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Part of the Furniture
Early in 1941, Juno Marlowe is hurrying down a London street as the bombs start to fall. She is rescued by a stranger who offers her the protection of his house. This marks the beginning of a series of encounters that take her to the West Country, where she may no longer be part of the furniture.
286 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
134 people are currently reading
692 people want to read
About the author
Mary Wesley
64 books182 followersMary Wesley, CBE was an English novelist. She reportedly worked in MI5 during World War II. During her career, she became one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.
She wrote three children's books, Speaking Terms and The Sixth Seal (both 1969) and Haphazard House (1983), before publishing adult fiction. Since her first adult novel was published only in 1983, when she was 71, she may be regarded as a late bloomer. The publication of Jumping the Queue in 1983 was the beginning of an intensely creative period of Wesley's life. From 1982 to 1991, she wrote and delivered seven novels. While she aged from 70 to 79 she still showed the focus and drive of a young person.
Her best known book, The Camomile Lawn, set on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, was turned into a television series, and is an account of the intertwining lives of three families in rural England during World War II. After The Camomile Lawn (1984) came Harnessing Peacocks (1985 and as TV film in 1992), The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (1986 and filmed in 1995), Not That Sort of Girl (1987), Second Fiddle (1988), A Sensible Life (1990), A Dubious Legacy (1993), An Imaginative Experience (1994) and Part of the Furniture (1997). A book about the West Country with photographer Kim Sayer, Part of the Scenery, was published in 2001. Asked why she had stopped writing fiction at the age of 84, she replied: "If you haven't got anything to say, don't say it.
From Mary Wesley
She wrote three children's books, Speaking Terms and The Sixth Seal (both 1969) and Haphazard House (1983), before publishing adult fiction. Since her first adult novel was published only in 1983, when she was 71, she may be regarded as a late bloomer. The publication of Jumping the Queue in 1983 was the beginning of an intensely creative period of Wesley's life. From 1982 to 1991, she wrote and delivered seven novels. While she aged from 70 to 79 she still showed the focus and drive of a young person.
Her best known book, The Camomile Lawn, set on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, was turned into a television series, and is an account of the intertwining lives of three families in rural England during World War II. After The Camomile Lawn (1984) came Harnessing Peacocks (1985 and as TV film in 1992), The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (1986 and filmed in 1995), Not That Sort of Girl (1987), Second Fiddle (1988), A Sensible Life (1990), A Dubious Legacy (1993), An Imaginative Experience (1994) and Part of the Furniture (1997). A book about the West Country with photographer Kim Sayer, Part of the Scenery, was published in 2001. Asked why she had stopped writing fiction at the age of 84, she replied: "If you haven't got anything to say, don't say it.
From Mary Wesley
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
April 22, 2010
This was my first Mary Wesley. It was a battered old paperback that I picked up from a second-hand bookshop – I was drawn to the cover which made me feel summery. I loved it. Wesley’s style is so unlike any other author I can think to compare it to sparse and to the point. There is no room for flowery prose in this book but yet its simplicity and matter-of-factness drew me right in and I really cared about the characters.
The book starts with seventeen-year-old Juno who has just seen her two childhood friends off to war in 1942 and she is wondering through the blackened streets of London with nowhere to go, when she is pulled inside a house by a stranger during an air raid. The stranger offers her a bed for the night but when she wakes up he is dead. Some weeks later, after living almost rough in London she boards a train to Cornwall to deliver a letter from the dead man to his Father. When she arrives at Copplestone’s Farm she is welcomed into the fold without question. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the book, not because there are any spectacular twists involved but because it’s fun to follow Juno in her journey.
I just loved the characters, all of them who were easy to warm to in some way. The bluntness and ‘frightful poshness’ of their speach was interspersed with humour, some of which had me laughing out loud.
“Are you staying for supper?”
“If I am invited.”
“Could you call off your Mosley [dog:], he is rogering my bitch.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; more than I expected to in fact. Mary Wesley has written many more books (some of which I also have at home) which I fully intend to read sometime soon. I would recommend this book for frazzled brains – something gentle to sooth the soul. And an ending that had me hooting with laughter!
The book starts with seventeen-year-old Juno who has just seen her two childhood friends off to war in 1942 and she is wondering through the blackened streets of London with nowhere to go, when she is pulled inside a house by a stranger during an air raid. The stranger offers her a bed for the night but when she wakes up he is dead. Some weeks later, after living almost rough in London she boards a train to Cornwall to deliver a letter from the dead man to his Father. When she arrives at Copplestone’s Farm she is welcomed into the fold without question. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the book, not because there are any spectacular twists involved but because it’s fun to follow Juno in her journey.
