Winter Solstice

by Rosamunde Pilcher

698 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2011

About the author

Rosamunde Scott was born on 22 September 1924 in Lelant, Cornwall, England, UK, daughter of Helen and Charles Scott, a British commander. Just before her birth her father was posted in Burma, her mother remained in England. She attended St. Clare's Polwithen and Howell's School Llandaff before going on to Miss Kerr-Sanders' Secretarial College. She began writing when she was seven and published her first short story when she was 18. From 1943 through 1946, Pilcher served with the Women's Naval Service. On 7 December 1946, she married Graham Hope Pilcher, a war hero and jute industry executive who died in March 2009. They moved to Dundee, Scotland, where she remained until her death in 2019. They had two daughters and two sons, and fourteen grandchildren. Her son, Robin Pilcher, is also a novelist.

In 1949, her first book, a romance novel, was published by Mills & Boon, under the pseudonym Jane Fraser. She published a further ten novels under that name. In 1955, she also began writing under her married name Rosamunde Pilcher, by 1965 she her own name to all of her novels. In 1996, her novel Coming Home won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by Romantic Novelists' Association. She retired from writing in 2000 following publication of Winter Solstice. Two years later, she was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Reviews

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Festivities are around the corner and I found myself gravitating towards this book. Well, I can say I really enjoyed meeting the whole cast once more and follow them on their tribulations until finally they all get together in a magical moment. Pilcher’s writing style is not perfect but I must give her her due for creating such a lovely story :O)

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Rosamunde Pilcher is one of those names that kept appearing on my reading radar. This time, I finally decided to try her, opting for ‘Winter Solstice’, which was being recommended as a festive read.

At first, I found it rather slow, getting to grips with Pilcher’s writing style - she uses a lot of ‘telling’. Still, when I got to the second narrator (5 in total), it finally clicked and I was caught in the story and the characters, who are all facing some kind of bereavement, dejection, heartbreak, etc. You can see where this is going, all parties somehow finding themselves together through the vagaries of fate, and slowly getting their joy of life back. Still, Pilcher does it nicely, especially the sense of setting, both in depicting Scotland (I need to visit!), and the house, the Estate, which takes on a role of its own.

I’m pleased I finally read one of her titles, whizzing through nearly 700 pages in 3 days, and shall try another soon.

[Emma Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread in 2022 - My goodness, wow. What a perfect found family book. A group of perfectly different all so lovely people deserving of happiness end up together in a house that's not theirs for the Christmas holidays and end up fixing their lives, finding love, friendship, happiness and most of all themselves. What a gorgeous, gorgeous novel.

I completely fell in love with all the characters - magnanimous, fun Elfrida, bookish and kind Oscar, lively Lucy, smart and sensible Carrie, strong and dependable Sam, wise beyond his years Rory. All of them so different but who, through a series of gentle adventures, small kindnesses, beautiful miracles, feel like family by the end. Exquisite.



Original review in 2016 - I don't think I could love Rosamunde Pilcher more if I tried. This was perfect. She's magical. I have no words, it's as if she'd had a look at my soul and decided to give me the best present. Winter Solstice is a cocoon, a fairytale, and a warm hug rolled into one. Cannot recommend this enough.

[Aoife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far fetched and too long. 2.5 stars rounded up because I'm in a good humour.