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The Purveyor of Enchantment
Thirty-something and newly divorced, Clementine lives in a small Hampshire town, teaching piano and working on a collection of fairy tales left to her by her great aunt Elvira. But mostly she worries. She worries about the rising crime rate. She worries about disease and illness, about offending God, and, in the rare moments when she actually is at peace with Him, about upsetting the man in the carpet store or the woman who runs the local cafe. And then, just when she thinks she has found love with the son of her next-door neighbor, she backs away, convinced that something terrible will happen. Finally, at a moment of real crisis, Clementine sees the destructive quality of fear, and resolves to change and make amends. To do so, she must turn from "Damsel in Distress" to heroine, slay her personal dragon of fears and phobias, and rescue back her own Prince Charming.
235 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1996
5 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Marika Cobbold
13 books37 followersI was born in Gothenburg Sweden into a family of readers and writers. My father is a newspaper editor and columnist, as is my brother. My mother, who stayed at home looking after the family, furnished the walls of every room with shelves full of books. We were a family that read and discussed and whereas there were restrictions about what we were allowed to watch on TV, and comic books were discouraged, books were a different matter; basically, the rule was that my brother and I could read whatever we could reach. (It was a happy day when, standing on a chair, I got hold of Fanny Hill.)
Ours was a liberal and tolerant household but some sins, I had imprinted on me, were beyond the pale, book burning and censorship of the written word were two of them. Hanging on his wall at his office at the newspaper my father had a quote from Voltaire. Translated from French into Swedish and then by me, into English, it went something like this: 'I may well not agree with your opinion, but I will defend to the death your right to state it.'
Growing up I was pretty well the standard embryo writer - you know the kind? Prone to daydreaming, constantly reading, feeling as if I were on the outside looking in, finding the world of books more relevant than the 'real' world I lived in.
Aged nineteen I married a British naval officer and moved to England. Before the move I had had just one year at university so, arriving here, I had no idea of what I was going to do with my life. But not for long as my son was born the following year and three years after that, my daughter. Life as a naval wife was a mix of periods of loneliness and periods of great fun and adventure. But as we settled in the Hampshire countryside, having decided that following the fleet was not so practical with two school age children, I began to think about writing. I had always been a great 'trier outer' of things, and it has to be said, also a great quitter, but almost the minute I sat down to write I felt as if I had come home. I had never kept a diary, not for longer than a week anyway (although I bought many, especially those which had a little tiny gold key) or written stories as a child- thought them up yes, but written them down no - but here I was, feeling as if I had walked straight through a doorway marked, Life's Work.
Of course, as the weeks and months became years I realised that it would be much more of a struggle to persuade the world (other than my family who were hugely supportive) that I was a writer than it had been convincing myself. But finally, when I was thirty-five, my novel Guppies For Tea, a story about growing old and fighting back, was accepted for publication. Several other publishers had turned it down saying no one was interested in reading about old people. Luckily, as it turns out, they were wrong. Even so, if it had not been for the help of my friend the writer Elizabeth Buchan, and that of Hilary Johnson of The New Writers' Scheme, whose interest in, and support of new writing went well beyond that which was purely romantic, I might never have been published. This taught me that luck and the goodwill and support of others is essential in the writing business as in so much else.
Oddly enough, instead of feeling the euphoria I had expected once my dream of being a published author had come true, I went into a kind of prolonged sulk. I spent many hours thinking up plans for how to minimise the humiliations I was sure would follow publication, including working out how many copies of my own book I could afford to buy up and stash away in the garage.
As it turned out, Guppies For Tea, was rather a lucky book. It was picked for the first W.H. Smith's Fresh Talent promotion, ensuring nationwide review coverage, massive distribution and the kind of support most new writers can only dream of. Following that the book was short-listed for The Sunday Express Book of the Year and after that it was serialised on Woman's Hour. As one a
Ours was a liberal and tolerant household but some sins, I had imprinted on me, were beyond the pale, book burning and censorship of the written word were two of them. Hanging on his wall at his office at the newspaper my father had a quote from Voltaire. Translated from French into Swedish and then by me, into English, it went something like this: 'I may well not agree with your opinion, but I will defend to the death your right to state it.'
Growing up I was pretty well the standard embryo writer - you know the kind? Prone to daydreaming, constantly reading, feeling as if I were on the outside looking in, finding the world of books more relevant than the 'real' world I lived in.
Aged nineteen I married a British naval officer and moved to England. Before the move I had had just one year at university so, arriving here, I had no idea of what I was going to do with my life. But not for long as my son was born the following year and three years after that, my daughter. Life as a naval wife was a mix of periods of loneliness and periods of great fun and adventure. But as we settled in the Hampshire countryside, having decided that following the fleet was not so practical with two school age children, I began to think about writing. I had always been a great 'trier outer' of things, and it has to be said, also a great quitter, but almost the minute I sat down to write I felt as if I had come home. I had never kept a diary, not for longer than a week anyway (although I bought many, especially those which had a little tiny gold key) or written stories as a child- thought them up yes, but written them down no - but here I was, feeling as if I had walked straight through a doorway marked, Life's Work.
Of course, as the weeks and months became years I realised that it would be much more of a struggle to persuade the world (other than my family who were hugely supportive) that I was a writer than it had been convincing myself. But finally, when I was thirty-five, my novel Guppies For Tea, a story about growing old and fighting back, was accepted for publication. Several other publishers had turned it down saying no one was interested in reading about old people. Luckily, as it turns out, they were wrong. Even so, if it had not been for the help of my friend the writer Elizabeth Buchan, and that of Hilary Johnson of The New Writers' Scheme, whose interest in, and support of new writing went well beyond that which was purely romantic, I might never have been published. This taught me that luck and the goodwill and support of others is essential in the writing business as in so much else.
Oddly enough, instead of feeling the euphoria I had expected once my dream of being a published author had come true, I went into a kind of prolonged sulk. I spent many hours thinking up plans for how to minimise the humiliations I was sure would follow publication, including working out how many copies of my own book I could afford to buy up and stash away in the garage.
As it turned out, Guppies For Tea, was rather a lucky book. It was picked for the first W.H. Smith's Fresh Talent promotion, ensuring nationwide review coverage, massive distribution and the kind of support most new writers can only dream of. Following that the book was short-listed for The Sunday Express Book of the Year and after that it was serialised on Woman's Hour. As one a
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 15, 2013
Yes well I'm slightly unsure how to rate this one, it certainly didn't live up to my expectations so I gave it three stars. I wouldn't say it was an awful book but it just didn't seem to be going anywhere. I must say that Miranda Hart was in my mind whilst reading, she would be a perfect cast though just not as funny. It was an easy read, not as funny as I would have liked and with a obvious ending. I wouldn't really recommend it to my family or friends as I found it a bit of a wasted read, but its the type of book to read on holiday or if you are a bit unsure what you fancy.
July 7, 2021
A strange book. I could not really get behind our heroine Clementine working to the end of getting together with the alcoholic Nathaniel. I could not believe that he would be any good for her. Clementine did start to get herself together to try to tackle her anxieties and phobias. But I think it would take longer than a month! I did like the idea of a self improving advent calendar though. Write all the things that you need to do to improve yourself. Shuffle them and put them in an advent calendar!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2017
I couldn't finish it, I just found it too tedious.
June 12, 2025
What a struggle to finish this book!
Did not even get a tiny bit interesting until page 771 of 1051 pages on kobo.
David that seemed to be an interesting character is left behind with a bit of money.
And a sloppy, sappy, dismissive ending.
What a disappointing last paragraph:
She admired his loyalty and warmth, his energy and his commitment to his work. He relaxed in her endless capacity for loving him and for forgiving. There were his moods, of course, the days of self-imposed isolation, and his drinking; and Clementine’s, day-dreaming and inefficiency, and her infuriating habit of never finishing a sentence. But they believed that their love might defy the odds and conquer everything, even their own frailties, and that perhaps they would live happily ever after.