I just loved the characters, all of them who were easy to warm to in some way. The bluntness and ‘frightful poshness’ of their speach was interspersed with humour, some of which had me laughing out loud.
“Are you staying for supper?”
“If I am invited.”
“Could you call off your Mosley [dog:], he is rogering my bitch.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; more than I expected to in fact. Mary Wesley has written many more books (some of which I also have at home) which I fully intend to read sometime soon. I would recommend this book for frazzled brains – something gentle to sooth the soul. And an ending that had me hooting with laughter!
October 12, 2013
Thanks to the friends who plied me with Wesley novels recently; she is an author I am going to be searching for in dusty bookshops wherever I go (also in nondusty bookshops).
The strength of this one is in the character of Juno, who so self-containedly goes through a series of very extreme events. There is a curious disconnect between the extremity of those events and the narrative tone, but it works. At least it works for me. Romantic in odd way, in which milking cows is extremely sensual, and the smells of the countryside matter deeply.
The strength of this one is in the character of Juno, who so self-containedly goes through a series of very extreme events. There is a curious disconnect between the extremity of those events and the narrative tone, but it works. At least it works for me. Romantic in odd way, in which milking cows is extremely sensual, and the smells of the countryside matter deeply.
July 26, 2022
I never heard about Mary Wesley until a few days ago when this book was recommended to me and I suddenly decided to read it.
It gave me a feeling of warmth, of "there is good in the world", of caring and loving without waiting something in return.
I was fascinated by Wesley's depiction of Juno. The character is so well developed, she starts as resilient and finally blooms after she finds herself surrounded by good people who open their home (and hearts) to her.
Such a lovely reading experience.
It gave me a feeling of warmth, of "there is good in the world", of caring and loving without waiting something in return.
I was fascinated by Wesley's depiction of Juno. The character is so well developed, she starts as resilient and finally blooms after she finds herself surrounded by good people who open their home (and hearts) to her.
Such a lovely reading experience.
November 14, 2013
I return to this magnificent and pure book again and again for comfort and inspiration. It was the last book Mary Wesley wrote and I would say her very best. A modern classic.
March 20, 2013
I don't know why but I had high expectations about this author. I hadn't read any of Wesley's novels before but I felt attracted to her stories, which seemed to be well crafted, accordingly to most of the reviews.
Well, I'm a bit deflated, to tell the truth.
The story: England, the Great World War. Juno is only 17, but already a misfit, appallingly innocent, left alone by her mother, who has remarried and fled to Canada, her father long dead and her cold aunt who doesn't care a bit for her. We meet Juno after leaving her two lovers on the train station, leaving to fight for their country. Abused and mistreated without even knowing it herself, Juno meets a dying young man during a bomb raid who leaves her the address of his family with a letter to be handed to his father, in a farm in Cornwall.
Without nowhere else to go, she decides to hand in the letter and finds such a warm welcome that she is compelled to stay, feeling for the first time that she is not part of the furniture.
I was hooked by the story; easy plot and fast paced, I finished the novel in just a couple of days.
But I have to say that the characters lacked depth, personality and charm.
How could a girl of 17 be so innocent? Juno seemed retarded sometimes, especially when talking about basic sexual aspects. She could be in the dark about the details but not about the whole thing. I think she wasn't developed enough as a character and that's why she seems to be a silly girl in several scenes of the book.
Robert and Ann are just talked about when they fit in the story, we don't know much about them, apart from Robert being an excellent lover who lost his wife and Ann being a not happily married woman who craves for the child she never had.
Moreover, the last chapter didn't help to improve my poor impression of the novel.
What other reviewers have called a "twist" is for me an unfathomable outcome, too unbelievable to be realistic and therefore, only an easy way to shock the reader, with no intention to look for that bittersweet ache left after turning the last page of a really good novel.
So, not an appalling reading, but not an exceeding one neither.
I don't know if I'll be reading more Wesley's in the future, having Jude Morgan's, Susanna Kearsley's and Jenifer Donnelly's books yet to discover...
Well, I'm a bit deflated, to tell the truth.
