Return Match

by Elizabeth Cadell, Aparna Bera (Illustrator)

Celia Pressley’s cottage in the suburban town of Longbrook was not quite what Nigel, just back from Brazil, considered the ideal home for his mother. But incurable optimist that she was, she overlooked the draughts, the tangled garden, the rickety staircase, even the brass band that used the barn next door for practice, and found contentment in the cosily crowded rooms, unexpected flowers and blossoms, and the glimpse of a slowly-moving river from the gate. She had never given up on her hope that one day her son would marry her goddaughter, Rona, even though when he had seen her last, she was an awkward teenager and had a crush on Nigel.

Nigel was the playboy growing up. He dated many beautiful ladies and wasn’t ready to settle down. When he returned home from Brazil, he was surprised to see how much Rona had changed. Rona was determined not to let Nigel break her heart again…Here is another romp and romance from the famous author, Elizabeth Cadell.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, British Literature

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Violet 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.

Reviews

[Michele Frazier · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite librarian (and friend) introduced me to Elizabeth Cadell books. I have really enjoyed the ones I have read, so far. I liked this one, but I wasn't fond of many of the characters. Nigel was too detached and selfish. His mother, Celia, was a very dull character, no spunk! God child, Rona, was at least interesting. So, not my favorite of the books. I am on to the next one and hoping for richer characters with some pizzazz! I do like her books, don't get me wrong, but this one is not at the top of the list to a first time reader.

[Bookworman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful story from this author. Likeable characters, witty conversations, and a nice love story.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When businessman Nigel Pressley returns from three years in Brazil, he instantly falls in love with his mother's goddaughter, Rona Hume. Little does he know that Rona has spent the last three years getting over her adolescent love for him. As he woos her, and tries to persuade his mother to leave the totally unsuitable cottage she's purchased, he's thwarted by Rona's other boyfriends and also by his mother's assertive friend Dagmar. Not only must he solve his mother's housing problems, but also the concerns of Dagmar and her family, before he can settle down happily with lovely Rona.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I've read this before, but I couldn't remember anything except the brass band.
2013 - this time I didn't remember even the brass band! But that's the charm - always pleasant to read, but not so memorable as to be boring....

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, it seems. Nigel has returned from three years in Brazil and is annoyed that Rona, his mother's god-daughter, has many suitors and little time for him. This was not how he imagined his homecoming. Besides trying to convince Rona to fall for him, he is trying to find a new home for his mother, get Dagmar to quit interfering in her son's marriage, help the local brass band, help The Reverand restore the church, and stop Sir James' step-son from building apartments on some pristine land. So much on his hands and his mind, will he manage it all before he has to go to London to begin work?

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleasant

This is a lovely book. Gentle humour, Cadell's eccentric characters at their finest, a small mystery, and a delightful love story. When these books work, they do because Cadell gets everything just right. There is nothing exciting or moving in this plot, but in its placid way, there is not a single wrong note

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed these interlude readings of Elizabeth Cadell, the prolific British author whose career began in 1946, writing 53 books before her death in 1989. This novel, written in 1979, however, was the first one I thought dated, filled with gender and character stereotypes, highly predictable. I still found it pleasant.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love vintage, cozy Brit-lit author Elizabeth Cadell! Return Match has especially winsome characters!

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite Cadell I've ever read, but I liked the way that all of the various plot lines (and there were a lot of them) intersected in the end.

[Seawitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light reading typical of Cadell.

[Christine McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly entertaining. Love story , family dynamics, and small town intrigue, all handled with a light touch.

[Jannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

[Susan Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

This is my favorite of her book so far. So many threads come together in a satisfying ending. It makes me smile.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a good relaxing book with some romance thrown in and a lot of common sense...except they all fall in "love" way too soon.

Now that I've 'found' these books again, I'll be reading them every year.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old schoolmate with legs as large as trees and a master soccer player? Times have changed for former school mates after time goes by.

[Susan]

The description given here doesn't sound all that much like the book I read! This was one of my first Cadell's and I loved it. As usual her characters are well drawn and interesting and if there is a little too much emphasis on being married well it is a rom-com so I guess I can't complain!