“I remember the day my mother began to unravel.”
One of the most delicious and uplifting things about being an unabashed bibliophile is that with hundreds of hours spent reading stacks of books one often discovers a new author whose storytelling makes the reader feel whole and that much better for knowing them. A birthday present gifted early with all of the shiny bits attached.
Gwen K. Harvey, author of “The Acquisition of Elizabeth Grace,” (RE:BOOKS 2024) is definitely in this category. @rebookspublishing @gwenkharvey
Her new novel, (“The Girlfriend Book was published in 2021), is a story that takes place in both Toronto and England throughout the 1960s, and is a poignant, captivating novel of family, with all of their hidden secrets and complications, their weaknesses and strengths. Elizabeth Grace is a Baron’s daughter in the English autocracy, who grew up wandering the estate grounds of the grand Harrington Hall. A talented artist, she is also frail and buffeted by the emotional and financial challenges life presents.
Elizabeth, along with her husband and two daughters, Sophie and Olivia, travel to England at the tail end of 1961 to celebrate New Year’s with family, which is when things quickly go awry.
“I was ten years old when our infamous visit happened,” Olivia tells us. “Before everything changed, travel was a much-loved family activity.”
And Oh! What a family it is!
There is the tiny, dainty, soft-spoken Aunt Flora, the family’s loving peacekeeper, who is married to the irascible Uncle Henry, who with “his hooded eyes, protracted nose and hulking presence” is as horrible and cunning as he sounds. Cousins Dora and her imaginary friend, Emily, the mysterious Peter, the Harrington Estate gardener’s son, Frederick, the staunchly efficient and loving butler, along with a host of others, all add delightfully rich context to the subplots.
However, the discovery, by Sophie, of a sapphire and diamond bracelet, gifted to her mother, Elizabeth Grace, wreaks havoc within different pockets of both family units.
And soon, Sophie, whose head “could not knit together what was going on,” was trying to “push away the intrusive finger of caution tapping on my shoulder.”
A series of tumultuous events occur with the girls and their dad going back to Toronto and Elizabeth Grace, who had lost her very essence, withdrawing to an isolated country cottage.
The multi-layer plot lines that Harvey overlays, one on top of the other, with the introduction of evolving timelines and interesting and complex characters right to the very last chapters, is the kind of rich and celebratory pièce de résistance storytelling that leaves readers both thoroughly enthralled and waiting eagerly for her next book to arrive.
#TheAcquisitionofElizabethGrace #historicalfiction #history #fiction #England #1960s #rebookspublishing
Creative Aging Books & Ideas is presenting Gwen K. Harvey
Thursday, September 26 at 2 p.m.
Don’t miss your chance to hear Gwen read from “The Acquisition of Elizabeth Grace” and chat with her about the fascinating period of history in which her book takes place.
Register here: Meeting Registration – Zoom
And ON OCTOBER 31 AT 2 P.M.
Creative Aging Books & Ideas presents DANIEL KALLA
Producing engrossing novels with an intensity that matches the challenges of his other role as an ER physician, Kalla’s character-driven thrillers focus on themes that lie at the heart of his professional life and issues that are important to him, including such diverse topics as addiction, pandemics, superbugs, DNA evidence, and patient abuse. He has written fourteen global thrillers, historical suspense, epic stories, and psychological thrillers. In his latest novel, Fit To Die, Daniel tackles the issue of social media body shaming, body dysmorphia, and the sometimes-toxic diet and wellness industries.
Register to hear Daniel read from his newest book, “High Society” and get the opportunity to chat with this highly engaging author!
Register here for you FREE ZOOM LINK: Meeting Registration – Zoom
Read my review of “High Society” here:
HIGH SOCIETY by Daniel Kalla – cecescott.com
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