The story: England, the Great World War. Juno is only 17, but already a misfit, appallingly innocent, left alone by her mother, who has remarried and fled to Canada, her father long dead and her cold aunt who doesn't care a bit for her. We meet Juno after leaving her two lovers on the train station, leaving to fight for their country. Abused and mistreated without even knowing it herself, Juno meets a dying young man during a bomb raid who leaves her the address of his family with a letter to be handed to his father, in a farm in Cornwall.
Without nowhere else to go, she decides to hand in the letter and finds such a warm welcome that she is compelled to stay, feeling for the first time that she is not part of the furniture.
I was hooked by the story; easy plot and fast paced, I finished the novel in just a couple of days.
But I have to say that the characters lacked depth, personality and charm.
How could a girl of 17 be so innocent? Juno seemed retarded sometimes, especially when talking about basic sexual aspects. She could be in the dark about the details but not about the whole thing. I think she wasn't developed enough as a character and that's why she seems to be a silly girl in several scenes of the book.
Robert and Ann are just talked about when they fit in the story, we don't know much about them, apart from Robert being an excellent lover who lost his wife and Ann being a not happily married woman who craves for the child she never had.
Moreover, the last chapter didn't help to improve my poor impression of the novel.
What other reviewers have called a "twist" is for me an unfathomable outcome, too unbelievable to be realistic and therefore, only an easy way to shock the reader, with no intention to look for that bittersweet ache left after turning the last page of a really good novel.
So, not an appalling reading, but not an exceeding one neither.
I don't know if I'll be reading more Wesley's in the future, having Jude Morgan's, Susanna Kearsley's and Jenifer Donnelly's books yet to discover...
January 13, 2016
I can always count on Wesley, just as I can on Barbara Pym. This is another story about a young woman in war time and her sexual awakening. Wesley is always frank about sexuality (see her delicious Camomile Lawn) and a rather disturbing encounter sends Juno Marlowe on a strange adventure. In this witty social comedy, Juno discovers the consequences of her widowed mother's neglect to educate on personal matters. The plot is almost a fairy tale in the way events unfold, and Juno discovers people are not what they seem. Several fairies see to Juno's seamless way out of trouble.
Although Juno departs a London under WWII bombing raids, to land away from most danger, she does not forget the war, nor does Wesley. In a favorite scene, a man watches Juno to a hill top from which they can see both beauty and horror in a city being bombed in the distance. Wesley is able in two or three sentences to resolve a question in a shocking and complete way. The final chapter is a perfect comeuppance. If you have never read Wesley, you can start here, and I expect you will head on into others.
Although Juno departs a London under WWII bombing raids, to land away from most danger, she does not forget the war, nor does Wesley. In a favorite scene, a man watches Juno to a hill top from which they can see both beauty and horror in a city being bombed in the distance. Wesley is able in two or three sentences to resolve a question in a shocking and complete way. The final chapter is a perfect comeuppance. If you have never read Wesley, you can start here, and I expect you will head on into others.
July 23, 2009
I enjoyed this book to start with, the details of WWII era life in London and the English countryside, but the ending didn't sit easily with me.
I felt like everything worked out much too neatly, if that makes sense. One twin being clearly Jonty's son and the other being clearly Francis's? Not technically impossible, but it made me roll my eyes. And as for the final relationship between Juno and Robert -- I hoped it would not go there, and then it did.
I felt like everything worked out much too neatly, if that makes sense. One twin being clearly Jonty's son and the other being clearly Francis's? Not technically impossible, but it made me roll my eyes. And as for the final relationship between Juno and Robert -- I hoped it would not go there, and then it did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2023
The last of three of her books set during WW2.
November 29, 2011
I really liked the book. With just a few characters, Mary Wesley, really drew you into the story.
Juno felt so unwanted and so unloved, it was wonderful seeing her blossom with her new "family". With the birth of her children she
seemed to become a more confident person.
Robert, a man many years older, was the perfect man for Juno and
her sons. I was happy that they found each other.
I really disliked Jonty and Francis, even though they are mentioned rarely in the story.
I was disappointed in the ending. The last two lines of the story were so crass (fitting for Jonty), but left me feeling as if the story was not complete.
Juno felt so unwanted and so unloved, it was wonderful seeing her blossom with her new "family". With the birth of her children she
seemed to become a more confident person.
Robert, a man many years older, was the perfect man for Juno and
her sons. I was happy that they found each other.
I really disliked Jonty and Francis, even though they are mentioned rarely in the story.
