Harnessing Peacocks

Harnessing Peacocks
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1480450553

A young single mother funds her son’s education in a most unusual way in this “delightfully lighthearted” novel from a beloved bestselling author (Kirkus Reviews). Ever since a pregnant and unmarried Hebe was forced to leave her grandparents’ home in disgrace, she has put the needs of her son, Silas, first. Paying his tuition to an elite prep school comes before everything, and she will do whatever it takes to make ends meet—even offering some quite singular services to the sons and sons-in-law of the wealthy women she cooks for. But Hebe’s plans soon go awry when her son winds up in an uncomfortable situation with the family of a school friend, her lucrative side business of is awkwardly interrupted—and her hopefully forgotten past reappears at the most inconvenient time . . . A delightful look into the love between mothers and sons, friends and relatives, lovers and spouses, Harnessing Peacocks is a warm and witty look at relationships that will amuse as it inspires.

Harnessing Peacocks

Harnessing Peacocks
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-03-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1446443418

Hebe sits in the darkness and listens to her hypocritical grandparents and her older siblings discuss how her unexpected pregnancy must be terminated to avoid the shame it will bring. Determined to raise her child, she flees into the night with only her mother's jewellery to support her. Twelve years later she is living happily alone in Cornwall, whilst her son attends an expensive private school. Hebe has harnessed her two great talents - cooking and making love - to make a living for herself, but when the separate strands of her life become intangled the even tenor of her days is threatened, and her world changes forever.

Part of the Furniture

Part of the Furniture
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1480450634

A smart, sharply written novel from a talent whose “fresh and original” works made her one of England’s most beloved authors (The New York Times). Abandoned by her mother and betrayed by the men she thought she loved, Juno Marlowe is alone. So alone that when the air raid sirens ring out, she has nowhere to hide until a kind but frail man offers to take her in for the night. Her sad story inspires him to write her a letter of introduction to his family—a caring gesture that will turn out to mean more than she could have imagined. With nowhere to call home, she seeks out the man’s father, Robert Copplestone, who lives on a quiet Cornwall estate where Juno is able to earn her keep by helping him tend to his animals. And she soon finds that the strong, handsome widower is more of a friend than she’s ever had and more like family than anyone she’s ever known. But when Juno’s fractured past catches up with her, the fragile and unlikely bond Robert and Juno have formed may be in danger of breaking under the strain. This “heartwarming story of May-December love” is a gentle look at the folly of humanity, weaving a tale of friendship, love, and healing (Publishers Weekly). “An elegant, satisfying entertainment.” —Kirkus Reviews

Jumping the Queue

Jumping the Queue
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1480450561

A “quirky, sad, and very funny” novel about suicide, matricide, and an unlikely love, from one of England’s best-loved authors (The Guardian). Determined to end it all after the death of her husband, Matilda Poliport’s carefully laid plans to kill herself are derailed when she comes to the rescue of another potential bridge jumper—a notorious young man on the run for having murdered his mother. Faced with the choice of either turning him in to the police or continuing on with her suicide attempt, Matilda makes the obvious decision and takes Hugh Warner home to stay with her while they both sort out what to do next. As Hugh and Matilda find surprising comfort in each other, secrets about Matilda’s deceased husband are revealed, leaving Matilda to face some very uncomfortable facts about her life. And as the pair plot to help Hugh escape the law, they will both need to face the truth about themselves and how far they are willing to go for each other. This “virtuoso performance of guileful plotting, deft characterizations, and malicious wit” showcases the talents of Mary Wesley at her caustic and comical best (The Times, London).

The Camomile Lawn

The Camomile Lawn
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2012-03-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 144644337X

Escape to the Cornish cliffs in the dizzying heat of August 1939, where five cousins are making the most of the last summer of their youth. Oliver is just back from the Spanish Civil War and world-weary at only nineteen. Calypso is gorgeous, utterly selfish and determined to marry for money. Polly and Walter, brother and sister, play their cards close to their chests. Then there's little Sophie, who nobody loves. Soon the world will be swept into war again and the five cousins will enter a whirligig of sex, infidelity, love and loss, but for now they have one last, gaspingly hot summer at the house by the cliffs with the camomile lawn. A beloved bestseller from an author ahead of her time, The Camomile Lawn is a waspishly witty, devil-may-care delight.

A Sensible Life

A Sensible Life
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1480449946

This “engaging and memorable novel,” set in post-WWI England and France, takes a wise, witty look at love, growing up, and class differences (Publishers Weekly). For the British families who vacation there, the shore town of Dinard, France, is a getaway from the ills of modern life. But when Flora Trevelyan visits with her self-absorbed parents in 1926, it’s not an escape she finds—instead, it’s a doorway into a different world, a different life, that she never knew existed. As the years pass, Flora embarks on a journey of discovery, from falling for three very different young men to understanding the follies of an upper class society of which she will never quite be a part to uncovering the difference between true friends and fair-weather companions. Along the way, her own life and those of her new acquaintances will be upended, and as the shadows of World War II fall over Europe, Flora will have to decide what kind of person she wants to be—and whether being sensible makes sense. Praised by the Daily Telegraph as “delicious,” Mary Wesley’s sharply humorous coming-of-age story weaves a tale of an unloved, neglected child who turns into a fiercely independent woman, both an entertaining romp and an astute glimpse into British society between the two World Wars.

Part of the Scenery

Part of the Scenery
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Bantam Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2001
Genre: Novelists, English
ISBN: 9780593047170

This book will follow Mary in words and pictures through her life in the West Country from her early visits to Polzeth in Cornwall in 1914 to the present day living and working in Totnes. Drawing on her own life, and also remembering how her words were inspired by many of the places she visited or made her home, it will be part-memoir, part-nostalgia of the West Country that has meant so much to her over the years. Most of the photography is original and will be beautiful and intriguing in its own right without losing its relevence to Mary or her books.

The Collected Novels Volume One

The Collected Novels Volume One
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 943
Release: 2018-11-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 150405721X

Three touching contemporary British novels of love, loss, and humor from the international bestselling “virtuoso” (The Times, London). Jumping the Queue: This masterpiece of wit, humor, and psychological suspense tells the story of a middle-aged widow who has had it with life. She puts her papers in order, gives away her pet goose, packs a picnic lunch, and heads to the beach to drown herself—only to meet a criminal on the run who has the same idea. Together they set out on adventure in this novel about the hidden costs of love and death. The Camomile Lawn: In this international bestseller, several cousins reunite after forty years to lay one of their own to rest. Together they recall their last carefree summer—and one hot August night in 1939 before the war began. They also reflect on the chaos that followed . . . and how it changed their lives forever. Harnessing Peacocks: Single mother Hebe juggles numerous lovers while working as a manor house chef to pay for her son’s schooling. When her two worlds collide, a secret from the past leads to a final showdown with a man who’s in search for his lost love in this captivating and sensual novel.

An Imaginative Experience

An Imaginative Experience
Author: Mary Wesley
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2012-03-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1446443396

A train screeches to a halt in the middle of the English countryside and, observed by her fascinated fellow travellers, a woman climbs down and rushes to the aid of a sheep, stranded on its back and unable to rise. Sylvester Weekes watches with interest and noticing, as she turns, that her face is full of tragedy, the woman's lonely image lodges in his mind. But he is not the only one to speculate over her actions - Maurice Benson, former private detective turned full-time birdwatcher, is convinced that the mysterious woman must be tracked down, in whatever way possible. This is a story rich in character and wit, and powerfully moving in its exploration of the heart's pain and deliverance. It is a tale of loss, of release, of an acceptance of the cruelties of fate and of the imaginative experience of love.