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Lucy Carmichael
Lucy Carmichael - Margaret Kennedy's tenth novel, first published in 1951 and a work by a mature novelist at the height of her powers - opens on an unforgettably disastrous scene, as the novel's eponymous heroine, preparing to savour her wedding day, is instead jilted at the altar. Lucy Carmichael's recovery from this calamity forms the substance of the story that follows. She takes a job in the rural Lincolnshire village of Ravonsbridge, at an educational institute established by a wealthy manufacturer for the cultural benefit of the local community. This employment will come to offer Lucy a second chance at romance, but it also brings her unexpectedly into contact with a host of remarkable characters who will influence how she sees the world.Lucy Carmichael has a density of realism, full of details and observations that the reader will recognize as truthful, and the rich sense of real people leading real lives, as Margaret Kennedy paints of her characters in three dimensions and gives each one his or her due within the story.
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First published January 1, 1951
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About the author
Margaret Kennedy
40 books77 followersMargaret Kennedy was an English novelist and playwright.
She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, where she began writing, and then went up to Somerville College, Oxford in 1915 to read history. Her first publication was a history book, A Century of Revolution (1922). Margaret Kennedy was married to the barrister David Davies. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom was the novelist Julia Birley. The novelist Serena Mackesy is her grand-daughter.
She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, where she began writing, and then went up to Somerville College, Oxford in 1915 to read history. Her first publication was a history book, A Century of Revolution (1922). Margaret Kennedy was married to the barrister David Davies. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom was the novelist Julia Birley. The novelist Serena Mackesy is her grand-daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 1, 2015
Resilience is a quality that is much under-rated these days; the media is filled with pathetic stories of people whose LIVES WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN for various reasons ranging from the totally trivial to the truly brutal. And yet, most of us know people who bounce back or just quietly carry on leading useful and happy lives no matter what. Lucy Carmichael is one of those people and this is the story of her year-long emotional journey back from a serious blow to full health, new insights and joy.
Lucy is a terrifically sane and likable young woman who gets involved with a fairly useless young man. As the story opens we learn that she has been quite humiliatingly and publicly jilted at the altar. Needless to say Lucy is devastated but we get a hint of the humor and common sense that will see her through in a delightful scene in which she and her mother and brother sit around the kitchen table drinking champagne out of teacups and laughing, albeit a bit hysterically.
Lucy is blessed with a loving family and caring friends. Still she instinctively realizes that what she really needs is not pitying glances and tender thoughts but a change of venue and when she sees a chance at a new job in a town where no one knows anything about her, she seizes the opportunity. It's not much of a job and not much of a town, but gradually, Lucy finds herself again and even discovers a sense of purpose. Nothing works quite as one might expect but Lucy's story is told with great skill and I don't want to spoil any delicate surprises with more plot details.
Not quite up to the incredibly high bar set with The Feast, but a still a marvelous book and one of the best character studies I've read in quite a while. Four stars, with one star off because I really hate gossip (I even dislike reading about it) and the town Lucy finds herself in and the charitable Institute for which she works runs on and seemingly thrives on endless gossiping and petty power plays.
Content rating G, except for the toxic gossip.
Lucy is a terrifically sane and likable young woman who gets involved with a fairly useless young man. As the story opens we learn that she has been quite humiliatingly and publicly jilted at the altar. Needless to say Lucy is devastated but we get a hint of the humor and common sense that will see her through in a delightful scene in which she and her mother and brother sit around the kitchen table drinking champagne out of teacups and laughing, albeit a bit hysterically.
Lucy is blessed with a loving family and caring friends. Still she instinctively realizes that what she really needs is not pitying glances and tender thoughts but a change of venue and when she sees a chance at a new job in a town where no one knows anything about her, she seizes the opportunity. It's not much of a job and not much of a town, but gradually, Lucy finds herself again and even discovers a sense of purpose. Nothing works quite as one might expect but Lucy's story is told with great skill and I don't want to spoil any delicate surprises with more plot details.
