the worm turns - gently but implacably, after a showdown with an old friend, engendering this reader's admiration for Virginia. I am not sure I would be as brave in the face of those formidable women!

What I particularly liked about this book, was the gradual unfolding - without fanfare, but easily understood-of the background and future of Virginia. Rosamund Pilcher's genius creates characters with mundane lives, into people in whose future the reader cannot help but invest concern.

Highly recommended for those who appreciate the fine writing of past years and a traditional, but gentle story.

***

Cornwall, one of Rosamund Pilcher's favorite places, is a place of spiritual renewal in The Empty House. Virginia Kiele's problems are not what they might seem: she is a young widow whose husband died suddenly in a car crash, leaving her with two young children. Her mother in law and nanny are looking after the children while Virginia spends some time with a kind family friend in a beautiful house in Cornwall. But Virginia does not particularly mourn her husband. What she wants is to take charge of her own children. Her situation isn't one that most of us will be able to relate to. The in-charge nanny that raised her husband has, with her mother-in-law's blessing, taken her children in hand, and Virginia has literally never cared for her own children without help. She seizes on the idea that this is what she, and they need - to rent a house in Cornwall and begin to form their own family unit. The title refers to both the house in Scotland she left behind, as well as the long-vacant rental she decides to make into a home. The added attraction is a handsome Cornish man with the improbably unromantic name of Eustace whom she knew briefly on a long-ago holiday. Will they be able to connect after so many years and so many changes?

The Empty House is a short but fairly satisfying novel. Not being able to empathize with the main character was a minus, but she's a good character nonetheless. The romance proceeded predictably enough, but Pilcher created strong enough characters that I wished them well.

Pilcher fans will enjoy this book, but it's a weak place to start her body of work. Try Coming Home or Winter Solstice instead.

Another Rosamunde Pilcher story where events slowly, but inexorably, after a major detour, lead the protagonist, onto a point where she allows true love to enter her life.

Virginia Parsons meets her true-love-to-be, Eustace Philips, when she is seventeen during a holiday in Cornwall. She wants to pursue the relation, but her ambitious mother has other plans and bundles her off to London, in effect, squashing the relationship in the bud. Virginia is married off to the rich and stylish Anthony Kylie. Ten years and two children later, Anthony dies in a car accident, and Virginia returns to Cornwall, presumably for a holiday. Quite soon, she meets the still unattached Eustace, who provokes her into taking charge of her life and not let others run it for her. Virginia does so, she finds a place to stay near Eustace, dismisses the nurse who has tended her children since birth and takes charge of them herself. It does not take long before she meets Eustace and the proverbial happy ending ensues.

This story may be hard to believe, but Rosamunde Pilcher, with her inimitable and subtle narrative style, manages to carry it off and lend to the tale, a strong dose of credibility. According to her, the greatest virtue is to be true to yourself, in that clothing, true love and passion can reveal itself. In her novels, the villains present a false front, which they are always trying to live upto. Because we all instinctively know these simple truths, reading a Pilcher novel is extremely refreshing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. One resonates at once.

Great Reading.

Many years before THE SHELL SEEKERS propelled Rosamunde Pilcher to international fame, she wrote a string of romantic tales to satisfy a hungry heart. THE EMPTY HOUSE is, in my opinion, one of the more endearing.

Virginia Keile had a magical first love that ended in heartbreak. She later married a handsome socialite and bore two adorable children. Yet, the memory of that lost first love haunted her for ten long years. After her husband's tragic death, Virginia returns once again to the English seaside and seeks to find out why Eustace Phillips rejected her.

Pilcher, famous for her cozy descriptions of English life and beloved for the ambience she creates in her novels, does not fail us in this one. We move between the exquisite Cornwall home where Virginia is a guest to the Scottish manor she has left behind as well as Bosithick, the empty house in Cornwall that she makes her own.

How Virginia learns to assert herself, to take control of her own children away from her strong-minded mother-in-law and the family nanny, makes for a light and entertaining reading experience. The reader is not only transported to Pilcher's idyllic Cornwall with all its magic, but to a woman's first love and the path to recapturing a past she could never forget.

If you have never read Rosamund Pilcher, you are missing a real treat!

