Mad Joy

by Jane Bailey

In the beginning a small girl runs into a wood, and two years later walks out of it and into the nearest house. Gracie, the childless spinster who finds her curled up on her armchair, takes her on as her own, seeing her as a feral gift of fate. Known as Joy in the Cotswold village that adopts her, there is endless speculation about her wild past and comical ways. In this moving and passionate tale, Joy grows into a young woman at the advent of World War II, and when she becomes romantically involved with a fighter pilot the extraordinary mystery of her past slowly unravels.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published June 29, 2006

Reviews

[Harry Tomos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book, was not the story I thought I was reading with some twists that I did not for see....the strong theme of love through adversity was amazing

[Shirley Ferris · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started the book I was intrigued by the storyline but as the book progressed I wanted to give up on it. I did persevere because I wanted to know how Joy had ended up in the woods but after finding that out there was still a lot left to read and it was a chore. I found it slow going and the writing style was very with poor, the chapters being riddled with hints of what was to unfold, such as,
"But that day of grief did not end there. There was more to come." I wouldn't read another book by Jane Bailey, she is just not for me.

[Kaye Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half od book quite slow, but picked up in the end. Joy runs out of the woods one day and is taken in and raised by Gracie. Joy is poor and befriends a rich girl from the big house up the way. But it isn't really a friendship - it's rich-girl-spying-on-poor-girl.....because someone thinks Joy is the love child of the man of the estate. War comes, and Joy saves a pilot who crash-lands his plane..... and he turns out to be someone from Joy's past that she does not want to remember.....
An average read. Not as good as Tommy Glover's sketch of heaven.

[Kaye Frost-smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indulge yourself!

Another great read from Jane Bailey! What a journey of ups and downs, love, regrets, mystery, so much to indulge yyourself in and enjoy. I don't write in depth reviews, listing every little detail. Why spoil it for others? Once you've read a story by Jane Bailey you'll be hooked! Anyway, this is a 5 star read, try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

[Susan Huelsing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed this book. When I started reading this story, I didn't think I would finish because it was a little slow. I kept plugging away because I really hate giving up on a book. I'm so glad I did, once I did I flew through it. It took a turn I didn't see coming. There are lines that resonated with me on a personal level, I could feel Joy's pain.

[Lisa Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd little story but it wasn’t bad. I kept reading to find out how all these characters were or weren’t related.

[Nelufa Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book and storyline, very under rated.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main flaw in Jane Bailey's Mad Joy is its similarity to her Tommy Glover's Sketch of Heaven. I don't think you'd want to read the two very close together. However, since I didn't, I had a very enjoyable time with this too.

I very much enjoyed the opening of the book where Joy, as she is to be named, comes out of the woods as a little girl, her memories suppressed, and is enveloped by the lovely motherly Gracie who has been cheated out of so much in her own life. So we know that there are mysteries to be revealed.

We see Joy growing up with the other 'grubby village children' and growing into adult life at the onset of WWII and that would be interesting enough without the complex web of relationships. We get our happy ending remarkably soon but life is not that simple and even though Joy has everything she wants in the here and now there is more to be said and done. I felt Jane Bailey handled Joy's reaction to more information about her early history very well, Joy neither understands all nor forgives all and this involves her in being at best less than generous to innocent people.

I found it a compelling tale.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful British story set in the thirties and forties of the twentieth century. The protagonist Joy has a devastating experience when she is four that effects her life, yet she is able to survive and become strong. The community is filled with a variety of unusual people that offer friendship, family, along with discrimination by class. With the war, Joy powers along making a success in the Army as a mechanic and driver. In that process she encounters people that clear the path to understanding her emotional need for growth. The original family and its story explain her pain of separation. There comes the real truth of James and also of his sister Celia, the high class family. As ever, a good old fashioned story with twists and turns that somehow are sorted and settled by the last page. A favorite summer read!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is between a 2.5 and 3 for me. It was an easy read, but there was something about the book that I didn't really like - I can't put my finger on what it is exactly... just the overall feeling and impression that the book left me with.

I didn't particularly enjoy the main character, and found the first half of the book to be very, very slow reading. The pace picked up a little in the latter half, but never really got going.

A good enough story but I felt as if I was reading from a distance and wasn't immersed in the story.

[Susie Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the Mills & Boon romance novel one might expect from the cover, this is an original idea that doesn't patronize the reader. Very well written and highly engrossing. Not overly sentimental in tone, it was puzzling enough to keep the brain cells working, and it was always interesting. Though not the usual type of book I reach for, I would highly recommend it nonetheless.

[Gill Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this book to my Kindle quite a while ago on the recommendation of a friend but never got around to reading it. I didn't know what I was missing. I really enjoyed Jane's style and the twists and turns in the plot. I felt that I got to know the characters too, which is really important to me as I like to see how they progress as the story moves forward.

[I Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable tale set around World War Two. Well worth a read.

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

`Jane Bailey's books are simply wonderful.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn't really flow, wouldn't read it again