Not quite up to the incredibly high bar set with The Feast, but a still a marvelous book and one of the best character studies I've read in quite a while. Four stars, with one star off because I really hate gossip (I even dislike reading about it) and the town Lucy finds herself in and the charitable Institute for which she works runs on and seemingly thrives on endless gossiping and petty power plays.
Content rating G, except for the toxic gossip.
July 31, 2022
Re-read, July 2022: Enjoyed the writing on this second time through, but a little more struck by the melancholy tone of the book, and impatient with the trivial maneuvering and plotting at the Institute where Lucy goes to work.
Original review follows:
This was just great. Unfortunately I kept putting it down and picking it up, so it took a long time to finish, but it has placed a new author squarely on my radar and I hope I can enjoy more of her books.
Lucy Carmichael is left at the altar on her wedding day. Is her life over? Far from it. She may be a little numb, but life goes on, and she isn't destroyed. Her future feels completely undecipherable, but she marks time by accepting a teaching post in a second-rate institute that has a lot of social politics going on. Lucy throws herself into the life and finds a surprising amount of interest in it. The people she deals with cause her to face a certain question that is now a part of her life...is it wrong to "settle" for an inferior type of happiness?
I really like Lucy, who is a nice balance of strength and wounds. She's emotionally honest with herself, which is very mature. I really like her best friend Melissa, who is fun, but also anxious and keeping a strong grip on her own feelings. It's actually difficult to describe these people, because they feel very complex on the page, which means excellent writing. Yes, the writing is of high quality, with a good combination of dialogue and inner thoughts.
Oh, and did I forget to mention, the ending is all that it should be and then some.
If this book sounds like possibly your cup of tea, read some of the other reviews. Some of them bring out other very nice points.
Original review follows:
This was just great. Unfortunately I kept putting it down and picking it up, so it took a long time to finish, but it has placed a new author squarely on my radar and I hope I can enjoy more of her books.
Lucy Carmichael is left at the altar on her wedding day. Is her life over? Far from it. She may be a little numb, but life goes on, and she isn't destroyed. Her future feels completely undecipherable, but she marks time by accepting a teaching post in a second-rate institute that has a lot of social politics going on. Lucy throws herself into the life and finds a surprising amount of interest in it. The people she deals with cause her to face a certain question that is now a part of her life...is it wrong to "settle" for an inferior type of happiness?
I really like Lucy, who is a nice balance of strength and wounds. She's emotionally honest with herself, which is very mature. I really like her best friend Melissa, who is fun, but also anxious and keeping a strong grip on her own feelings. It's actually difficult to describe these people, because they feel very complex on the page, which means excellent writing. Yes, the writing is of high quality, with a good combination of dialogue and inner thoughts.
Oh, and did I forget to mention, the ending is all that it should be and then some.
If this book sounds like possibly your cup of tea, read some of the other reviews. Some of them bring out other very nice points.
February 28, 2014
A novel about a young woman who, after being jilted at the altar, goes to work at an art institute in a Lincolnshire industrial town, where she meets an eclectic group of people and begins to build a new life for herself. 1951.
Full review (and other reading recommendations!) at Another look book
Loved loved LOVED this book. It's definitely one of those books you HAVE to own a copy of, even if it's just so you can walk by the bookshelf and say hello to an old friend who will always be there for you.
Full review (and other reading recommendations!) at Another look book
Loved loved LOVED this book. It's definitely one of those books you HAVE to own a copy of, even if it's just so you can walk by the bookshelf and say hello to an old friend who will always be there for you.
December 7, 2025
ridiculously lovely
“When she is well and happy she is extremely beautiful. When she is out of sorts or depressed she is all nose,”
“We die. We were born to die. We are what we are: 'the sentient target of death'. But, before we die, we speak.”
“When she is well and happy she is extremely beautiful. When she is out of sorts or depressed she is all nose,”
“We die. We were born to die. We are what we are: 'the sentient target of death'. But, before we die, we speak.”
May 16, 2016
The reviews raved about this book saying that it was equal to Jane Austen's writings. Maybe so. I agree it is a good book. I feel the need to read it again. Much like with most movies; a second look gives me the opportunity to pick up on details that I may have missed the first time.
