Sisters of the Quantock Hills: Gwen’s Story

 

“So that was life. People came, stayed briefly, went away. No good, then, placing your trust in people. Only land remained forever. The red soil of Somerset and the stone walls of Hillcrest would be here centuries hence. Nothing else.”

The above quote I memorized when I first read this book at age 16 and it has stayed with me ever since. I found it infinitely comforting in my adolescent depression and still think it is a beautifully written thought if quite sad.

In a change from the other books in this series, very little page time is spent on the Purcell's early years and WWI. We do get to go along on the walk over the Quantocks and get to know Gwen and her fears and her relationship with Antony.

The majority of this book follows Gwen at age 38 as the world prepares for another war. Gwen as homebody is the perfect anchor for this series to end on. She and Hillcrest are closely tied to one another and are the touchstone her sisters return to throughout their lives. That being said, there is more to her character than the homebody gardener she is seen as in the other books. By taking on an orchid collection (and care of her nephew, Antony's namesake) she grows into a fuller and stronger version of herself who is no longer hampered by the past. This book ends on a positive, hopeful note for the future of Gwen and Hillcrest.
I am sorry we don't get to see more of Sarah in this book, but we do hear about her. I also liked that we get to know Lucy Mackenzie a bit more. She is a fascinating character who could easily have filled her own book.
I absolutely loved re-reading this series. Definitely a five star keeper shelf favorite all the way around, not a weak volume in it.

 

***

 

And now, for nostalgia's sake, and because you have to be able to laugh at yourself, here is the review I wrote for this book when I was 16 years old and posted on Amazon:

 
5 Stars             So that was life...                 May 4, 2004
 

I want to start off by saying that "Gwen's Story" was a very satisfying conclusion to the Quantock Quartet. These four books are some of the best I've ever read, and Gwen's Story lives up to the expectations created by the others. The first part of the novel covers her young years, mentioning some of the same events as the earlier novels. We find out what happened to Gwen on the walk over the Quantocks. Most of the story covers Gwen's later life, which you think would make it hard to relate to, but makes the story much more interesting. More is learned about Frances' and Julia's later life, and I came to love Tony, who very much takes after Antony (who I always liked). My only small complaint is that we never see Sarah again, expect in the occasional mention of a letter to or from her. Gwen asserts her independence in a trip to Germany and she finally lets go of something she'd been holding on to for a long time. All in all, Gwen's Story is one of the best in the series, and a wonderful end to the Quantock Quartet.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Love L.M Montgomery Week - The LMM Tag

Image
  The LMM Tag 1. Who introduced you to L. M. Montgomery's writing?  Tell us the story! When I was in 5th grade my best friend (whose taste I admired - I read a lot of series and she was a more mature reader than I was) was reading an LMM omnibus and I leaned my head to the left to read Anne of Green Gables while she leaned right to read one of the later books. This lasted all of a few minutes, haha. I got my own copy and tried to read it - while I was a big reader, the writing was a little hard for me and I ended up putting the book on my shelf and moving on to something else. Several years later, when I was a sophomore in high school, I caught part of the 1985 miniseries on PBS and was intrigued - THIS was the book I had struggled with as kid? I found my old copy in a cardboard box in my basement (bound for a yard sale!) and cracked it open. This time I absolutely loved it! This was my character, my book, my town. I went on to read Anne of Avonlea that summer, then Anne of the I
Read more

Sisters of the Quantock Hills: Frances' Story

Image
    When I read these books when I was a teenager, I remember finding Frances' Story slow moving and a bit boring after Sarah's Story , but that is not the case at all on my re-read as an adult. I enjoyed this book as much (if not a bit more than) the first book. We already know the broad strokes about what happened to the Purcells (and the Mackenzies) from 1910-1920, but we see the years again through Frances' eyes and some of the events and details Sarah could not have known are sketched out. I enjoyed seeing Frances as she saw herself, not just as the stern (occasionally unfeeling) older sister that Sarah saw her as. I understood Frances as an adult in a way I didn't when I was young. I found her refusal to marry perfectly valid, and in fact got a little annoyed that Gabriel kept asking, as it felt like he was infantilizing her in his refusal to accept that she knew her own mind. I also liked that she allowed herself to grow and change her mind towards the end of th
Read more