This book is filled with wonderful, great, superb descriptions of English farming life in Cornwall! Pilcher weaves word in a way that makes you feel that right outside your own window lies the sea and lowing cattle. When reading this book, I could feel the rain on my face, smell the sea-salt air, hear the mewling of the kittens that Cara and Nicholas carried out of Eustace's barn, taste the ice cream that Eustace got for Virginia!

I must say that I have to disagree with some of the reviewers about the main character Virginia being a spoiled brat. She had been domineered by her mother, mother-in-law, husband, and Nanny her entire life. She didn't know how to stand on her own two feet. She wanted a "normal" life, away from the elitism of the British upper class. She even mentioned this to Anthony. She said it made her feel sad to see husbands and wives with their children carrying packages to their beat up cars and in Anthonys view they had nothing. However, Virginia saw that they had much, much more then she could ever dream of having. I think that is where the title of this book, The Empty House, hit home with me. Sure, she had a huge country estate in Scotland and a round of parties to go to with everyone waiting on her hand and foot, but the house was empty. Not like Penfolda, Eustaces farm house, where everything smelled of "baking bread" and "manury." It was a real home, filled with real life. And this is what she was trying to re-create at the home she rented.

As far as Virginia and Eustace coming together after four meetings, that is part of the charm of a Pilcher book. Pure escapism. If her mother had given her the phone messages and letter, who knows what could have happened. They may have gotten together a whole lot sooner, but then, there wouldn't have been much of a plot!

If you read this book for nothing else, do read it for the descriptions of Cornish life. I promise that you will not be disappointed.

An anachronism in the form of a delightfully romantic fairy tale. From the cliffs of Cornwall to a near castle in Scotland, our not-so-modern-day fairy princess finds herself (at age 27) the widow of Prince Not So Charming. Despite the fact the deceased Prince was unfaithful and domineering and only married the young girl to achieve his inheritance, it is still a little tough feeling sorry for the Poor Little Rich Girl, who has never worked a day in her life (nor will she ever have to). Finally, she is free to be herself and she ships her young children off with Nanny to her mother-in-law in London. She then returns to the Cornwall coast and the memory of a few chance encounters of her 17-year-old self with a local farmer. Rejecting the comfort and pampering of friends, she leases a modest home near Porthkerris, fires the Nanny and reclaims her children. But can she do it? And can the combine man of the cozy hearth really win the heart of the Pampered Princess? This is an early Pilcher, with very idealistic (and out of touch) plotting but the heavenly glimpses of home and heart and her beloved countryside quite save the book.

My favorite Rosamunde Pilcher book besides the Shell Seekers. Although it was predictable, I love the journey this mother made to get to where she wanted to be. It is all about the journey with most of this author's books. Fun and easy read but left me wanting to know more about Virginia's life after the book ended.

In general, I agree with all of the reviews written here. BUT...I'm simply a huge fan of Rosamunde Pilcher. She writes wonderful, rich, escape-ism novels! They're great for relaxing, taking with you to the tub (w/ candles, bubble bath & a nice glass of something!), and so on.
When I pick up a Pilcher (or a Maeve Binchy) I'm not looking for War & Peace! I'm looking for interesting characters, some of them will be shown in a less-than-flattering light (at least sometimes), which I think is pretty realistic (since we all have our less-than-flattering sides/times!). However, realism isn't the key here. Descriptions of the places, the people, and the events are (I believe) Pilcher's strong suit.
True, this isn't her best work. But, please don't discard her as an author based upon this book! Give her others a chance, and give this one a chance as well. Just lighten up, and enjoy it! Don't dissect it. Allow yourself to escape into it's depths, and don't worry about how many times Virginia has met the love of her life, etc.! Pilcher's books are so much better than romance novels, you don't need to feel the related guilt and embarrassment when reading them! How refreshing...

Rosamunde Pilcher needs no introduction. Thousands have read and seen The Shell Seekers. Her books are not sugar coated, or the usual romantic novel. There is sadness sometimes and end the people seem to be like many people we meet. I always feel good when I read one of her books.

Rosamunde Pilcher personified

Our heroine moves from a gilded childhood to independent womanhood in the course of ten years. How can one not enjoy Mrs. Pilcher's descriptions of Cornwall seaside as the setting for transformation of her heroine? I always want to dig out my passport after completing one of her novels.