Just a couple of problems. The book opens in the voice of Melissa, Lucy's friend, which confused me at first. Then, the book was mostly told in narration with a few departures. Part 6 switches back to Melissa and her life in the British Isles. Part 7 consists of letters to and from the characters to tell what is going on. Lucy's love interest is someone she isn't interested in and it is insinuated in the closing pages of the book that Lucy ends up with Melissa's brother, which is who Melissa wanted Lucy to be with in the first place. The closing line of the book states that the three loves of Melissa's life skate up to her. Hmmm. Then why is the book called Lucy Carmichael if the story is really about Melissa and what she wants?
Just a couple of problems. The book opens in the voice of Melissa, Lucy's friend, which confused me at first. Then, the book was mostly told in narration with a few departures. Part 6 switches back to Melissa and her life in the British Isles. Part 7 consists of letters to and from the characters to tell what is going on. Lucy's love interest is someone she isn't interested in and it is insinuated in the closing pages of the book that Lucy ends up with Melissa's brother, which is who Melissa wanted Lucy to be with in the first place. The closing line of the book states that the three loves of Melissa's life skate up to her. Hmmm. Then why is the book called Lucy Carmichael if the story is really about Melissa and what she wants?
October 1, 2021
Very interesting book. It's a good example of why people from the outside looking in see things differently that others already on the inside cannot. Lucy describes it herself once in the book when she mentions that given her disposition when she arrives at the Institute, she may not have questioned Hayter's motives as she did. It's like when someone comes to visit and they see things their hosts don't because the hosts are there every day.
The politics and manipulations described in this book are still alive and thriving 70 years after its publication date in countries other than the UK. Which is very sad.
Loved the ending.
The politics and manipulations described in this book are still alive and thriving 70 years after its publication date in countries other than the UK. Which is very sad.
Loved the ending.
May 10, 2022
3.5 stars. Excellent writing that makes the characters, scenery and events come to life. There is an edge of melancholy to most of the book, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on what you want in a story.
November 24, 2025
Really enjoyed this, but it lost a star because of all the endless wrangling that takes place over the running of the Institute that Lucy works for. It’s really not all of that interesting to see the endless back-and-forth , and I just did not want to read one more page about the exhausting politics of that place.
Other than that, it’s perfectly charming and has wonderful well-realized characters. It just dragged its feet a little for me.
Other than that, it’s perfectly charming and has wonderful well-realized characters. It just dragged its feet a little for me.
October 9, 2025
Pride and Prejudice meets a Month in the Country
October 2, 2020
I had many reasons NOT to pick this one up –
• It was set in a time period that is not my idea of historical piece; I mean its post 1950 and everyone knows that my idea of history ends in 1945!
• It is about a girl who is jilted on her wedding day and her triumphs …well that’s a pretty regular plotline – heroine faces a challenge and comes through in a winning haze
• It’s about a small industrial town in England – no grand castles, no Cornwall, no carriages and characters a la Catherine De Burgh
Something about the character about Lucy Carmichael was enchanting; this is how Michelle, her friend describes her – “She taught me how to enjoy myself … Lucy forced me to believe that I might be happy. I don’t expect I’d have had the courage to marry you, to marry anybody, if it hadn’t been for Lucy.” That’s a very different way to introduce the heroine than saying lovelye eyes, brown lush curls and yada yada yada!
So I went to Amazon Kindle and requested to read a sample - within 10mins I had bought the book! It is one of my best read ever and I am so glad to have read and own a copy!
The book is set in post-World War II England and a major portion of the story is set in a small industrial town of England. Lucy Carmichael is about to be married to Patrick Reilly, a very famous travel author, whom Michelle (A very likable and practical character) does not particularly trust or like but is happy for her best friend’s sake! Lucy as predicted is left at the alter and to get away from the pain and trauma, applies and gets a job at drama school and makes a huge success of it. She gets along very well with most of her colleagues and tries to innovate the regular affairs and bring excitement to the proceedings. Just as she is making a success of herself and is looked up kindly by Lady Francis, the patron and High God of the Council of the Institute, the politics and personal ambitions of individuals lead to some unfortunate incidents and Lucy resigns.
She then moves to another small town and gets a job re-organizing a community center and makes a great job of it until, something else comes her way!
It’s a wonderful book with some simple story telling with much warmth and humor. There are many wonderful characters including Lucy and her friend Michelle, Lady Francis who embodies nobles oblige as well as some intriguing characters like Inthane and Angera Heim. The story telling is marvelous and the sensitivity is handled very well – there is no mopping wailing heroine, though her pain is just as real and very powerful; there is a careful detailing of transition of human emotions - how Stephen, Lucy’s brother, whom she always treated with scorn and scolding tries to be the man to look after his elder sister and how their relationship evolves. Then there is friendship that subsists and transmutes and still subsists between Michelle and Lucy – as one’s life changes and from the other and “first in confidence” position is given away willingly. The way one fears for a friend and yet may not always sees things clearly and all the ups and downs of friendships. And among all this, there is a gentle portrayal of a 1950s society with all its wonderful aspects – Lady Francis could always be generous and gracious, but her children caught between the old world of aristocrats and the new emerging society of equality and laborers unite, struggle between and try to find a foothold where they can be comfortable in their own skin. The class war is depicted at some many levels, but always subtly in the background without making the reader lose focus on Lucy, but at the same time driving home some truths of the society. Then
It’s a wonderful book and a great read! Would not miss it for the world!
• It was set in a time period that is not my idea of historical piece; I mean its post 1950 and everyone knows that my idea of history ends in 1945!
• It is about a girl who is jilted on her wedding day and her triumphs …well that’s a pretty regular plotline – heroine faces a challenge and comes through in a winning haze
• It’s about a small industrial town in England – no grand castles, no Cornwall, no carriages and characters a la Catherine De Burgh
Something about the character about Lucy Carmichael was enchanting; this is how Michelle, her friend describes her – “She taught me how to enjoy myself … Lucy forced me to believe that I might be happy. I don’t expect I’d have had the courage to marry you, to marry anybody, if it hadn’t been for Lucy.” That’s a very different way to introduce the heroine than saying lovelye eyes, brown lush curls and yada yada yada!
So I went to Amazon Kindle and requested to read a sample - within 10mins I had bought the book! It is one of my best read ever and I am so glad to have read and own a copy!
The book is set in post-World War II England and a major portion of the story is set in a small industrial town of England. Lucy Carmichael is about to be married to Patrick Reilly, a very famous travel author, whom Michelle (A very likable and practical character) does not particularly trust or like but is happy for her best friend’s sake! Lucy as predicted is left at the alter and to get away from the pain and trauma, applies and gets a job at drama school and makes a huge success of it. She gets along very well with most of her colleagues and tries to innovate the regular affairs and bring excitement to the proceedings. Just as she is making a success of herself and is looked up kindly by Lady Francis, the patron and High God of the Council of the Institute, the politics and personal ambitions of individuals lead to some unfortunate incidents and Lucy resigns.
She then moves to another small town and gets a job re-organizing a community center and makes a great job of it until, something else comes her way!
It’s a wonderful book with some simple story telling with much warmth and humor. There are many wonderful characters including Lucy and her friend Michelle, Lady Francis who embodies nobles oblige as well as some intriguing characters like Inthane and Angera Heim. The story telling is marvelous and the sensitivity is handled very well – there is no mopping wailing heroine, though her pain is just as real and very powerful; there is a careful detailing of transition of human emotions - how Stephen, Lucy’s brother, whom she always treated with scorn and scolding tries to be the man to look after his elder sister and how their relationship evolves. Then there is friendship that subsists and transmutes and still subsists between Michelle and Lucy – as one’s life changes and from the other and “first in confidence” position is given away willingly. The way one fears for a friend and yet may not always sees things clearly and all the ups and downs of friendships. And among all this, there is a gentle portrayal of a 1950s society with all its wonderful aspects – Lady Francis could always be generous and gracious, but her children caught between the old world of aristocrats and the new emerging society of equality and laborers unite, struggle between and try to find a foothold where they can be comfortable in their own skin. The class war is depicted at some many levels, but always subtly in the background without making the reader lose focus on Lucy, but at the same time driving home some truths of the society. Then
It’s a wonderful book and a great read! Would not miss it for the world!
