Family Album

by Antonia Ridge

Used book

Genres: France

254 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 1970

Reviews

[Gina House]

Wonderfully cozy, hopeful and such a joyous read! I cannot tell you how much this book touched my heart. The story made me feel like there's so much more hope, joy and friendship to be found in the world—even when you're middle-aged or older. This book came into my life at the perfect time...I was feeling down and a bit hopeless.

The life and adventures of Dorothy Durand filled me with excitement and comfort all the way through. Antonia Ridge's writing style is addictive and so easy to read—I felt heartbroken when the story ended because I had to leave the charming characters...who, by that time, I considered real friends. It's definitely a hug-worthy book and I plan to re-read it every year in September for the Spinster September hashtag created by Nora (@pear.jelly on IG).

Many, many thanks to my dear friend, Virginia (@oldbookdreamer on Instagram), for gifting this gorgeous hardcover book to me! I'm endlessly grateful for so many hours of lovely reading!

Highly, highly recommended to anyone who appreciates a comforting, but also lively story filled with caring and supportive new friends, travel to France and found family!

[Helen]

An annual comfort read for me, beautiful.

[Ange]

Family Album is a gentle, meandering novel that tells the story of a middle-aged English woman who goes to France to discover her long lost relatives. It's probably what you might call a "cosy" read, as Dorothy Durand, rambles about the countryside, discovering cousins, sitting in cafes, going to concerts, and generally having a lovely time. The plot wanders around a lot and goes off on a many tangents, eventually arriving no-where in particular, but an interesting sub-plot has Dorothy's spinster cousins becoming a travelling companion to a rich American woman named Mrs van Winkle. It was fun reading about the preparations for her travels - including the preparation of an evening dress from a set of curtains. At this point I felt as if I had been dropped into a story that was a cross between Gone with the Wind and Rebecca. It's sweet but not compelling reading and it won't be one I revisit.