I was disappointed in the ending. The last two lines of the story were so crass (fitting for Jonty), but left me feeling as if the story was not complete.
November 12, 2017
Odd story peopled with odd characters, including a protagonist who is almost more puppy than human. How can anyone reach the age of 17 without knowing how babies get here, especially since she has worked with farm animals?
Another reviewer here says human twins cannot have different fathers but different websites say they can; it is called heteropaternal superfecundation.
I was surprised that, although she got pregnant the first time she ever had sex (technically first two times since there were two men involved), she never got pregnant by her husband even after 23 years of marriage.
Very disappointing, disturbing book.
Another reviewer here says human twins cannot have different fathers but different websites say they can; it is called heteropaternal superfecundation.
I was surprised that, although she got pregnant the first time she ever had sex (technically first two times since there were two men involved), she never got pregnant by her husband even after 23 years of marriage.
Very disappointing, disturbing book.
July 27, 2016
'Part of the Furniture' by Mary Wesley
This is Mary Wesley's last novel and I love it, so much that I read it twice in two days and have to admit to shedding a tear afterwards. Call me sentimental, I don't mind.
Wesley paints such a mesmerising, reassuring and colourful picture of refuge and homecoming, that I almost pine for it. Silly me.
This is Mary Wesley's last novel and I love it, so much that I read it twice in two days and have to admit to shedding a tear afterwards. Call me sentimental, I don't mind.
Wesley paints such a mesmerising, reassuring and colourful picture of refuge and homecoming, that I almost pine for it. Silly me.
February 2, 2018
Excellent book!
What a good book this is, well written, smart, funny at times and with a lovely understanding of human nature. I never heard of Mary Wesley before but I will be sure to read her other books.
What a good book this is, well written, smart, funny at times and with a lovely understanding of human nature. I never heard of Mary Wesley before but I will be sure to read her other books.
January 16, 2011
This is a nasty little book, not at all satisfactory in its plot and even less convincing. It has the tone of an author settling old scores.
July 20, 2017
Possibly the best final chapter ever.
May 8, 2012
Unloved by her mother, disliked by her aunt, considered a plaything by childhood friends, Juno is not thought of quite so much as a person in her own right but as ...well, just someone who's there.
With WWII escalating, her mother in Canada, now remarried, her aunt trying to bully her into signing up for some war service work, Juno is entrusted with a letter to deliver in the country wherein she finds herself warmly welcomed and seemingly immediately adopted by the inhabitants and neighbors.
Watching the relationships that develop between Juno, the housekeeper, the country gentleman in whose house she has come to live, the farm manager and the nosy neighbor is part of what makes this a truly delightful read, as does watching Juno learn to enjoy being among people who love and care for her.
With WWII escalating, her mother in Canada, now remarried, her aunt trying to bully her into signing up for some war service work, Juno is entrusted with a letter to deliver in the country wherein she finds herself warmly welcomed and seemingly immediately adopted by the inhabitants and neighbors.
Watching the relationships that develop between Juno, the housekeeper, the country gentleman in whose house she has come to live, the farm manager and the nosy neighbor is part of what makes this a truly delightful read, as does watching Juno learn to enjoy being among people who love and care for her.
June 11, 2014
Mary Wesley is an excellent story teller, and her stories were rather unconventional when first published, hence her popularity. An added attraction is that, in many of her books, there is an obvious link to her real life, as described in her biography which I read before. Light but excellent entertainment.
October 15, 2011
I really loved this book. It was heart warming and down to earth English in its excellent writing. I have stumbled upon another author. I must check out more of her writing.
July 10, 2017
This novel was distinctly different from Wesley's others, yet it didn't take long to fall in love with the story, not to mention the rather delicious hero!
February 9, 2018
One of those books I didn’t want to end.
May 5, 2018
It's a brilliant read! I really enjoyed this and recommend it.
January 3, 2018
Gli ho dato la caccia per 15 anni (era già uscito col titolo più giusto di Un pezzo di arredamento, chissà perché questa modifica insensata?!).
