PENMARRIC

by Susan Howatch ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1971

A comfortable, overstuffed and pleasantly mindless British family story ranging from 1890 to the '40's with no discussions of politics or business to slow a body down. Penmarric is the Gothic pile which stands in its Cornwall preserve as the symbol of personal power and affluence. Mark, the first narrator, is the product of a gentle, scholarly father and a name-proud mother who is bitter over Penmarric's appropriation by her father's favorite, Giles. But Mark does eventually take possession after his marriage to a working class girl. Then on to the drama of that pair involving a kind mistress and assorted offspring both legitimate and less than. Of the grown children, only Jan-Yves, the product of an angry marital rape, breaks clear from the burden of Penmarric secrets, feuds, deaths, separations and one inadvertent murder. Key figures take turns reading barometric changes in temper and circumstance and there are salient quotes from medieval royal chronicles. Beyond keeping track of sires, dams and cousins, one needn't give it any further thought. Literary Guild selection for June and the Delderfield designation seems obvious.

Pub Date: May 1, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION