Talk of the Village

Tales from Turnham Malpas #2

by Rebecca Shaw

The village is bedevilled by talk and all is not as it seems in the village of Turnham Malpas ...Does pushy newcomer Venetia have her eye on Peter, the handsome rector? Is Jeremy, her husband, really making a success of the new health club? And why does Willie's new love set a vicious tongue wagging? In the Royal Oak, the usual banter has turned to bitter wrangling as the rector's wife Caroline makes a challenge over an ancient country tradition and splits the village her husband had so recently united. As the people of the village use the power of words to reconcile or divide, Peter finds it is what isn't talked about that threatens to cause madness, confusion and tragedy.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, British Literature

263 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following on from "The New Rector", "Talk of the Village" continues describing the dramas as well as the highs and lows in the lives of the residents in the village of Turnham Malpas.

In this little "soap opera in novel form" there are new arrivals (Venetia and Jeremy Mayer - who are not who they seem); the opening of a Health Club; some grotty goings on with Gwen and Beryl Baxter - the antisocial, hermit-like elderly sisters; a child abduction; some scandal about some rabbits; arson; the opening of a Pandora's Box and some prospective hatches and matches.

Who says life in an English country village is quiet?

I have given this book five stars purely for its escapist qualities and in the main, the storyline is good - maybe a little poor towards the end - but the characters are easy to engage with. I always like Rebecca Shaw-type stories when I've read a few heavier books - they really are a breath of fresh air.

If you like these type of stories - country community life - then you may like to also check out the books by Eve Houston.

[Aarathi Burki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a continuation from the first book The new Rector and we see the story progression. The Rector and his wife Caroline are able to bring home their twins from the hospital much to the joy of the whole village but within a few days most people are able to guess that Peter is their father due to stark resemblance between father and son, this causes a bit of pain to Caroline who was trying to hide the truth of their parenthood from all. Muriel and Ralph return from their honeymoon and are welcomed by all , then there is a bitter truth revealed about Baxter sister and death of one of them, then we have a new gym and spa kind of thing being opened by a newcomer pair which runs in to trouble but everything settles down in the end with a nice conclusion.
Overall quite enjoyable and fast paced , looking forward to next in the series.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really good writing about the doings in the small village of Turnham Malpas. The villagers’ lives are turned upside down when a child goes missing. There is high drama uncovered and romance blossoming.
A quick and easy read but it packs some punches too. Trigger warning for sexual abuse.

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is set in a small village in Britain and deals with the lives of a number of villagers, including the Rector, Peter Harris, and his wife Caroline. I've read the first, now this second book. These stories have some of the charm of a Miss Read book, or a Father Timothy in Mitford book. Though it's more modern in lifestyle, the series is quite clean so far, no steamy details.

In this book the rector and other villagers try to help and endure a strange pair of sisters who live as recluses in a filthy, desperate situation and refuse all help. Bit by bit their story comes out. Another situation comes up also, when the rector's wife argues for humane treatment of animals with the local poacher. This turns into a village furor --- and Peter discovers an old book hidden away that leads to an even greater furor.

Meanwhile a unusual couple moves into the village to set up a health club, and are not very well welcomed because of her tendency to over-friendliness with the men, including Peter. His past sins are coming to light, much to his and Caroline's embarrassment and dismay, but the village folks appreciate and rally round them. It does seem the rector fills the role of community liaison officer as well as shepherding his flock.

Altogether it's a fairly accurate picture of small village life, the good and the bad. I'm not sure what era the book is set in, but to me it has a 1960s flavour.

[Jill Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turnham Malpas is a typical British village. The title suggests ‘Talk of the Village’ would be one event.

However, l couldn’t decide if the Rector Peter having an affair, causing his faithful wife Caroline much anxiety, then accepting the twins, who are the result of that dalliance, into their lives as their own was the cause of the gossip. Would people in the village realise the resemblance between Peter and the babies was because they were his?

Or, if the new owners of the former Manor house, now being run as a health resort was the cause. Venetia had announced her arrival in the village with bright tracksuits and gaudy jewellery. She wore skimpy swimsuits at the pool when the villages went there. She was also unable to show tact when speaking to villagers and got people angry because of it.

Then again, the village gossip could have been about the rude Baxter sisters. They lived in the cottage near the centre of the village and had made assumptions about the townsfolk. They refused help and shouted at anyone who offered assistance. They were mean and cruel to everyone around them. The truth of their situation was certain to set tongues wagging. Peter had his hands full trying to keep the villagers from becoming a mob and lynching the old Baxter twins when a little girl went missing and was found in a cupboard in their home.

Another mystery reared its ugly head and caused Peter more headaches.

The conclusion was a good one, with thanks for friendships newly formed after resolutions of financial difficulties for the health resort being found.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The village of Turnham Malpas is bedevilled by talk. In the Royal Oak, the usual banter has burned to biotter wrangling as Caroline causes controversy over an ancient country tradition. And what about Peter, her husband and the rector of the village? Are the rumours about him and pushy newcomer Venetia true? Even the older inhabitants are not exempt from gossip, as the Baxter sisters' eccentric lifestyle is the subject of cruel speculation. And what is the evil lurking behind village windows that almost costs a child her life?

Peter must put aside his own problems and use all his influence to try and unit the village -- until he finds it is the very things the gossips miss which look set to bring about superstition,madness and tragedy."
~~back cover

Another romp through a "typical" English village, with all its characters, gossip, unspoken accusations and hidden secrets. The secret this book revolves around is a very unhappy one -- a secret that's blighted lives, that continues to warp them, and which almost results in the murder of a child. It's not revealed until the very end of the book, which gives the villagers and the reader time to form opinions and point fingers. And isn't that a great deal like real life?

[Madge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Randy, rambunctious, raucous, and (heart) rending.

Rebecca Shaw was recommended, on account of her series being similar to Miss Read's. As I have yet to read the latter, I am unable to draw a comparison. Rebecca Shaw, however, has successfully portrayed village life in all of its glories and evils. Even in the most idyllic of places in the world, darkness and shadows lurk and loom.

Talk of the Village was a light and quick read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book rambles through the comings and goings in the village of Turnham Malpas. Lots of characters and sub plots develop but I found the story a little laboured and slow. Peter (the rector) and Caroline take centre stage and are the go to couple, even though they have their own demons to battle and the it was good to see all the sub plots brought to a conclusion by the end of the book.

[John Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book 2 of my last #bookreview ... From this book I've come to realise the amount of gossiping going on in the average #community is larger than the community itself



. There's a book 3



and sadly I don't have it.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story from the village

[Laura Leilani · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are so amusing; all filled with town gossip. They are delightful light reading.

[Chris Meehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and serious goings on in Turnham Malpas. These books need a TV series made of them!

[Sherry Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving this series, off to reserve next book in series.

[Julie Dunnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightweight easy read akin to a soap opera. Comfortable with believable and engaging characters. But definitely not high literature!

[Kathy Mitson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Moving on to book three in the series!

[Bernie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

[Random-girl]

Nice easy read

[Kathy Spann · Rating 4 out of 5]

English village with lots of characters. Muriel and Ralph, Jimbo and Harriet.

[H F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t think opinion’s are very welcome so don’t feel confident to voice mine.Amazon’s censorship rules are too onerous.

[Hilary Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good village story - it's useful to read them in order as the characters are developed.

[Dorottya · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75ish

Meh. I sort of expected this to be a letdown from the first one, from my experience with series like this, but at the same time I wanted to believe I would like this one as much as the first one.

Now that not that many new characters had to be introduced in that much of a detail, because unlike the first novel, here the new characters were not the P.O.V. characters so they were introduced in a less complex way.

The writing style and some of the depictions of the village life were still of this lovely precious jovial "British" style which I did enjoy a lot.
But what happened in the novel... eh. Too soap opera-y, too pretentiously dramatic. The author wanted to get into deeper and more serious topics like animal cruelty, but those topics were handled in such a superficial way... I'd rather we did not have those topics discussed because it did not do them any favours. I also found some conflicts to be resolved way too miraculously / in a way too comfortable way. It is going to be a mild spoiler for the first book: but how come there was not that much talk about who was the father of the babies... it felt really not credible. Also, I found some other tidbits to be completely unbelievable, like:

- how come a doctor who did not even give birth find raising kids soooo hard that like a week after bringing them home she has to hire a nanny / cleaning lady
- how Peter and Caroline don't even talk about what happened in the first book / if they do, it is only about "sorry what I have done, love, but look how great we are together"... in a real relationship, they would still be "digesting" the situation
- how people start dating and then almost immediately jump to marriage
- how seasoned con-artisty type of businessmen don't know how to present themselves to a buyer and have to ask advice from a small town deli / restaurant owner
...

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I feel this book is aimed at a more mature age group ;) I still really enjoyed this gossipy village book. Lots of scandals happening in Turnham Malpas. The characters were all interesting and I liked how they all interacted with each other. The Rector's wife must have been a bloody saint as I wouldn't have been putting up with that.

This is the second in the series but I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything, this is fine to read as a stand alone. One thing I did feel it was missing was commas, could of done with a few more of those. Other than that, pretty good read.

[Laurie Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether shared as harmless banter or with malicious intent, no one is above gossip. Everyone is grist for the rumor mill that turns with surprising alacrity in the once-sleepy village of Turnham Malpas—even the village rector. All eyes are on Reverend Peter Harris, his wife Dr. Caroline, and their newborn twins. From speculation to downright accusation, scandal spreads like wildfire that has the potential to destroy everything in its path. A quick and enjoyable read that makes you think about how much whispered kindling you provide to keep the fire stoked.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED this second installment in the Turnham Malpas books! I am still intrigued with the small town English life, and the characters that live in the village. The only thing I still find a little strange is the whole situation with the rector and Suzy. It was a little too contrived. However, it looks like Suzy or her mother may be getting ready to re enter the lives of the twins. So, onto the next book!

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much an easy read. Given this book and wouldn't have picked it up to read otherwise but I loved it. The characters certainly come alive for me and I enjoyed the various scandals which emerge. Who'd have believed that such things happened in a sleepy village. Read this after reading a more harrowing book and it was just what I needed.

[Linda Badcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won't rush out to find more books by this writer, but I would probably read them of they fell into my lap. The characters were fairly interesting if a little unbelievable. I was annoyed by the punctuation in that there didn't seem to be enough of it. That may be because I read a large-print edition. Perhaps the original had more commas.

[F M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not high literature - quite like The Archers in a book. If the Archers is on radio 4, then that's good enough for me. Easy to read - but has some quite gritty aspects eg. ancient child abuse, previous infidelity and child abduction. Quite well done, really.

Mainly listed it here to keep track of the ones I've read!

[Katie Grainger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't realise that this was part of a series when I picked it up, if I had I probably wouldn't have read it. An ok book but I thought the ending was a tad silly, don't think I will be reading any more in the series.

[Ann James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book so much I read it in record time. It's the second in the Tales from Turnham Malpas series and I could relate closely to the individuals, comparing them to people & the village mentality reminiscent of my childhood.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle village story, obviously part of a series although complete in itself. Quite a pleasant read.