Le autrici inglesi da Austen in poi hanno questa capacità di rappresentare la realtà trasfigurandola, facendone una storia universale. Creando tipi e caratteri memorabili. Non so se sia il desiderio di emulare la divina e pressoché inarrivabile Jane (che poi Bronte ha generato tutto il filone romantico e Jane Eyre quella della bruttina-che-tira-fuori-gli-attributi) ma di autrici italiane che siano un filino leggibili senza vergogna ce ne sono meno delle dita di una mano (Deledda, Serao, e poi? Oggi quella lagna della Mazzantini, ieri l'esaltata Fallaci. Mah)
Le autrici inglesi da Austen in poi hanno questa capacità di rappresentare la realtà trasfigurandola, facendone una storia universale. Creando tipi e caratteri memorabili. Non so se sia il desiderio di emulare la divina e pressoché inarrivabile Jane (che poi Bronte ha generato tutto il filone romantico e Jane Eyre quella della bruttina-che-tira-fuori-gli-attributi) ma di autrici italiane che siano un filino leggibili senza vergogna ce ne sono meno delle dita di una mano (Deledda, Serao, e poi? Oggi quella lagna della Mazzantini, ieri l'esaltata Fallaci. Mah)
February 16, 2023
An affectionate, humorous and lively book, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a fresh and vibrant tone from a novelist in her eighties.
Great fun!
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
Great fun!
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
January 3, 2021
So this is a book that is a favourite of my mums, and she has been harping on and on at me to read it for months! I really didn’t know much going in, and I deliberately didn’t look at the back of the book as I just wanted to get started. I had not read anything else by the author, although I have seen an adaptation of Chamomile Lawn at some point, and this book definitely had the same feel. When reading it I did look back at the year the book was published and was actually surprised to find it was only released in 1998 as the overall feeling of the book is like a historical novel written in that time period.
The book is essentially a coming of age story, of a young and immature girl who was not particularly well liked by her mother or neighbours, but was simply part of the furniture. However she is desperately in love with 2 older boys and on their way to join the war she accompanies them to London where they proceed to seduce her (possible non-consensual but does not go into detail). After leaving her in the middle of the evening during the Blitz she stumbles across a very ill man and the rest of her story begins. She eventually finds her way to a place where she can feel useful and where she is also loved and cherished by the people she is with.
The story is very heartwarming but with dark undertones. Despite the fact that this is set during WWII it is rather something on the periphery, and not particularly in your face. There are definitely scenes of humour (animals named for ex-lovers, discussions about sex and pregnancy) but overall I did really quite enjoy the book. Now I just need to go and get the others from my mother!
The book is essentially a coming of age story, of a young and immature girl who was not particularly well liked by her mother or neighbours, but was simply part of the furniture. However she is desperately in love with 2 older boys and on their way to join the war she accompanies them to London where they proceed to seduce her (possible non-consensual but does not go into detail). After leaving her in the middle of the evening during the Blitz she stumbles across a very ill man and the rest of her story begins. She eventually finds her way to a place where she can feel useful and where she is also loved and cherished by the people she is with.
The story is very heartwarming but with dark undertones. Despite the fact that this is set during WWII it is rather something on the periphery, and not particularly in your face. There are definitely scenes of humour (animals named for ex-lovers, discussions about sex and pregnancy) but overall I did really quite enjoy the book. Now I just need to go and get the others from my mother!
March 19, 2021
Set during the Second World War, Part of the Furniture tells the story of a young woman called Juno Marlowe. Juno is 17 years old, and, with her father dead and her mother having recently moved to Canada with her new husband, Juno is expected to join her mother to make a new life - but Juno doesn't want to go. In London a few days before the ship to Canada is due to set sail, she meets a man called Evelyn, and due to his kindness she soon finds herself on Evelyn's father's farm in the West Country, helping out on the land as part of the war effort. Here, young and naïve, and having been taken advantage of, Juno finds the first proper home in which she's ever felt loved, and forges great friendships - ones that she is soon going to need more than she could ever know.
Having listened to and very much enjoyed The Chamomile Lawn last summer, I thought I'd try another book by this author - the audio book is narrated by Samuel West, who is one of my favourite narrators. I loved the characters, especially Juno. She's brave, and whilst not very wordly, her naïvety is part of her charm. Having looked at the reviews after finishing, I can see that it seems to be a very divisive book but I thought it was very enjoyable.
Having listened to and very much enjoyed The Chamomile Lawn last summer, I thought I'd try another book by this author - the audio book is narrated by Samuel West, who is one of my favourite narrators. I loved the characters, especially Juno. She's brave, and whilst not very wordly, her naïvety is part of her charm. Having looked at the reviews after finishing, I can see that it seems to be a very divisive book but I thought it was very enjoyable.
