Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Three families, one house in Devon. What could possibly go wrong?
A Very Big House in the Country
What you need to know before your trail
First of all, if you’re not singing the blur song from the moment you open the first page, then make sure you get it as this adds to the mood and the spirit of the chaotic holiday home that this turns out to be.
Three families share one big house in the Devon countryside – the Herreras, the Littles and the Browns. Three very different families, each with their own foibles and worries, grumbling children and divorces. and that’s not forgetting the rather promiscuous dog that’s here too.
But holiday are all about relaxing right? With a glass of white wine in hand, something cooking in the Aga…..
However as the wine flows so too do the confessions and what’s simmering in the pot on the Aga? Well that might well be the underlying resentment.
Oh wait! Someone has an announcement to make…..but someone else is waiting in the wings with a story of their own.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Staying in a huge house in the Devonshire countryside does sound rather idyllic but the chaos of three families staying there at the same time doesn’t lend itself well to peace and tranquility.
“We’re almost there, we’re almost at paradise”
Even the house is called Wellcome Manor which bodes well at first but then, well, where would the fun in that be? These three very different families are set to ensure that your own holidays are never quite as chaotic as you think.
Wellcome Manor is like a microcosm of human life, emotions, morals and scandal. It’s also a gorgeous sumptuous place to be, with its own cinema, , a hall way to die for and fired earth tiling and distressed floorboards…
“A bath in the room! she squealed”
Ah the joy of discovering the house as the characters do! A House to die for as well! (Note the gorgeous book cover for one) Meet Evie – husband Mike , three children and a big announcement to make. Evie’s friend Shen and husband Clive have lots of money but not as many morals it would seem..
Finally, the last couple to come on board is Paula and Jon. Paula is a dark horse. She and each of the characters are fully fleshed people you can picture yourself clinking a glass of wine with, looking over their shoulders as they write some of the wittiest postcards you will ever read.
On holiday with a range of characters, having to pack, travel, life together for two weeks, the arguments, playing games and all the while hiding a secret or two. As Evie says, every paradise has its serpent…
Now sit back and relax and enjoy your holiday with this lot!
Author Guide
The author tells us that she first got the idea for the novel when she was staying in Devon and went to visit Agatha Christie’s house, Greenway. “Wandering about the beautiful rooms I couldn’t help thinking of ways I would decorate it and modernise it.” The house underwent a few changes in her head (the white frontage became honey coloured stone). Another house that had an effect on her was Cliveden House in Berkshire, particularly the hedges that kept offering peeks beyond to the back of the house.
Where Next?