September 16, 2021
Who would have thought small town and academic politics could be so interesting? Our heroine retreats from society to a small unimportant little institute for the arts far away from her home. She is escaping the pity of friends and strangers upon being left at the altar. She is devastated and depressed. How she finds her way back to being her charming charismatic self is the thrust of the novel. Along the way, she grows attached to her colleagues and acquaintances, as do we. They are ordinary people with full helpings of both good and bad, strengths and weaknesses. Surely even the most ordinary-seeming of people would become extra-ordinary if observed by a writer such as Ms Kennedy. Unexpected things happen in unexpected ways. One of the things I liked best about the book, besides character studies and developments was that the plot did not advance down a lazy and predictable tried and true path. The ending was excellent.
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....
April 21, 2022
3.5. Interesting tale from the 50's. I don't think it was good enough to read again. It started as a sort of romance, progressed to 2/3 of a book about a small town and their drama institute (unexpected) and then changed into I'm not quite sure what. Not bad, but not cohesive enough to interest me much. There were a lot of names to remember and a lot of low-level small-town bickering and intruigue about this drama institute that I wasn't wanting to read about. Glad I read it because I enjoyed turning the pages of this old book.
June 2, 2023
3.5 Stars
I really enjoyed about 3/4s of this book - Lucy is a charming and relatable heroine and if only her story hadn’t got bogged down in the machinations of different factions running a local Arts institute I would have given it 4 stars. Definitively worth a reread but I will need to skip a bit.
I really enjoyed about 3/4s of this book - Lucy is a charming and relatable heroine and if only her story hadn’t got bogged down in the machinations of different factions running a local Arts institute I would have given it 4 stars. Definitively worth a reread but I will need to skip a bit.
October 11, 2025
A surprise masterpiece! Funny, serious and well-written, it feels fresh, progressive, contemporary and classic all at the same time.
Sometimes there's a Dickensian feel to the characters strapped within a Jane Austen Romance that can suddenly jack knife into a glib comedy a la Stella Gibbons.
What a glorious, satisfying book.
Sometimes there's a Dickensian feel to the characters strapped within a Jane Austen Romance that can suddenly jack knife into a glib comedy a la Stella Gibbons.
What a glorious, satisfying book.
January 20, 2022
Another step on my quest to read all of Margaret Kennedy's books.
Lucy gets dumped at the altar, then leaves to work at a provincial institute people by all sorts of characters that she comes to love and hate. You root for Lucy the whole way through.
Lucy gets dumped at the altar, then leaves to work at a provincial institute people by all sorts of characters that she comes to love and hate. You root for Lucy the whole way through.
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February 5, 2021Surprising. Austen with a twist.
December 28, 2022
Just discovered this author last year and have now read several of her novels. I think this is my 2nd favorite after The Feast, which was remarkable.
October 13, 2025
Uneven. Some bits great, others (institute related) really dragged. A list of characters would have helped a lot.
August 10, 2022
(Austen fans will love all the Austen references in this book)
I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. Kennedy’s writing is strong and there is something very comforting about this book (it is a happier book than Kennedy’s “The Constant Nymph”). I was sad to finish it and can’t wait to read more of her work.
The characters are complex and very real. Lucy and Melissa are both strong and intelligent women. They are not perfect, which is important. Melissa can be rather thoughtless and unfeeling, and Lucy is not always the warmest, such as towards her younger brother (there is probably about a 10 year age gap between them). The men are also imperfect. Charles is not the warmest and is rather pessimistic, but he is not a bad person. Hump is too quick to call Lucy “bossy”. All of the characters are flawed and could exist outside of the world of the book.
I do think there could have been less characters or at least less backstory on each of them. For example, I do not understand Ianthe's storyline. She is fleshed out and then disappears from the story. I am unsure what her purpose was.
