A Woman Possessed
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
First published in 1992 by Piatkus in London and St Martin's in America the book attracted the following reviews:
* Although this talky saga often drags, Macdonald nonetheless depicts turn-of-the-century Cornwall convincingly — Publishers Weekly
* The theme [of a threatened happy marriage] has been tackled before but seldom so well — Liverpool Daily Post
* More of Macdonald's wise/unwise, chatty, jaunty women–a pair this time–and their equally entertaining men, again holding forth in the environs of a Cornish village... As with others in this series: a treat for those enjoying the copious gab of long-winded ladies bent on loving and liberation. Busy, sputtering, noisy fun — Kirkus
* Probably the best yet as he brings his characters to life. He manages to combine the enthusiasm of a natural storyteller with delicacy as he decribes the scenes of a family's life torn apart — Western Morning News
* Another fine romantic saga of Victorian Cornish life — Publishing News
* A truly captivating romantic Cornish saga — Western Evening Herald
* Malcolm [Macdonald] is an outstanding writer. He has the ability to involve his readers wholeheartedly in the drama, so that we really care about the characters and their fate. He moves the story along in such a way that interest never flags, but he never sacrifices the more subtle nuances in their absorbing relationships — Plymouth Sunday Independent
And—of Macdonald himself:
*He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Although this talky saga often drags, Macdonald ( A Woman Scorned) nonetheless depicts turn-of-the-century Cornwall convincingly and peoples it with a mix of new characters and those from earlier books. The settled and beloved routine of Giles and Laura Curnow is severely disrupted by the return from South Africa of Maurice Petifer, Laura's once penniless first love who is now a millionaire. After Maurice buys the property adjoining the Curnows', Giles, a well-to-do merchant who has prided himself on treating Laura as an equal, finds himself consumed with primitive jealousy, while Laura, the mother of five, feels ambivalent and restless. The emotional stew boils over when Giles, Laura, her widowed cousin Sibylla Johnson, their wealthy neighbors and friends the Troys and Maurice visit London for the 1903 New Year's celebration. Macdonald's characters discuss their emotions endlessly and tediously, but they rarely take any action. Sibylla's behavior is central to the plot, but her motives are left unexplained for so long that the final revelation is an anticlimax.
