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The Empty Nest
In the village of Outercrane a wedding reception is taking place after the marriage of George and Stella Deepley’s youngest daughter. Stella is making plans for a holiday to enjoy the sights and relax in the sun of southern Italy. Events take a disturbing turn when a local investigation uncovers some sinister moves from the newest resident of Outercrane.
Set in the English countryside and the Mediterranean sun, The Empty Nest provides intrigue and romance for the fans of Elizabeth Cadell.
Set in the English countryside and the Mediterranean sun, The Empty Nest provides intrigue and romance for the fans of Elizabeth Cadell.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2018
33 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Cadell
102 books118 followersViolet Elizabeth Vandyke was born on 10 November 1903 in Calcutta, British Raj, daughter of British parents, Elizabeth Lynch and Frederick Reginald Vandyke, a colonial officer. During the Great War she studied music in London, but refused a musical career and returned to India where she married in 1928 Henry Dunlop Raymond Mallock Cadell, and they had a son and daughter. After she was widowed ten years later, she returned to England.
Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.
She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.
Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.
She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 7, 2020
Mr. and Mrs. Deepley have a big house in the country that used to be filled with young people. But all the Deepleys' children have married and gone away and the house is silent, leaving the middle-aged couple to figure out the next chapter of their lives.
They take a vacation in Naples, which merely postpones the inevitable (but serves to introduce a crucial character). Mr. Deepley seems happy enough puttering around the garden with their young gardener, Kathryn, but Mrs. Deepley takes longer to settle. (And no, this is decidedly not the sort of book where the middle-aged husband starts to obsess about the pretty young gardener.) Meanwhile, Kathryn has thrown over her suitor and is being wooed by the owner of the village bookshop. Eventually, Mrs. Deepley too finds activities and companions that beat back the sense of emptiness.
If it all sounds very everyday, it is. A little mystery gets injected into the tale by means of some thefts, but for the most part this is the story of ordinary people leading ordinary lives, putting up with the odd ways of those who happen to be around them as one does in a small community. As such The Empty Nest is quite a charming, if undemanding, little book.
Published in 1986, it includes a few updates to the English country village stories from between the wars, but the mood is the same as anything that might have come from the pen of Angela Thirkell or D. E. Stevenson. The level of writing skill is not as high; the chapters introducing the characters are awkwardly expository and I had nearly lost interest by the time the scant action had picked up. The book came out late in the author's career and perhaps by that time she was just going through the motions. But it made for a relaxing escape in stressful times.
They take a vacation in Naples, which merely postpones the inevitable (but serves to introduce a crucial character). Mr. Deepley seems happy enough puttering around the garden with their young gardener, Kathryn, but Mrs. Deepley takes longer to settle. (And no, this is decidedly not the sort of book where the middle-aged husband starts to obsess about the pretty young gardener.) Meanwhile, Kathryn has thrown over her suitor and is being wooed by the owner of the village bookshop. Eventually, Mrs. Deepley too finds activities and companions that beat back the sense of emptiness.
If it all sounds very everyday, it is. A little mystery gets injected into the tale by means of some thefts, but for the most part this is the story of ordinary people leading ordinary lives, putting up with the odd ways of those who happen to be around them as one does in a small community. As such The Empty Nest is quite a charming, if undemanding, little book.
Published in 1986, it includes a few updates to the English country village stories from between the wars, but the mood is the same as anything that might have come from the pen of Angela Thirkell or D. E. Stevenson. The level of writing skill is not as high; the chapters introducing the characters are awkwardly expository and I had nearly lost interest by the time the scant action had picked up. The book came out late in the author's career and perhaps by that time she was just going through the motions. But it made for a relaxing escape in stressful times.
July 2, 2020
I like Cadell land, and this book is a good example. George and Stella Deepley have just married off their third and younges daughter leaving them with a large house. A house that for years had been the hub of their daughters' social activities. The book is a realistic struggle for Stella to find out what she wants to do for the rest of her life. The one thing George and Stella do is go on a trip to Italy where they meet Oliver Anvil. He is a charmer. Months later, they are pleased to find him relocating into their village back in England.
Stella continues her journey for a new project and may have found it, but a certain uneasiness begins to swirl around the edges of her satisfaction. Oliver Anvil has some very odd friends.
There are two couples and both women have parent problems that challenge but do not overwhelm their beaus. Ken is from the lower class and, surprisingly for Cadell, he has a prominent roll and manages some pretty good detective work.
Stella continues her journey for a new project and may have found it, but a certain uneasiness begins to swirl around the edges of her satisfaction. Oliver Anvil has some very odd friends.
There are two couples and both women have parent problems that challenge but do not overwhelm their beaus. Ken is from the lower class and, surprisingly for Cadell, he has a prominent roll and manages some pretty good detective work.
August 3, 2021
Not her best! And Stella should have realized something was wrong when she was robbed!
August 28, 2018
A bit of a hodge-podge
Perhaps I have read too many EC books, but this one seems to be a rather less successful mashup of several others without a particularly compelling narrative. Partly I felt the lack of Cadell's usually funny eccentrics, everyone felt like they were at a distance, especially the bad guys. I liked George and Stella, the middle aged main characters. They were the sort of quiet and "well bred" people Cadell specialises in. The young couples, there are two, a working class and a middle class one, are also engaging and well behaved. But the extras that usually give these books their spark never come to life. The mystery, such as it is, never quite takes off, nor is it resolved in any satisfactory way, despite having encompassed most implausible several of their friends and neighbours. I just never really engaged with this one. It might have been me, but the charm and humour felt flat. A rather tepid three and a half stars.
Perhaps I have read too many EC books, but this one seems to be a rather less successful mashup of several others without a particularly compelling narrative. Partly I felt the lack of Cadell's usually funny eccentrics, everyone felt like they were at a distance, especially the bad guys. I liked George and Stella, the middle aged main characters. They were the sort of quiet and "well bred" people Cadell specialises in. The young couples, there are two, a working class and a middle class one, are also engaging and well behaved. But the extras that usually give these books their spark never come to life. The mystery, such as it is, never quite takes off, nor is it resolved in any satisfactory way, despite having encompassed most implausible several of their friends and neighbours. I just never really engaged with this one. It might have been me, but the charm and humour felt flat. A rather tepid three and a half stars.
March 21, 2022
This was a little different from the other Cadell books I've been recently reading - maybe a little darker?? George and Stella have married off their last of three daughters and now have the titular empty nest and empty house. Stella has spent years entertaining and cooking for her children and their friends, and now finds herself at a loss, since cooking is her favorite thing to do. She tries knitting, crochet, and painting to fill her time, and ends up "adopting" a young Russian artist who is giving her (and eventually several others) painting lessons. While on a trip, they meet a man who later shows up in their village and who seems a bit "off". The two young people who help George in his garden also have their stories, one of which leads to a car theft ring, of all things. It was a very interesting story, but it didn't give me the "feel" that a Cadell usually does.
December 30, 2018
This is the first Cadell I attempted to read via Kindle. At first I thought the disjointed feeling I had when reading this book was due to the format, but after reading other reviews I realized that this book just isn't as smooth as other Elizabeth Cadell titles. That said, I enjoyed all of the characters and the setting for this novel. It was an easy read, particularly for rainy days and days on which one doesn't want a book that makes you think particularly hard. Even thought the book itself is well over thirty years old, the situation and characters would translate to today's world and the theme of a woman having to remake her life and find new interests in her 'retirement' was well done.
August 11, 2017
A charming and whimsical tale of a couple, Stella and George who are struggling to get to grips with their empty nest after their last daughter gets married.
Left with a large house and nothing to do they go on holiday to Naples where by chance they meet an eloquent con man who deviously meets up with them back home and brings crime to their little backwater village of OuterCrane.
Only the dogged attempts by their gardener Katie, a boom shop owner called Chris and a nee'r do well called Ken are the villains exposed.
A story with intrigue, excitement and even a hint of romance.
Left with a large house and nothing to do they go on holiday to Naples where by chance they meet an eloquent con man who deviously meets up with them back home and brings crime to their little backwater village of OuterCrane.
Only the dogged attempts by their gardener Katie, a boom shop owner called Chris and a nee'r do well called Ken are the villains exposed.
A story with intrigue, excitement and even a hint of romance.
August 22, 2023
I wonder if Cadell wrote this as her nest became empty. The daughters are wed and have flown to the world's far corners. How will Stella fill her time? Her role as chief cook is over. A trip to Italy may help her to define herself as George has his garden, but what does she have? It turns out there is more than one mystery to solve in this book. It does not revolve around young lovers, but around smooth operators.
August 30, 2017
A good book. Took a little thought to remember who was who. The ending was odd to me, like she just decided that was enough and ended it abruptly. Just my impression.
December 31, 2018
The main couple in the book were nice characters, but the book overall was a little odd. Not my favorite.
August 26, 2018
Much as I love Elizabeth Cadell this was not one of my favourites. There was a lot of potential but it didn't quite come together for me. As always her characters are believable and well drawn but it took a long time for the story to hit its stride and the main romance seemed almost like an afterthought.
December 1, 2024
I love this author, however, this is not her best book. Still, it's a nice, comfortable, easy read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews