Bittersweet
A Novel
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4.0 • 265 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Colleen McCullough’s new, romantic Australian novel about four unforgettable sisters taking their places in life during the tumultuous years after World War I is “just as epic as her ultra-romantic classic, The Thorn Birds” (Marie Claire).
Because they are two sets of twins, the four Latimer sisters are as close as can be. Yet each of these vivacious young women has her own dream for herself: Edda wants to be a doctor, Grace wants to marry, Tufts wants never to marry, and Kitty wishes to be known for something other than her beauty. They are famous throughout New South Wales for their beauty, wit, and ambition, but as they step into womanhood at the beginning of the twentieth century, life holds limited prospects for them.
Together they decide to enroll in a training program for nurses—a new option for women of their time. As the Latimer sisters become immersed in hospital life and the demands of their training, each must make weighty decisions about love, career, and what she values most. The results are sometimes happy, sometimes heartbreaking, but always…bittersweet.
Set against the background of a young and largely untamed nation, “filled with humor, insight, and captivating historical detail, McCullough’s latest is a wise and warm tribute to family, female empowerment, and her native land” (People).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this sweeping historical saga, McCullough (The Thorn Birds) explores the lives and loves of four sisters in 1920s Australia. Edda and Grace are twins, as are Heather (dubbed Tufts) and Katherine, (called Kitty). Since career options for women are sparse, the sisters enter nursing school, encouraged by their father, the Reverend Thomas Latimer. The four leave their home in the small New South Wales town of Corunda, each with different goals: Grace wants to be a wife and mother; Tufts wants independence, Kitty wants to be known for more than her beauty, and Edda longs to be a doctor. Each finds love, of a sort, and tragedy is not in short supply the Great Depression hits; one sister's husband is lost; another's is cast off; miscarriages occur. As each sister finds her path in life, though, one thing remains clear: family means everything to these women. No matter what befalls them, they remain fiercely loyal to each other. McCullough's richly drawn characters grab hold of the heartstrings from the beginning of their journey through early-20th-century Australia, and prove that, even when choices are not in wide supply, happiness is attainable even if, at times, it is bittersweet.
Customer Reviews
Australia history
A great book by a great author who never fails to entertain while weaving a story with historical underpinnings. The characters are wonderful and a delight to follow.
Confusing message for using man’s money
Loved some of her books, but this one seems written like author forgotten what she was trying to tell in one chapter before… supposedly strong women are using they man…minister father unable to give moral compass to 4 daughters even with good for times…
As a nurse
I loved this book.