The Mulberry Tree
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- ¥1,300
発行者による作品情報
A young widow inherits a run-down farmhouse and a whole new beginning in Virginia in this charming and emotional novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summerhouse.
Quiet, unassuming, and overweight, Lillian did anything and everything to please her husband of twenty years, the illustrious self-made billionaire James Manville. Since the tender age of seventeen, she had obeyed this powerful older man’s every command and in return she received a life beyond her wildest dreams. Elaborate mansions. Trips around the world. The finest jewels and the most luxurious fashions.
But when Jimmie dies suddenly in a plane crash, Lillian’s pampered life comes to an abrupt halt. She learns that Jimmie has bequeathed all of his riches to his devious siblings. All, that is, except an old farmhouse in small-town Virginia. Although Lillian is devastated by Jimmie's death and apparent betrayal, she soon discovers a well of secrets connected to Jimmie’s past and uncovering them, she thinks, will help her to better understand the man she loved and mysteriously lost.
What Lillian doesn’t foresee is how her unexpected circumstances quickly transform her. She loses weight, changes her name to avoid further harassment from the press, and, with the help of Matthew Longacre, a kind, handsome local man, begins to renovate the farmhouse and establish friendships with the quirky townspeople. In time she develops her own thriving business and an inner strength she never knew existed. But, though Lillian’s new life seems as strong as the mulberry tree firmly planted outside her farmhouse, there remain secrets and lies that threaten to uproot the past she cherished and the future she will fight to protect.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Perennially bestselling romance writer Deveraux's newest (put out by Atria, S&S's new hardcover imprint) tells the story of a 33-year-old woman's successful remaking of her life and self-image after the sudden death of her beloved husband, Jimmie, who was a combination of business tycoon and Mafia honcho. Pampered Lillian Manville is bustled away in the middle of the night and informed that she was cut almost entirely from Jimmie's will. Rather than a portion of his billions, he bequeathed her an old farmhouse in Virginia and a cryptic note referring to "the truth about what happened." Retreating to lick her wounds, Lillian begins to carve out a new life for herself and investigate the mystery of Jimmy's past. As she uncovers the town's buried secrets, she also discovers that Jimmy deliberately created a role for her as his mousy wife and kept her trapped there. As she breaks out of her shell, she loses weight, restyles herself and starts a cooking business with the townswomen, who grudgingly begin to accept her presence. Bailey (as Lillian renames herself) is infectiously enthusiastic yet just insecure enough to make her pathbreaking corporate organization of her neighbors and her concerns about her involvement with Matt, the inevitable eligible bachelor, ring true. There is nothing particularly surprising in this novel, but Deveraux's touch is gold, and her protagonist combines innocent appeal with wry experience in a way that readers will surely find irresistible.
