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S'està carregant… A Memory of Violets: A Novel of London's Flower Sellers (2015 original; edició 2015)de Hazel Gaynor (Autor)
Informació de l'obraA Memory of Violets de Hazel Gaynor (2015)
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Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. About a third of the way through this book, I resigned myself that I would have to rate it as 3 stars - there were just way too many "coincidences." Some were not as obvious as others, but the book was becoming a bit too predictable. The final quarter of the book changed my mind. The author did a remarkable work of using repetition, with increasingly more detail. She also developed empathy in unlikely characters. All in all, the "coincidences" were tied up much more neatly than I could have at first imagined. The story lines are finely interwoven and ending is satisfactory. At the conclusion of the book, I now have to rate it as 4 stars. The story is told in dual timelines beginning in 1876 with Florrie, Rosie's older sister, sharing their daily life as orphans on the streets of London selling posies of violets and watercress. Florrie is disabled from polio, and Rosie is blind, but together they face their hardships until they are separated in a crowd one day. Florrie promises that day that she will never stop looking for Rosie. In 1912, Tilly Harper left her parent's home in the Lake District to become assistant housemother at Shaw's Training Homes for Watercress and Flower Girls in London. With the discovery of a wooden box in the wardrobe of her room, Tilly begins to read a notebook written by Flora Flynn to her little sister with pressed flowers between some of the pages. The entries touch Tilly's heart, and she becomes determined to discover if the sisters were ever reunited. The story is beautifully written and is as heart-wrenching as it is heartwarming. History and the author's creativity are woven together in storytelling with tenderness and eloquence and found me in tears in both sorrow and joy. Lovely floral illustrations at the beginning of the 4 parts of the story and each chapter enhanced the feelings of discovery of the pressed flowers in Flora's notebook. Even before the 1st epigraph, I thought of Eliza Doolittle when I read the subtitle, and memories came to mind of playing Eliza in the drama club production of "My Fair Lady" in 9th grade. Reading The Story Behind the Book and the author’s experience deepened the connection to the author’s writing and a novel I will long remember. I postponed writing the review finding it difficult to express in words how it captured my heart and touched the deepest parts of my soul. In my reflections, it is a book that receives more than 5 stars. At the novel's end, additional meaningful features include The Language of Flowers – The Lost World of Floriography and John Groom: The Real Albert Shaw. Book clubs will be appreciative of the Reading Group Discussion Questions. For those on Pinterest, make sure to follow Hazel Gaynor. In particular, the inspiration board for this novel is an added delight. I found the romance unnecessary, the story would have been better focusing on Marguerite Ingram and her story more than the relationship of the two brothers. The spiritual connections and shared histories between the women was surprising and I would have enjoyed seeing more of that develop not just between the main characters but also going back even further (grandparents). The relationship between the two sister flower sellers was portrayed in a believable and touching manner. The filth and poverty was not over stated and seemed to describe a fair (not overly romanticized or gritty) reality. Will keep this book around my apartment to reference the Victorian meanings / symbol of each flower. This book opened an interest in that area that is new to me and I am excited to learn more! I would recommend this book to a friend. Although I scoff at the romance, it reminded me of how I could have read this story as a 12 years old (and used to order penny harlequin stories in the mail)... scenery such as "he kissed her gently the feeling of his lips like velvet while the snow gently touched their faces".... similar to that. I enjoyed the nostalgia of those books ... and despite the eye rolling did fell my heart glad for Tilly. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
"Step into the world of Victorian London, where the wealth and poverty exist side by side. This is the story of two long-lost sisters, whose lives take different paths, and the young woman who will be transformed by their experiences. In 1912, twenty-year-old Tilly Harper leaves the peace and beauty of her native Lake District for London, to become assistant housemother at Mr. Shaw's Home for Watercress and Flower Girls. For years, the home has cared for London's flower girls--orphaned and crippled children living on the grimy streets and selling posies of violets and watercress to survive. Soon after she arrives, Tilly discovers a diary written by an orphan named Florrie--a young Irish flower girl who died of a broken heart after she and her sister, Rosie, were separated. Moved by Florrie's pain and all she endured in her brief life, Tilly sets out to discover what happened to Rosie. But the search will not be easy. Full of twists and surprises, it leads the caring and determined young woman into unexpected places, including the depths of her own heart."--Publisher's website. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
Autor amb llibres seus als Crítics Matiners de LibraryThingEl llibre de Hazel Gaynor A Memory of Violets estava disponible a LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Debats actualsCapCobertes populars
Google Books — S'està carregant… GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:
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We move forward a number of years and now follow the story of Tilly, who in 1912, leaves her home in the north of England to come to London to work as a house-mother for a charity that houses and trains young girls to make silk flowers. Tilly learns the story of Florrie and Rosie, and decides to also try and find out what happened to Rosie all those years ago. Tilly has her own family difficulties to work through as she needs to come to terms with her own father’s death and the estrangement with both her mother and her sister.
While the story was perhaps a little overly sentimental and relied upon implausible coincidences to move the plot forward, A Memory of Violets did paint a vivid picture of the terrible conditions that poor and homeless children were faced with. The charity is based on the real life of John Grooms, an engraver and evangelical preacher who became concerned with the plight of poverty-stricken and often disabled girls who faced a hard life on the streets. This is the second book by this author that I have read and both books felt that they were too drawn out and could have been shortened to a better effect. ( )