May 3, 2020
This was a well-executed, but ultimately forgettable wartime romance. Most of the story focuses on Juno Marlowe, still in England after her mother has left for Canada, where she is supposed to follow. Instead, she ends up on a farm, and figures out who she really is.
This is missing some of my least favourite romance tropes: instalove and plot conflict that comes from people not telling other people things for no reason. Instead, the love develops slowly, and the barriers to love are legitimate. Juno's character development is also well-paced and believable, even if one or two of the events that the plot turns on seem rather unlikely.
If you're looking for a quiet little book about the Second World War in Britain about people thrown into unexpected and difficult circumstances doing the best they can, this is a good one to pick up. There's no heroism or spies or waving about of pistols, but instead the formation of a new family. I'm giving it three stars because I don't think it will stick with me for more than a few days, but I did enjoy it while I was reading it.
This is missing some of my least favourite romance tropes: instalove and plot conflict that comes from people not telling other people things for no reason. Instead, the love develops slowly, and the barriers to love are legitimate. Juno's character development is also well-paced and believable, even if one or two of the events that the plot turns on seem rather unlikely.
If you're looking for a quiet little book about the Second World War in Britain about people thrown into unexpected and difficult circumstances doing the best they can, this is a good one to pick up. There's no heroism or spies or waving about of pistols, but instead the formation of a new family. I'm giving it three stars because I don't think it will stick with me for more than a few days, but I did enjoy it while I was reading it.
September 18, 2015
I like Mary Wesley's novels a lot, and it's been a long time since I've read one. This one was standing out on a library shelf, so I snapped it up.
I may have read it some years ago, but it was well worth reading again. The characters are so well drawn--somewhat sad but with an underlying resilience that's taking. Juno and Robert are such complicated individuals with so much history that you want things to turn out for them. Juno's reticence makes sense for a kid who was, essentially, unloved. Being so badly used by her neighbors and her family, I really wanted her to find love.
My only quibble was with the ending. Of course, the babies' fathers had to be revealed, but this scene seemed forced and the closing exchange was so jarring, unnecessarily, in my view.
Still, it was nice to rediscover a writer whose work I've liked so much.
I may have read it some years ago, but it was well worth reading again. The characters are so well drawn--somewhat sad but with an underlying resilience that's taking. Juno and Robert are such complicated individuals with so much history that you want things to turn out for them. Juno's reticence makes sense for a kid who was, essentially, unloved. Being so badly used by her neighbors and her family, I really wanted her to find love.
My only quibble was with the ending. Of course, the babies' fathers had to be revealed, but this scene seemed forced and the closing exchange was so jarring, unnecessarily, in my view.
Still, it was nice to rediscover a writer whose work I've liked so much.
June 19, 2019
I read and ADORED The Camomile Lawn last year (truly one of my favourite books I've ever read, and the TV adaptation is wonderful too) and so made it my mission this year to discover more Mary Wesley, starting with this one. The premise sounded right up my street - coming-of-age-in-Cornwall-surrounded-by-lovable-eccentrics is one of my favourite weirdly specific sub-genres. But the whole story just felt a bit thin and silly to me. Where The Camomile Lawn is sexy and provocative and wry and subversive in a very clever way, Part of the Furniture seems heavy-handed and crass by comparison. All of the attempts to shock are SO obvious, like Mary Wesley is hanging over you shrieking 'LOOK HOW NAUGHTY I AM'. So yes, a bit daft and generally enjoyable but nowhere near as good as I'd hoped and a bit cringey in the cold light of day.
January 12, 2016
Awful. I kept reading right to the end because of so many good reviews here. The story seemed to have a lot of promise, the writing was ok, but the story went nowhere. Ir reminded me of those Victorian serials that were written to have so many words printed per week for a certain number of weeks just to fill up space.
November 28, 2018
I was disappointed with this book/author. I was expecting writing along the lines of D. E. Stevenson or
Angela Thirkell; this wasn't in the same league. The characters were two dimensional and the dialogue was surprisingly vulgar at times. And what the heck was that ending?
Not recommended.
Angela Thirkell; this wasn't in the same league. The characters were two dimensional and the dialogue was surprisingly vulgar at times. And what the heck was that ending?
Not recommended.
December 11, 2013
I'd like to give this 3.5 - I do miss the half marks!
A typical Wesley blend of difficult situation (usually for a young woman) resolved unconventionally, with a light touch and dry humour.
A typical Wesley blend of difficult situation (usually for a young woman) resolved unconventionally, with a light touch and dry humour.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews