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Lily-Josephine
Lily-Josephine had a talent for love. Wilful, enchanting and passionate, she was the centre of a charmed universe - until her foolish, indulgent father married again. Like Snow-Drop in Grimms' fairy tale, Lily ran from her jealous stepmother one idyllic summer evening in 1941. She escaped to find sanctuary but, at Randalls, discovered a love far greater than any she had ever known... A generation later, the events set in train that night begin to unravel when Sophie Gently falls in love with Octavius Randall and the bizarre and tragic history linking their families is uncovered. Not until ancient passions and betrayals have been confronted can Lily-Josephine - long gone, but never forgotten - truly be laid to rest.
467 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Kate Saunders
67 books449 followersKate Saunders (born 1960) was an English author, actress, and journalist. The daughter of the early public relations advocate Basil Saunders and his journalist wife Betty (née Smith), Saunders has worked for newspapers and magazines in the UK, including The Sunday Times, Sunday Express, Daily Telegraph, She, and Cosmopolitan.
She has also been a regular contributor to radio and television, with appearances on the Radio 4 programs Woman's Hour, Start the Week, and Kaleidoscope. She was, with Sandi Toksvig, a guest on the first episode of the long-running news quiz program Have I Got News For You.
Saunders has also written multiple books for children and for adults.
She has also been a regular contributor to radio and television, with appearances on the Radio 4 programs Woman's Hour, Start the Week, and Kaleidoscope. She was, with Sandi Toksvig, a guest on the first episode of the long-running news quiz program Have I Got News For You.
Saunders has also written multiple books for children and for adults.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 10, 2017
I'm not sure if I have ever read a novel in which sex was such a motivating force -- sex for pleasure, revenge, entertainment, affection -- and finally, as an expression of true love. So if you like a book with lots of sex, this is it! I found it a bit much at times, but having said that, I still really enjoy reading Kate Saunders and I plan to finish all her adult novels (she is an award-winning author of young adult books, too). She is a clever and amusing author, and certainly a creative one. I'll leave it to other reviewers to describe her modern-day twist on Snow White (who is far from snowy in this book) but it was highly entertaining.
April 4, 2012
I loved this book in many ways and it left me thinking and feeling it days after.
The character Lily-Josephine is so believable and although I thought it got a bit silly with all of the brothers and the Dad. I felt her love and was actually sad when she died. I was more sad though when the book ended.
A book that could easily have been too comical to believe but it worked.
The character Lily-Josephine is so believable and although I thought it got a bit silly with all of the brothers and the Dad. I felt her love and was actually sad when she died. I was more sad though when the book ended.
A book that could easily have been too comical to believe but it worked.
January 17, 2009
It's a loose updating of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs but don't let that put you off. A story that will carry you along and characters that are as real as the people around you. Kate Saunders hasn't written enough books - we need more
August 3, 2008
Loved this book. Excellent plot.
December 2, 2008
I loved this as a kid because it was the sort of thing my mother would never let me read. But after a while I got to like it just for the intelligent, insightful way it's written.
May 7, 2014
Wonderful, beautiful book!
April 30, 2014
Honestly, I am a little bit perplexed as to how I shall rate this book. Should I blame the publisher for making a very poor show of the description of the back cover? After all, I spent the first 50 pages or so flipping to the back cover and asking myself "What is this book about exactly?" and "Who is Lily-Josephine?".
Well, it would appear that perhaps the greatest confusion is that book begins in 1981 but will in the following chapters take readers back in time and then flip back to the present. I have dealt with split narrators and different time periods before but felt this book seemed to plod on for a bit.
Confused?? Here I shall try and make sense of the plot. In essence "Lily-Josephine" is a 20th century spin on the Grimm brothers fairy tale about Snowdrop( aka Snow White). Lily- Josephine is the Snow White of this tale. The book first indulges itself in detailing the lives of the evil stepmother( the beautiful Sidonia) and her three daughters, Primrose, Juana, and Isobel. We learn that the men were just filled with mad lust for Sidonia and three different men provided her with the aforementioned daughters.
In the present storyline of 1981, the three women are now in their adult years, their mother has just died and they have lingering guilt over the disappearance of their stepsister, Lily Josephine. A name that we don't hear for quite awhile in the beginning of the book.
Then we shift to the story of pathetic Ralphie and the ill fated Helen who will turn out to be Lily Josephine's parents. Helen basically dies giving birth Lily-Josephine who is brought up with love by the faithful servants, Gladys and Tufton. All is right in Lily's world until World War II and Ralphie and Sidonia's terrible idea to marry and blend their families together. T-R-O-U-B-L-E and lots of melodrama ensue which prompts Lily to flee the home of her birth in the middle of the night.
Then she meets the Randalls( aka the seven dwarfs) A father and his six sons living in the middle of the woods. Lily begs to stay with these men and help clean house. Here begins a slippery slope of sex, lies, and banjo playing. Naïve and innocent Lily-Josephine soon finds herself in "love"( *ahem* rather a young girl's sexual awakening) with each men in turn and there is tons of bumping and grinding going on in the little cottage in the woods.
Back in the present day Sidonia's granddaughter Sophie and Octavius, Lily's son embark on a relationship and a quest to finally lay Lily's memory to rest. Oh and find out which one of the Randall men might actually be his father.
There were plenty of background characters I liked but I am reluctant to say that the book held my attention all the way through. Nor do I really believe I even liked Lily-Josephine.
How do I rate it? I cannot say that I "hated it" because I did read the whole book. Nor can I say that it was "it was amazing" or that I "really liked it." As I read my review, I cannot lie and say that "I liked it" either. So, whether the book rightly deserves it or not, it is two star for me.
Well, it would appear that perhaps the greatest confusion is that book begins in 1981 but will in the following chapters take readers back in time and then flip back to the present. I have dealt with split narrators and different time periods before but felt this book seemed to plod on for a bit.
Confused?? Here I shall try and make sense of the plot. In essence "Lily-Josephine" is a 20th century spin on the Grimm brothers fairy tale about Snowdrop( aka Snow White). Lily- Josephine is the Snow White of this tale. The book first indulges itself in detailing the lives of the evil stepmother( the beautiful Sidonia) and her three daughters, Primrose, Juana, and Isobel. We learn that the men were just filled with mad lust for Sidonia and three different men provided her with the aforementioned daughters.
In the present storyline of 1981, the three women are now in their adult years, their mother has just died and they have lingering guilt over the disappearance of their stepsister, Lily Josephine. A name that we don't hear for quite awhile in the beginning of the book.
Then we shift to the story of pathetic Ralphie and the ill fated Helen who will turn out to be Lily Josephine's parents. Helen basically dies giving birth Lily-Josephine who is brought up with love by the faithful servants, Gladys and Tufton. All is right in Lily's world until World War II and Ralphie and Sidonia's terrible idea to marry and blend their families together. T-R-O-U-B-L-E and lots of melodrama ensue which prompts Lily to flee the home of her birth in the middle of the night.
Then she meets the Randalls( aka the seven dwarfs) A father and his six sons living in the middle of the woods. Lily begs to stay with these men and help clean house. Here begins a slippery slope of sex, lies, and banjo playing. Naïve and innocent Lily-Josephine soon finds herself in "love"( *ahem* rather a young girl's sexual awakening) with each men in turn and there is tons of bumping and grinding going on in the little cottage in the woods.
Back in the present day Sidonia's granddaughter Sophie and Octavius, Lily's son embark on a relationship and a quest to finally lay Lily's memory to rest. Oh and find out which one of the Randall men might actually be his father.
There were plenty of background characters I liked but I am reluctant to say that the book held my attention all the way through. Nor do I really believe I even liked Lily-Josephine.
How do I rate it? I cannot say that I "hated it" because I did read the whole book. Nor can I say that it was "it was amazing" or that I "really liked it." As I read my review, I cannot lie and say that "I liked it" either. So, whether the book rightly deserves it or not, it is two star for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2010
Thinly disguised soft porn. Should have been warned by the fact that Jilly Cooper liked it.
April 27, 2012
Started off good with a potential family feud but as time went on the story got more and more unbelievable and boring.
June 25, 2011
Started off good with a potential family feud but as time went on the story got more and more unbelievable and boring.
Read
April 18, 2014good
January 26, 2020
Good story but I was distracted by the switching from different times and found I needed to occasionally reread parts to pick up the details again.
December 19, 2022
You get used to all the sex
I loved it all. I loved how extraordinarily innocent it was. I loved the heros, hated the villains and loved the completeness of it. If you're easily shocked, maybe this isn't for you. Not at all. But it's amazing how quickly you forget about the seven dwarvishness. It has quite a cast of characters, but they are all complete individuals. Their relationships are organic - and very very orgasmic. You don't get bored. The sad bits you expect because you know with that much happiness, there's a forgotten guest who casts the curse, but you also know that the good fairy is
waiting on her cue behind the kitchen door.
I really liked it.
I loved it all. I loved how extraordinarily innocent it was. I loved the heros, hated the villains and loved the completeness of it. If you're easily shocked, maybe this isn't for you. Not at all. But it's amazing how quickly you forget about the seven dwarvishness. It has quite a cast of characters, but they are all complete individuals. Their relationships are organic - and very very orgasmic. You don't get bored. The sad bits you expect because you know with that much happiness, there's a forgotten guest who casts the curse, but you also know that the good fairy is
waiting on her cue behind the kitchen door.
I really liked it.
Read
November 25, 2024DTF can’t keep track and too many beginnings but pretty enough words made me feel things from what I did read
Wait. Update. I read other reviews about what this turns into and then skipped ahead and read some and yep. Nope. So glad I stopped.
Wait. Update. I read other reviews about what this turns into and then skipped ahead and read some and yep. Nope. So glad I stopped.
November 3, 2017
"Snow White with sex."
This book is totally over the top and unbelievable, but I still really enjoyed it.
This book is totally over the top and unbelievable, but I still really enjoyed it.
April 12, 2020
Found this long boring and difficult to follow characters. And not a fan of lily
April 18, 2021
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! Quite a lot of rumpy pumpy in this book. Complex and unusual characters and relationships abound. Most enjoyable!
May 4, 2021
This book is awful. Genuinely awful I finished it and I have no energy left to explain how bad is it.
Read
January 14, 2024I wish there was a rating system per categories - separate rating for the storyline, rating for the style, etc.
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and would rate it as 5 stars. As it is for the storyline and how it unfolded, I enjoyed the gripping read about halfway to the novel, and my interest lessened. I suppose I am not a "fairytale romance" book fan. Also, I felt the story being stretched out unnecessarily; leaving out certain "happenings" wouldn't have lessened the story itself.
Overall, I enjoyed the vivid, entertaining and descriptive style of Kate Saunders writing!
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and would rate it as 5 stars. As it is for the storyline and how it unfolded, I enjoyed the gripping read about halfway to the novel, and my interest lessened. I suppose I am not a "fairytale romance" book fan. Also, I felt the story being stretched out unnecessarily; leaving out certain "happenings" wouldn't have lessened the story itself.
Overall, I enjoyed the vivid, entertaining and descriptive style of Kate Saunders writing!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews