Village Fortunes

Tales from Turnham Malpas #17

by Rebecca Shaw

Things are heating up in the village of Turnham Malpas. Now comfortably settled in the Big House, Johnny and Alice Templeton are over the moon at the arrival of their second son. But Johnny's roguish younger brother, Chris Templeton, is visiting from Brazil and causing not a little trouble in the village. For Ford and Mercedes Barclay, returning to the village after all these years - and after Ford's shameful imprisonment - is a big step. Will they be welcomed back or shunned? And will Ford be able to convince people he's a changed man? While most of the villagers greet the pair with open arms, there are those who still have their doubts. Meanwhile, poor Fran Charter-Plackett has some important decisions to make about her future. With all her siblings having flown the nest, the pressure is on to decide what to do with her life. And when her parents discover Fran's shocking secret, things really start to get messy.

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2013

About the author

Sunday Times bestselling author Rebecca Shaw is known for her heartwarming tales of country life.
Rebecca grew up in Yorkshire and attended a Quaker boarding school before becoming a teacher of deaf children.
She wrote 28 novels. Her biggest series of 19 books set in a fictional English village called TURNHAM MALPAS chart the lives and loves of the village inhabitants.
A further six novels tell the stories of the vets, veterinary nurses and animals at a veterinary practice in the fictional English market town of BARLEYBRIDGE.
She also wrote three standalone novels.
Rebecca lived with her husband in a beautiful Dorset village where she found plenty of inspiration for her contemporary stories about rural life. Rebecca sadly passed away in 2015, but her stories continue to be enjoyed by readers across the globe.
Rebecca has been translated and sold in Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Norway. She is also published in the US.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This #17 Turnham Malpas novel wasn't nearly as good as the early ones; I presume the series has just run out of breath. I felt the story was very disjointed, intertwined with trivia. I've given it 3 stars because I still appreciated the recurring village characters, even though the plot was so weak.

[Eveie Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the village brought back memories of holidays I had when I was growing up in England. It was a touching story I thoroughly recommend. It.

[Sherry Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book on my favorite series, only two left. 🥲

[Denita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this instalment from this series of books. Rebecca Shaw always has an interesting storyline in each book.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Things are heating up in the village of Turnham Malpas. Now comfortably settled in the Big House, Johnny and Alice Templeton are over the moon at the arrival of their second son. But Johnny's roguish younger Brother, Chris Templeton, is visiting from Brazil and causing not a little trouble in the village.

"For Ford and Mercedes Barclay, returning to the village after all these years -- and after Ford's shameful imprisonment -- is a big step. Will they be welcomed back or shunned? And will Ford be able to convince people he's a hanged man? While most of the villagers greet the pair with open arms, there are those who still have their doubts.

"Meanwhile, poor Fran Charter-Plackett has some important decisions to make about her future. With all her siblings having flown the nest, the pressure is on to decide what to do with her life. And when her parents discover Fran's shocking secret, things really start to get messy."
~~back cover

Mercedes is welcomed back wholeheartedly, especially by the Embroidery Club, for her superior skills as a needlewoman. Ford has a bit more work to do before being accepted, but eventually he overcomes.

But Fran is definitely head-over-heels about Chris Templeton, who is so handsome he hurts, who has so much money he never has to consider anyone else, and who enjoys wooing young ladies, only to love 'em and leave 'em. Which is exactly what he does, breaking poor Fran's heart and infuriating his brother and sister-in-law.

So it ends well for the Barclays but not so well for the Charter-Placketts.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been enjoying The Village series for many years, but I think it's time is winding down. This book is nowhere near as good as the early ones. A lot of the interesting, original residents have gone, and been replaced with characterless non-entities who do nothing except sit in the pub and gossip. Other, formerly main characters, barely get a mention..... the rector- focus of the first few books- gets a couple of lines, while his family don't even appear till right at the end.
The people now are quite stereotyped, the good are nauseatingly good, while the one bad apple- a relative of those at "the big house"- is 100% nasty. Nobody in real life is all good or all bad.
Will I bother carrying on? Possibly, there are only two more to go, so I shall look for copies of those and hope this one was just a dull blip in the series.

[Peanut Head . · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed the Turnham Malpas books by Rebecca Shaw and have read every one. I am sorry to say that this one really didn't hit the mark for me.
I didn't think there was a solid storyline flowing through it and considered it very 'bitty'. Little stories going on which never amounted to anything terribly interesting. I felt as if I was just skimming across the surface of a weak story with Village Fortunes. Really disappointed :-(
Hope her next is better.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

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[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read from the village of Turnham Malpas, but I found myself really hating one of the characters more and more... I did like the ending though it left you wanting more...

[Norma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't that bothered about this one. I usually enjoy her stories but I will persevere with this series until the end, only a couple left to go.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovey picture of village life! A good easy read.