A PLACE LIKE HOME - Rosamunde Pilcher
A Perfect 10
St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9781250274953 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250274960 (eBook)
July 2021

Anthology

From the Literary Estate of Rosamunde Pilcher, this is an anthology of fifteen short stories that were not previously published in book form. Many were written for magazines, and the enclosed stories were discovered in the British Library by a literary agent. 

A short history of this fabulous author, who sadly passed away in 2019, reveals that she started writing while in the Royal Navy WRNS during World War Two, but used the pseudonym Jane Fraser when she published her first novel in 1949. It wasn't until the age of sixty that Ms. Pilcher began using her own name when her glorious novel THE SHELL SEEKERS debuted. Since that stand-out book, she presented to her loyal followers a not-long-enough list of wonderful novels. Ms. Pilcher also, as noted above, wrote many short stories for publication in women's magazines. 

A PLACE LIKE HOME has typical Pilcher tales. From the young woman escaping a failed relationship who finds peace in the countryside, and possibly romance in SOMEONE TO TRUST, to THE HOLIDAY, when a long-married wife plans a beautiful get-away hoping to rekindle the flame. I think the one I loved the most was the main titled one, A PLACE LIKE HOME, about another young woman who is recovering from surgery, but has no family nearby. Her boss arrives at the hospital with orders for her to get away for a while and arranges for her to travel to Scotland to stay with friends of his on their farm. It was heartwarming and had a particularly sweet ending.

One of the talents of Rosamunde Pilcher was to nail human emotions without glorifying or denigrating them. Her characters are all too human, and, due to her long life, she could describe a teenager's angst, as well as the wisdom of an elderly woman. Pilcher loved Cornwall, and her knowledge of the flora and fauna flows through all of her stories. She equally adored Scotland, and readers can easily picture the gorse, the heather, and the bubbling burn flowing over the dark stones. 

Rosamunde Pilcher's fans will thoroughly enjoy this delightful, emotional, and poignant set of stories. As readers can tell, Ms. Pilcher is one of my very favorite authors, and I re-read WINTER SOLSTICE each December, and SEPTEMBER each autumn. That's why I am so honored to review A PLACE LIKE HOME. 

Jani Brooks