The ending is rather rushed, which makes the romance feel unnatural. That is very disappointing and unrealistic.
I highly recommend this book. I cannot wait to reread it.
I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. Kennedy’s writing is strong and there is something very comforting about this book (it is a happier book than Kennedy’s “The Constant Nymph”). I was sad to finish it and can’t wait to read more of her work.
The characters are complex and very real. Lucy and Melissa are both strong and intelligent women. They are not perfect, which is important. Melissa can be rather thoughtless and unfeeling, and Lucy is not always the warmest, such as towards her younger brother (there is probably about a 10 year age gap between them). The men are also imperfect. Charles is not the warmest and is rather pessimistic, but he is not a bad person. Hump is too quick to call Lucy “bossy”. All of the characters are flawed and could exist outside of the world of the book.
I do think there could have been less characters or at least less backstory on each of them. For example, I do not understand Ianthe's storyline. She is fleshed out and then disappears from the story. I am unsure what her purpose was.
The ending is rather rushed, which makes the romance feel unnatural. That is very disappointing and unrealistic.
I highly recommend this book. I cannot wait to reread it.
March 22, 2016
This book was a pleasure to read.
This is the first book I have ready by Margaret Kennedy, and it was a fantastic read.
I really loved the letters that were written to introduce new characters in Part two. After that she went into the story. She did the same to wrap up some the character’s story lines in Part seven. In doing this it set a good pace for the book. Letter format is a nice way to give details of the story, without going in depth on each and every single person. I believe if it was done any other way the story would have dragged on and book would have never been finish.
I did wish that Lucy didn't meet Hump at the end of book. Not that I didn't like Hump, but it would of been nice if Lucy stated unmarried at the end. I don't know how to say exactly why, but she was happy and enjoying just being in that moment. After the emotional up and down it nice just to be at the quiet place and accept what happen and to breathe a little. I would of been satisfied with that ending. It didn’t need a tidy bow.
I also wish that publishers stop referencing Jane Austen in the jack covers or any other famous author. I find this distracting. I find that I pay more attention to making connection with Austen book, then I do enjoying the story itself. I think it takes away the writers accomplishments and I don't think writers want to be though as an imitation, but as themselves and the story they are telling.
This is the first book I have ready by Margaret Kennedy, and it was a fantastic read.
I really loved the letters that were written to introduce new characters in Part two. After that she went into the story. She did the same to wrap up some the character’s story lines in Part seven. In doing this it set a good pace for the book. Letter format is a nice way to give details of the story, without going in depth on each and every single person. I believe if it was done any other way the story would have dragged on and book would have never been finish.
I did wish that Lucy didn't meet Hump at the end of book. Not that I didn't like Hump, but it would of been nice if Lucy stated unmarried at the end. I don't know how to say exactly why, but she was happy and enjoying just being in that moment. After the emotional up and down it nice just to be at the quiet place and accept what happen and to breathe a little. I would of been satisfied with that ending. It didn’t need a tidy bow.
I also wish that publishers stop referencing Jane Austen in the jack covers or any other famous author. I find this distracting. I find that I pay more attention to making connection with Austen book, then I do enjoying the story itself. I think it takes away the writers accomplishments and I don't think writers want to be though as an imitation, but as themselves and the story they are telling.
March 4, 2014
This book was fascinatingly all over the place. Not all over the place in a bad way...just I can't really describe the book. It's also hard to say what I like and didn't like about it. It's part coming of age, part romance (smaller than what the foreshadowing would lead you to believe), part society battle, part small town politics. At one point, I thought it was going to a tale about how friendship saved people from despair, but then realize the best friends (Melissa and Lucy) are hardly together for the novel. I enjoyed the book and the characters are well developed. Lady Frances is one of my favorites. Lucy isn't your typical heroine...definitely so when you remember that the book and time period is 1951. This was a delightful find from the cast off books of used bookstore.
October 14, 2015
Here my impressions...
http://carmenyamigos.blogspot.com.es/...
http://carmenyamigos.blogspot.com.es/...
June 21, 2016
My full review can be found here: https://theliterarysisters.wordpress....
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