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Pennington #4
Marion's Angels
After her mother dies, Marion and her father live quietly together, and she pours all her emotions into caring for a beautiful, abandoned church near her home. When she meets Patrick Pennington (featured in several other books by Peyton), she is plunged into an emotional tangle which seems to contain an element of the supernatural.
- GenresYoung AdultFiction
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
51 people want to read
About the author
K.M. Peyton
109 books149 followersKathleen Wendy Herald Peyton MBE, who wrote primarily as K. M. Peyton, was a British author of fiction for children and young adults
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2012
Marion's Angels is the story of Marion; strange odd little Marion who is the caretaker of a Church. Her Church is a fragile, beautiful place with stunning carved angels in the roof. It's beautiful - but it's crumbling, suffering from time and no money and the ever-present threat of rain coming through the roof and naturally, awfully, inevitably, Marion's Church is under threat of being demolished.
That is, until she meets Patrick and Ruth Pennington.
One day I fear that KM Peyton might not be good. I worry that I'll come across a book of hers that doesn't have life, love and everything in between caught in it like flowers pressed from summer. I wonder if that's it, if I've read her last "good" book.
But it never is. Never.
KM Peyton is beyond perfect. There are moments in this book, elegant and elegiac in their grace where Marion (odd, crazy, perceptive Marion) is so beautiful I wept. Bloody KM Peyton. Bloody bloody KM Peyton, how are you so bloody good?
It's also a finale, of sorts to the story of Ruth Hollis. We've witnessed her grow from gawky, stubborn, pony-obsessed teenager through to love, marriage and motherhood. When reviewing the Pennington books, I've said previously how KM Peyton gets the fragile, world-swallowing dichotomy of love. She writes it so precisely and almost understates it at times. The relationship between Ruth and Pat is real. There's not much more to be said.
Marion's Angels has dated, I think, looking at it as acutely as I can. There are a few moments which feel a little awkward in today's read but these are far and few between. This is a story, as so many of KM Peyton's are, about people.
People don't date. Not in these books. They could be surrounded by war, or angels, or horses, or whatever, and KM Peyton would still write them with a gloriously perceptive jealousy-inducing clarity.
She would do all that because she's KM bloody Peyton and she's that bloody good.
That is, until she meets Patrick and Ruth Pennington.
One day I fear that KM Peyton might not be good. I worry that I'll come across a book of hers that doesn't have life, love and everything in between caught in it like flowers pressed from summer. I wonder if that's it, if I've read her last "good" book.
But it never is. Never.
KM Peyton is beyond perfect. There are moments in this book, elegant and elegiac in their grace where Marion (odd, crazy, perceptive Marion) is so beautiful I wept. Bloody KM Peyton. Bloody bloody KM Peyton, how are you so bloody good?
It's also a finale, of sorts to the story of Ruth Hollis. We've witnessed her grow from gawky, stubborn, pony-obsessed teenager through to love, marriage and motherhood. When reviewing the Pennington books, I've said previously how KM Peyton gets the fragile, world-swallowing dichotomy of love. She writes it so precisely and almost understates it at times. The relationship between Ruth and Pat is real. There's not much more to be said.
Marion's Angels has dated, I think, looking at it as acutely as I can. There are a few moments which feel a little awkward in today's read but these are far and few between. This is a story, as so many of KM Peyton's are, about people.
People don't date. Not in these books. They could be surrounded by war, or angels, or horses, or whatever, and KM Peyton would still write them with a gloriously perceptive jealousy-inducing clarity.
She would do all that because she's KM bloody Peyton and she's that bloody good.
April 8, 2021
It was exciting to discover that Pennington and Ruth have a fourth book! The character of Marion, and the story she shares with them, is intriguing and moving. I enjoyed this book very much, and adore K.M. Peyton's writing.
February 15, 2024
KM Peyton is so good I want to weep. I adored seeing Patrick and Ruth again. Peyton is a genius at showing all the subtle and hard-won ways people grow up.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews