Running Wild

by Victoria Clayton

Elfrida Swann, a struggling portrait painter known to everyone as Freddie, is about to marry Alex Moncrieff, a successful barrister. Preparations for the great day, arranged with magnificent extravagance by her smart stepmother, are on schedule. The bridesmaids' bouquets are made up, the cake is decorated, the altar is adorned. Then, two days before the wedding, Freddie - a byword among her friends for common sense and dependability - decides that she cannot go through with it. Unable to face the fury and anguish of Alex, her parents and, it seems, almost everyone she has ever known, Freddie runs away to Drop Cottage in Dorset, lent to her by a friend. At first sight, its state of dilapidation is so extreme that Freddie feels she cannot possibly stay. But events conspire to detain her and rapidly she falls under the spell of its idiosyncratic charms. The attentions of the son of the 'big house', the friendship of the eccentric and beguiling Prim, a family of neglected children, a naked hermit, a clergyman with 'doubts' and the ravishing beauty of the countryside are just some of the elements that combine to reveal to Freddie the truth of her own mind and heart.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

See also Victoria Walker for her two earlier children's fantasies: The Winter of Enchantment and The House Called Hadlows.

Reviews

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Clayton returns to her favourite theme (and mine) with this tale of a young woman who escapes from reality by moving into a tumbledown house, and sets about transforming it. Her journey is engaging and the characters are, as usual, charming and quirky. Just a delightful read.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have gone on a British chick-lit kick of late and this is one of the delightful books I've come across during this phase. I have another book by the same author that I'm looking quite forward to getting to read.


Freddie is a charming but flawed heroine adrift in a world of equally charming predators and new-found friends. As she flees her fiancee, who is later revealed to be an abuser, and the ghosts of her unhappy childhood, Freddie discovers that she is MORE than capable of fending for herself, it's ok to offer and accept help, and that charm isn't everything. There's romance, heartbreak, and mystery throughout the novel. Some of the romances are easy to spot in the making, one might surprise the reader a bit, but everything works out happily (but not tidily) in the end.

[Rosie Johansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for a bit of light holiday reading, not with very high expectations (I chose four books in about 5 minutes...I wasn't expecting to find anything great). I was so pleasantly surprised to find that this book made me laugh and I felt very connected to the characters. All in all, Running Wild is a very positive, touching tale told in an intelligent, quirky and witty manner (without being too cliché). I would read it again...

[Joanna Warrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel by Victoria Clayton. Freddie is a great heroine who is a runaway bride and flees to a country cottage to find herself. The story takes its time so that, unlike a lot of women's novels, you don't know exactly what is going to happen in the first chapter. It's a good read for a day when you might also feel like running away:)

[Malcolm Steward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Austen

Dodie Smith and Stella Gibbons both saw themselves as possible successors to Jane Austen but I would put Victoria Clayton closer than either of them. Her humour is more perceptive and people pictures clearer. Thank you for many hours pleasure

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Cold Comfort Farm meets A Midsummer Night's Dream. Just the right blend of comedy and romance made this a sweet summer read.

[April Andruszko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A witty enjoyable light read

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freddie (Elfrida) who narrates this book needs somewhere to get away from her family and friends, so she heads for Dorset and settles into a dilapidated cottage. She only plans to stay a night or two, but events and local acquaintances conspire and she begins to feel more at home…

Victoria Clayton has quite a gift of characterisation. Freddie is clearly exhausted; we gradually learn more about her past as she gets to know some of the locals. There are some delightful, albeit somewhat caricatured people in the village where she finds herself.

There are some quite moving sections of the book, and incidents showing why some terrible cases of neglect are not reported to the authorities. There are some coincidences, and some changes of heart that seem a little too good to be true. I wish there wasn't so much bad language, nor the propensity for people to leap into bed with each other... but those seem to be required for most novels written this century.

On the whole, though, the writing is very good, and I liked this book very much.

(My longer review here: http://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com.c...)

[Shareen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might have been higher rated for me as it involves one of my favorite topics in books - woman acquires/moves to charming English countryside cottage - except that her relationships were really disturbing through a good portion of the book. It's not until at least ⅔ through the book that I could breathe a sigh of relief that she had better sense that it seemed.

[Tuija · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kivaa kevyttä kesälukemista.

[Saila Routio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable and this was my second time reading this too! It's great to open a book that you know you will like.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read all by this author. Currently re-reading her always satisfying work!

[Hilary Tesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Freddie decides, two days before her wedding, that she would be making a huge mistake to marry Alex, she flees to deepest Dorset. The reasons for her decision are gradually revealed as she comes to terms with her situation - but the rest of the story ranges from implausible to stereotypical as the author packs in every caricature of country life she can think of - from local eccentrics and "yokels" to lecherous gentry and the return of a prodigal son - with a side serving of snobbery, neo-nazis, racism and child neglect. It's all there,with a sprinkling of literary quotes (which I didn't bother to follow up as I might have done in a more serious tome) thrown in for good measure! Essentially, it's a chick lit story disguised under a mountain of other detail - enjoyable but somewhat silly! (2.5 stars rounded up to 3) (Returned to daughter)

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1...
I read Dance with Me many years ago & have always wanted to read another by this author. I enjoyed this book but I can't really say it was worth the wait. The characters are all a bit too bizarre & zany, although it has a nice feeling overall. The ex-fiance, Alex, was definitely a menace & Freddie made a good decision in getting away from him - she did need to hide away until Alex's hold on her had diminished. Silly, but easy reading & entertaining.

[Hawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.5 but I was generous because I loved Moonshine so much. To me this book just rambled a bit too much and all the different topics thrown in seemed so random and unconnected. I never did figure out what the Nazi reference had to do with anything, and the ending with Alex seemed like an afterthought. Just didn't care for this one.

[Kathryn]

Started out with such promise but has become a bit too long-winded and I'm beginning to find some characters I don't think I'll enjoy spending time with. I hadn't picked this up for several weeks and when I tried today, I just wasn't feeling the love. Maybe some other time!

[Elyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am I the only one to have been shocked to realise that Freddie was effin raped by Alex?? The author does not seem to acknowledge that and Freddie keeps apologising to the barbaric fuck, again and again. WTF Victoria Clayton??

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the sort of book I prefer to read, but I really liked the story and the way Victoria tells it. A feel-good-novel!

[Mariska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prettig geschreven met (engelse) humor en enige diepgang. Geldt voor bijna al haar boeken maar dit was ongeveer wel de leukste.

[Cecilia]

Den försvunna bruden; på svenska

[Ulrike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what to think... sometimes I liked it, sometimes it was just peculiar.
But on the whole it was a nice read.