Did not even get a tiny bit interesting until page 771 of 1051 pages on kobo.
David that seemed to be an interesting character is left behind with a bit of money.
And a sloppy, sappy, dismissive ending.
What a disappointing last paragraph:
She admired his loyalty and warmth, his energy and his commitment to his work. He relaxed in her endless capacity for loving him and for forgiving. There were his moods, of course, the days of self-imposed isolation, and his drinking; and Clementine’s, day-dreaming and inefficiency, and her infuriating habit of never finishing a sentence. But they believed that their love might defy the odds and conquer everything, even their own frailties, and that perhaps they would live happily ever after.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2017
The book appealed to me as I am a bit of a worrier too and the line "we all know we're going to die and still we insist on running through our lives as if we can't wait to get to the end and start again" struck a chord. However the story itself was rather bland and unrealistic - how many young divorcees manage not to work, would you really want to live with someone who was seeing your sister and would they realistically have moved abroad together? Probably not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2021
Not sure whether to rate this as 2 stars or 3 but as I think some readers will enjoy it I opted for 3. I found it rather confusing with seemingly 2 different time periods and flipping between them at the beginning of each chapter.
July 2, 2018
Uneven but ultimately satisfying, this book started slowly and awas a mad acceleration at the end.
February 4, 2020
Unusual book, woman with anxiety falls in love, but the path is not smooth. Engaging and rather enjoyable.
July 17, 2021
A very light read but enjoyable.
July 6, 2023
Took a little while to get into but a good read.
October 23, 2013
I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something middle aged and awfully polite about this book. The writing style, the characters, the atmosphere??? Even though the main character is only in her mid thirties.
Clementine is a divorcee who has inherited a house from a spinster aunt. She moves in with younger sister Ophelia, who is a surprisingly heartless bitch to be blunt, and talks down to her sister, completely takes for granted that she's got this free place to live, and then essentially steals Clementine's boyfriend. A character you want to slap, but she has her uses as she does get you rooting for Clementine. Clementine really is old before her time, worried about EVERYTHING, and not daring to live... she goes to sleep with a condom under her pillow incase a rapist breaks in. She gets to know her neighbour's alcoholic son, Nathaniel, who is supposedly her great love, but her fear of everything breaks up the relationship. But to be honest I never really got a sense of it being a great love. He never seemed truely interested in her, not really listening or properly engaging with her. She was probably best off without, but hey ho, what do I know, and it is only fiction.
Anyway, after her neighbour dies, partly effected by the result of all of her irrational fears, she decides to take herself in hand, deal with her fears and learn to live. She had an advent calender she got from Sweden with little pockets - in each she puts a challenge in each, such as 'take a walk late at night'; 'use public toilets' and so starts living life.
Clementine is a divorcee who has inherited a house from a spinster aunt. She moves in with younger sister Ophelia, who is a surprisingly heartless bitch to be blunt, and talks down to her sister, completely takes for granted that she's got this free place to live, and then essentially steals Clementine's boyfriend. A character you want to slap, but she has her uses as she does get you rooting for Clementine. Clementine really is old before her time, worried about EVERYTHING, and not daring to live... she goes to sleep with a condom under her pillow incase a rapist breaks in. She gets to know her neighbour's alcoholic son, Nathaniel, who is supposedly her great love, but her fear of everything breaks up the relationship. But to be honest I never really got a sense of it being a great love. He never seemed truely interested in her, not really listening or properly engaging with her. She was probably best off without, but hey ho, what do I know, and it is only fiction.
