At Home with the Templetons
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
When the Templeton family from England takes up residence in a stately home in country Australia, they set the locals talking – and with good reason. From the outside, the seven Templetons seem so unusual, peculiar even.
No one is more intrigued by the family than their neighbours, single mother Nina Donovan and her young son Tom. Before long, the two families' lives become entwined in unexpected ways, to the delight of Gracie, the youngest of the Templeton daughters.
In the years that follow, the relationships between the Templetons and the two Donovans twist and turn in unpredictable and life-changing directions, until a tragedy tears them all apart. What will it take to bring them together again?
From Australia's top-selling female novelist comes her best book yet – a wonderfully entertaining and touching story about the perils and pleasures of love, friendship and family.
'If you need more proof what a superior storyteller this author is, here it is.' West Australian
'A glorious tale . . . Top marks.' Bookseller (UK)
'An exquisite novel, which combines well-crafted characters with a captivating story . . . McInerney's latest offering is guaranteed to enthral her legions of adoring fans.' Ulster Tatler (Ireland)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Everything is not as it seems in McInerney's entertaining exploration of family relationships amid romance and turmoil. When the Templetons move from England to an inherited family manse in Australia, Henry, the charming but financially clueless patriarch, hopes to make a fortune by turning the new home into a tourist destination, dressing his family in old-timey costume as guides. His wife, Eleanor, struggles to balance the books, keep her husband's numerous financial schemes in check, and wrangle the kids: cynical Charlotte, na ve Audrey, precocious but wise Gracie, and young Spencer. Even Eleanor's sister, Hope, despite problems with alcohol, is in on the family business. Then there's artist-widow Nina Donovan and her son, Tom, living in a nearby rented farmhouse and both differently entangled with their flashy neighbors. McInerney (Greetings from Somewhere Else) follows her large cast over the course of 16 years as the Templetons disperse across the globe and become mired in their own individual struggles with, among other things, infidelity, loneliness, addiction, business, jealousy, and straightup growing pains. McInerney's greatest feat is to create a large cast of strong characters; they're individually tough and nicely considered, which lends a pleasing authenticity to the travails of an uncommon family.