Anyway, after her neighbour dies, partly effected by the result of all of her irrational fears, she decides to take herself in hand, deal with her fears and learn to live. She had an advent calender she got from Sweden with little pockets - in each she puts a challenge in each, such as 'take a walk late at night'; 'use public toilets' and so starts living life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2011
Clementine is a worrier. She is the sort of woman who does not buy a lottery ticket in case she wins and is murdered for her money. Having lived in Sweden for several years, her marriage has ended, and she has returned to England to live in a house inherited from her Aunt Elvira. Her half sister Ophelia, petite and carefree, shares the house with her. Clementine spends her time working on making her Aunt’s fairytales into a book, and giving piano lessons. She befriends old Mr Scott next door and falls for his alcoholic son, Nathaniel.
The story starts with Clementine and Mr Scott being trapped in an attic room, hiding from a supposed burglar, and this alternates with what led up to this. I found this book hilarious, probably because I could identify with Clementine. She spends ages in a shop where she has simply gone to deliver leaflets, looking at things she does not want, because she does not want to upset the owner. She wonders how many people have been murdered because they were too polite to say no to things they felt were unsafe.
Ironically it is often her worrying about things which ends up causing problems and she decides she has to try to change if she is ever to find happiness. I loved this book, written with the same humour and style as Guppies for Tea and although written in the 1990s stands the test of time, not seeming at all dated.
The story starts with Clementine and Mr Scott being trapped in an attic room, hiding from a supposed burglar, and this alternates with what led up to this. I found this book hilarious, probably because I could identify with Clementine. She spends ages in a shop where she has simply gone to deliver leaflets, looking at things she does not want, because she does not want to upset the owner. She wonders how many people have been murdered because they were too polite to say no to things they felt were unsafe.
Ironically it is often her worrying about things which ends up causing problems and she decides she has to try to change if she is ever to find happiness. I loved this book, written with the same humour and style as Guppies for Tea and although written in the 1990s stands the test of time, not seeming at all dated.
June 8, 2023
Strange story of a young woman's attempts at developing herself. But instead of developing our empathy for her characters, the author seems to be trying to develop the opposite, as her characters are consistently portrayed quite unflatteringly. For example, our heroine, Clementine, is presented to us as a "large" awkward, bumbling woman w/low self-esteem, low self-confidence, low assertiveness & lack of a core sense of herself, whose sister & "best-friend" both repeatedly denigrate her. It's hard to whip up enthusiasm for this character. Meanwhile, the sister comes across as spoiled, petulant, critical & privileged. The "BFF" seems distant, scattered, unsupportive, judgmental. Husband/boyfriend characters seem dim & nebulous, barely articulated. The book becomes tangential, meandering off on different rabbit-trails, at various times/places, making it a little hard to follow sometimes (I found the digressions very boring). There didn't seem to be a point to some of these tangents she took. A few chuckles mid-book, then a long descent to the disappointing conclusion *** SPOILER ALERT *** which involved our heroine winding up living w/an active alcoholic, rescuing him (literally, from a self-created house-fire), as well as rescuing a street "busker," then dumping the busker w/her sister, so she could fly off w/her actively alcoholic boyfriend. For this, she takes a "victory lap?" Whatever. Books these days.
September 18, 2012
This book was loaned to me by my daughter, who had very mixed feelings about the story.
I find myself in the same dilemma. Sympathizing with Clementine about being above average height, it was not hard to understand feeling clumsy and different from others. Many women can understand wondering if they'll ever find that special someone, or wondering if the one you find will destroy you before all is said and done. I found it sad that she had so little love and support from her best friend and her sister.
As Clementine challenged herself to grow via an advent calendar, I felt inspired to face some of my own "dragons". Though some of the language was unnecessarily offensive, there were some lovely phrases as well.
I didn't find the book to be humorous overall, and a few times I considered returning it without finishing it. It was a little painful to watch her journey to her "happily ever after", but I am glad I stuck it out and finished it.
I find myself in the same dilemma. Sympathizing with Clementine about being above average height, it was not hard to understand feeling clumsy and different from others. Many women can understand wondering if they'll ever find that special someone, or wondering if the one you find will destroy you before all is said and done. I found it sad that she had so little love and support from her best friend and her sister.
As Clementine challenged herself to grow via an advent calendar, I felt inspired to face some of my own "dragons". Though some of the language was unnecessarily offensive, there were some lovely phrases as well.
I didn't find the book to be humorous overall, and a few times I considered returning it without finishing it. It was a little painful to watch her journey to her "happily ever after", but I am glad I stuck it out and finished it.
February 1, 2013
A lovely book! Clementine's enjoyment of life is curtailed because of her fear of everything. She cannot do the simplest thing without being ruled by worry, which threatens her chances of being happy in love. The book is written with Marika Cobbold's usual light-as-a-feather touch interwoven with original humour, dark and hilarious. Clementine is a charming heroine, and I challenge anybody to read this without identifying with some of her obsessions and fears - her cautious use of a public loo is so funny, and describes me to a tee.
August 26, 2013
Almost everyone worries about something; Clementine worries about everything and it rules her life. Finally, something happens to spur her into changing her ways. For me, this book did not deliver what the blurb promised. There was little to enchant. However, it is difficult to believe this book was written before Miranda Hart rose to fame. The part of Clementine in a dramatisation would definitely be hers!
August 21, 2014
This was an ok read. To be honest, I hated the writing style in the first few chapters, so I'm secretly pleased I grew to tolerate it. The main character is a nervous woman who doesn't really live life due a series of ridiculous worries. I felt the whole thing was quite cliched and there wasn't really any true character development, despite the storyline suggesting there was. Wouldn't recommend as there are better novels out there.
July 15, 2010
Re-read 7/14/10. I don't think I noticed when I read this the first time that Cobbold used The Fillyjonk Who Believed in Disasters as a theme for this book. How cool is that? And how did I miss that one?
(3.5 stars for me)
(3.5 stars for me)
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August 1, 2009I really enjoyed this book! It's been so long that I've read fiction that I can't put down (except for mysteries). This was a "just right" book: well-written, clever, intriguing, and romantic (which I usually don't like!). It's a cozy book with a a fairy-tale heroine through which one can expel one's own dragons vicariously.
December 29, 2010
Clementine Hope is fortyish divorced with a very comfortable middle class provincial life and sleeps with a condom under her pillow in case a rapist breaks in. Her timidity leaves her a perpetual onlooker can she change and take the risks that simply loving requires? I enjoyed this amusing, wry and incredibly middle class story. Luckily The Guardian says she is a feminist writer so thats okay.
May 20, 2012
I wasn't as thrilled with this book as I had hoped to be, but over all it was a pretty good read. It certainly made me go through the whole gamut of emotions, from mirthful disbelief over Clementine's antics, to dispair at the seeming hopelessness of her situation, to relief at the happy ending with which all good fairy tales finally resolve.
August 14, 2012
What was the purpose of this book? I'm not saying it was terrible but there really was not much character development and Clementine just started to say she was in love with Nathaniel without any real thoguht or interaction with the man.
March 2, 2013
Definitely a three star book - I did enjoy it, but it didn't completely grab me. By three quarters of the way through Clementine was starting to irritate me a little (although to be fair, I am pretty sure this was the author's intention). An enjoyable enough read but not, I think, one to re-read.
February 20, 2016
Utter rubbish. Clementine made me want to strangle her no wonder Mr Scott died in the attic; she bored him to death! There was no enchantment in this book! Luckily I had an attack of insomnia last night so I read it pretty speedily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2015
The story itself was a bit simplistic, the characters a bit wooden, but I really liked the style of writing, sip huh made the book entertaining and also somehow believable. I'd read more by this author.
September 2, 2009
I'm afraid I gave up half way through this book - just couldn't get into it. I'll bookcross it tomorrow. There are too many other books that I want to read!
December 13, 2010
Shame this book didn't live up to the enticing title....
December 27, 2011
Read in one go (for 2nd time) on day after Boxing Day morning, in bed!
July 24, 2014
Funny, endearing and infectious - a lovely light read!
June 6, 2016
Really enjoyable and an easy read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews