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A Spanish Lover
In a spellbinding novel about growth, change, loss, and survival, two very different sisters realize that only through their separateness can they find the joys of sisterly love. Reprint.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
104 people are currently reading
537 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Trollope
132 books607 followersJoanna Trollope Potter Curteis (aka Caroline Harvey)
Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001.
From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001.
From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
July 15, 2009
I picked this British book up at a book sale, not knowing anything about it or the author, but needing some beach reading. Though it appears by title to be a romantic romp, it's actually more fundamentally about family dynamics, the dilemmas of accepting or rejecting conventional roles, and the consequences of choosing to meet or break with others' wishes and expectations. The story overall was interesting enough for vacation reading, but not something I expect to revisit beyond a few key passages. I do think the author portrayed the life choices that face young and middle-aged women well, putting in sharp contrast the traditional path of becoming young wife and mother with that of making a more independent but less secure life for one's self. The contrast between the two paths--personified here by each twin--and how each views the other, was interesting.
I also enjoyed picking up a few tidbits of Spanish culture and history by way of the endearing romance between Frances and Luis, and was charmed by the book's many casual scenes and phrases unique to British life that still sound quaint to my American ears.
I also enjoyed picking up a few tidbits of Spanish culture and history by way of the endearing romance between Frances and Luis, and was charmed by the book's many casual scenes and phrases unique to British life that still sound quaint to my American ears.
June 28, 2018
I understand that this author has been writing lighter women's fiction in recent years, but this 1993 novel is dense and literary. This is the story of two years in the life of 40-year-old fraternal twins Lizzie and Frances. Lizzie has a very busy life: mother to four children, partner with her husband in a successful home furnishings boutique, and in charge of a sprawling house with a large garden. Lizzie likes to complain about how chaotic her life is, but she feels superior to Frances, who has never married or even had a serious boyfriend and operates a travel agency that Lizzie views as nothing more than a hobby. All that changes when Frances travels to Spain in search of new business prospects and ends up with, as the title promises, a Spanish lover. The repercussions of this spiral out and affect every member of the family, and it is safe to say that each family member's life is entirely different by the end of the book.
This plot synopsis sounds like it could be light women's fiction, but Trollope elevates the material by giving us glimpses into the inner lives of every character, even the smallest of the children. There is a lot here about recognizing happiness when we have it and not letting jealousy or smugness ruin things for us. Now I'm interested to read other novels by Trollope, both before and after this one, to see if her style has really changed as much as the marketers would like us to believe.
This plot synopsis sounds like it could be light women's fiction, but Trollope elevates the material by giving us glimpses into the inner lives of every character, even the smallest of the children. There is a lot here about recognizing happiness when we have it and not letting jealousy or smugness ruin things for us. Now I'm interested to read other novels by Trollope, both before and after this one, to see if her style has really changed as much as the marketers would like us to believe.
September 20, 2017
On the positive side, there are some beautiful descriptive passages, and the situations the characters find themselves in are intrinsically interesting enough. The characterisation is good, if a little clunky. Oddly, the characters about whom the least is said were the ones I found the most powerful and convincing - the child Pimlott gave me the shivers. Most of the shifts and changes in relationships I found robust and realistic.
On the negative side, it is over-philosophised, over-thought and too many of the adult characters talk too much. I had the same problem as some other reviewers of disliking Frances, perhaps because of her bratty reaction to her first disappointing hotel experience in Spain. I could understand why she fell in love with the Spanish gentleman, but couldn't imagine what he saw in her.
It also gives me the uneasy feeling which I get from some English women writers, particularly older ones and including Ruth Rendell, that they are trapped in the confines of middle-class respectability and not really qualified to venture out of it. This isn't a crime, and in this case the author isn't trying to venture out - maybe the people in this book just say "heavens" too much for my liking.
On the negative side, it is over-philosophised, over-thought and too many of the adult characters talk too much. I had the same problem as some other reviewers of disliking Frances, perhaps because of her bratty reaction to her first disappointing hotel experience in Spain. I could understand why she fell in love with the Spanish gentleman, but couldn't imagine what he saw in her.
It also gives me the uneasy feeling which I get from some English women writers, particularly older ones and including Ruth Rendell, that they are trapped in the confines of middle-class respectability and not really qualified to venture out of it. This isn't a crime, and in this case the author isn't trying to venture out - maybe the people in this book just say "heavens" too much for my liking.
April 2, 2014
There is quite a problematic question analysed in this book: what is eventually needed that a woman would be happy? This book presents the two most common scenarios: a traditional family with a caring husband, children, a comfortable home on one hand, and a life of a single, career-oriented lady, creating her own business, traveling a lot on the other. These two opposite poles are represented by two women - twin sisters. Later, as it turns out, none of these two paths does guarantee carefree happiness without a single cloud.
You can not have everything. However, like on purpose, you just want the most what you cannot get. Therefore it's no surprise that in rainy England a housewife constantly fighting with her teenage children thinks with envy about her "free" sister, who enjoys a love affair in sunny Spain and the latter in the meanwhile desires home comfort, stability, her own family, and the most importantly - a baby. It's not prohibited to dream, but to fulfill those dreams is a bit more complicated, because it turns out that her perfect man does not want to even hear about the joys of parenthood. He brings a clear condition - a child or himself. Relying on a typical feminine optimism (ah, let's do it first, and then we'll see), and, apparently, hoping that it is possible to turn everything for the better, she risks...
You can not have everything. However, like on purpose, you just want the most what you cannot get. Therefore it's no surprise that in rainy England a housewife constantly fighting with her teenage children thinks with envy about her "free" sister, who enjoys a love affair in sunny Spain and the latter in the meanwhile desires home comfort, stability, her own family, and the most importantly - a baby. It's not prohibited to dream, but to fulfill those dreams is a bit more complicated, because it turns out that her perfect man does not want to even hear about the joys of parenthood. He brings a clear condition - a child or himself. Relying on a typical feminine optimism (ah, let's do it first, and then we'll see), and, apparently, hoping that it is possible to turn everything for the better, she risks...
September 17, 2019
„O pasiune interzisă” este o carte absolut magică și plină de savoare, care te poartă prin frumoasa Anglie, unde faci cunoștință cu niște personaje complexe și extrem de bine construite, și te face să visezi la o evadare din casă, mergând în însorita Spanie, unde admiri monumentele magnifice și te pierzi printre obiceiuri culturale și mâncăruri savuroase. Autoarea surprinde foarte bine culoarea locală și ne oferă două povești în oglindă, demne de cele două personaje principale ale cărții, surori gemene, iar elementul care surprinde cel mai tare este modul de evoluție al vieților celor două surori, căci, dacă inițial Lizzie este o femeie de succes, care a reușit să își îndeplinească toate dorințele și să ajungă la o împlinire sufletească de invidiat, în cea de a doua parte a cărții lucrurile se inversează, iar Frances ajunge să cunoască împlinirea și să se înalțe spiritual, pe când Lizzie decade tot mai tare, parcă nemaireușind să se găsească pe ea în noianul de probleme cotidiene.
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February 26, 2018
"Perhaps that was what happened to you when you had chosen your own shirts and socks for fifteen years; you stopped looking as if somebody else had a hand in you, you stopped looking owned. . . . That's the single life, Frances thought, married or not; you decide everything for yourself, all the time, and sometimes that's exciting, and sometimes it makes you very tired."
"She had listened with that kind of stillness people have when everything you say is saturated with importance for them."
"I do believe in marriage. I don't think it would have lasted so long, as an institution, if it wasn't basically the best that men and women could devise for arranging society."
"I would like," Frances said carefully, turning her wine glass by its stem, "to have a relationship with someone, with a man, that was enhancing . . . I would like him to feel that the room was better for him than any other room because I was in it too. And I would like to feel the same, about him."
"Well. And why should this not happen?"
"It isn't that it shouldn't," Francis said. "It's just that it never has."
"Will you take me to the tombs? The tombs of Fernando and Isabel, that you told me about, with the marble lions?"
Knowing that she wouldn't like it, he resisted the urge to say, I will take you anywhere you like, and said instead, "Of course. I always like to see them."
"She had listened with that kind of stillness people have when everything you say is saturated with importance for them."
"I do believe in marriage. I don't think it would have lasted so long, as an institution, if it wasn't basically the best that men and women could devise for arranging society."
"I would like," Frances said carefully, turning her wine glass by its stem, "to have a relationship with someone, with a man, that was enhancing . . . I would like him to feel that the room was better for him than any other room because I was in it too. And I would like to feel the same, about him."
"Well. And why should this not happen?"
"It isn't that it shouldn't," Francis said. "It's just that it never has."
"Will you take me to the tombs? The tombs of Fernando and Isabel, that you told me about, with the marble lions?"
Knowing that she wouldn't like it, he resisted the urge to say, I will take you anywhere you like, and said instead, "Of course. I always like to see them."
December 9, 2012
This is a more complex story than I expected -- in a good way. Several people's lives play out during the course of a dramatic love affair between Frances (the reliable and less demonstrative of a twin) and a married Spanish businessman. In this book, the author successfully draw the picture of several modes of life, each of its rewards and pains, each of its unexpected turns. This is a deeply realistic story, even though it is colored with a lot of romantic glow (which nearly made me give it up by page 120). There is not a single person who is impeccably aware of their own state of imperfect affairs, and their indecision or inertia has caused other people's indecision and inertia as well -- the damage was laid out much too painfully and much too late. Frances made her choice based on a more urgent need than being generous and considerate to others (such as her lover's wish). In some light, her bravery and insistence of "what I want" can be viewed as deeply selfish and morally questionable.
Yet one's life can not simply be measured by the parameters of morality. As human, we search for fulfillment in this life urged by our own inner drive. There is no perfection other than living fully.
Yet one's life can not simply be measured by the parameters of morality. As human, we search for fulfillment in this life urged by our own inner drive. There is no perfection other than living fully.
September 25, 2010
Lizzie (néé Shore) and her twin sister Frances are in their late 30's; they resemble each other but are different in temperament and Lizzie always more successful than Frances. Lizzie is married with a family; she and her husband run a boutique. As the story opens, Frances starts a travel business, Shore to Shore, and goes to Spain on a business trip where she meets Luis, a wealthy hotel owner and begins an affair with him. Her family is shocked Luis is both married and Catholic. Frances blossoms, however, with a growing and successful business to manage and her meetings with Luis, she is happier than ever. About this time, Lizzie's business takes a turn for the worse, and the twins' roles of who is the successful caregiver are reversed. The twins' parents and their history of marital problems figure in the story too, and the psychological interaction between all the characters is very interesting. But then Frances goes one step too far in her relationship with Luis...
May 19, 2017
No denying that she's a brilliant writer-and her take on family relationships is bang on - the biggest problem I have with this particular book, is that I simply didn't like her main characters. Although I enjoyed the book, I wasn't rooting for anyone. The children in the story were the ones I enjoyed reading the most.
January 21, 2025
I've always enjoyed Joanna Trollope's books, and this one is no exception. I was fortunate to have found this in my bookcase, a surprise to me as I didn't think I owned it, but I inherited a box of many books from my mother and I think this is one of them.
Why didn't I give it five stars? Quick answer: I found the characters annoying. In Trollope's books the children are always annoying, badly behaved, not very endearing. Equally as much, the adult twins Lizzie and Frances are immature and hard to feel sorry for. Yes, I'm being harsh, but there we are.
Four stars, and I did find it hard to put down. Will I read it again? Not sure!
Why didn't I give it five stars? Quick answer: I found the characters annoying. In Trollope's books the children are always annoying, badly behaved, not very endearing. Equally as much, the adult twins Lizzie and Frances are immature and hard to feel sorry for. Yes, I'm being harsh, but there we are.
Four stars, and I did find it hard to put down. Will I read it again? Not sure!
June 25, 2021
Well written, engaging story. Unexpectedly emotional in places. The story centers around twin adult sisters and their parents and one sister's family. Proof that novels show real relationships better than non-fiction could.
November 12, 2010
"A Spanish Lover" tells the story of twin sisters whose lives are in flux. One is in financial difficulties and has to find a job; the other has found love in Andalucia. It's a good tale, well told, chick lit for the middle classes.
The author has a real knack for describing family life and especially the surroundings of her characters. Her research is nothing if not thorough. For one book she worked in a supermarket, for another in a hostel for battered women. So you can just tell her research in Spain involved much more than a fortnight on the Costa Brava. Here's her take on the quiet beauty of an Andalucian posada:
There's also a nice quote from Sir Thomas Beecham:
I met Joanna Trollope in London a few years back, as part of a writing competition. She was a great facilitator, making sure everyone had their say. Also, very posh, but of the charming rather than irritating kind. First class lady, first class book.
The author has a real knack for describing family life and especially the surroundings of her characters. Her research is nothing if not thorough. For one book she worked in a supermarket, for another in a hostel for battered women. So you can just tell her research in Spain involved much more than a fortnight on the Costa Brava. Here's her take on the quiet beauty of an Andalucian posada:
"White lanes, white alleys, whitened steps, cobbles, cascades of something brilliant - could it be bougainvillaea? - pots of geraniums, shutters tightly fastened, gates closed, vines across terraces, flashes of view, of sky, of cats, of kitchen chairs outside doorways, all steep and slanting and crooked and impossible; then a tiny angled square with acacia trees and two old men on a bench."
There's also a nice quote from Sir Thomas Beecham:
"One ought to try everything in life just once, except incest and morris dancing."
I met Joanna Trollope in London a few years back, as part of a writing competition. She was a great facilitator, making sure everyone had their say. Also, very posh, but of the charming rather than irritating kind. First class lady, first class book.
September 8, 2019
Yet another re-reading of this delightful book about family life, its stresses and strains on all levels; the need for independence and the threat this poses to others; and a realistic love story with all its ramifications. I always feel the pull of Andalucia when I read it and the children’s comments are wonderful.
July 7, 2009
A surprise quirk at the end of this book told in such a matter of fact way that I had to read it twice to make sure I was understanding it.
October 15, 2018
What a load of trope! The characters are irritating and the story, wafer thin to begin with, is stretched into nothingness.
July 30, 2023
I read this many years ago and had forgotten all of it. It’s an interesting book about family relationships, the nature of marriage and twins. Lizzie is a happily married mother of four running a seemingly successful art shop with her husband. While fee feint Frances is single running a small travel business based in London. They are very different with different lives. But around the same time as The financial success of the shop/ gallery is questioned by the bank, causing Lizzie and Robert to have to sell their house, Frances takes a business trip to Spain and falls in love. Frances blossoms before their eyes and Lizzie has to completely rethink her relationship with her twin, and ultimately herself. The changes in Frances life acts as a catalyst for the rest of the family, forcing them to stop treading water and do what they need to. The decision to have Luis baby could be seen as selfish….or was it the fact that Frances was 39 with not many other options available. The book explores the nature of Spanish men. I don’t know how close this comes to the truth but it’s very convincing.
I felt that the ending for Frances was unsatisfactory but that she would be OK in the end with her son and a burgeoning business in Spain..but very satisfactory for the rest of the family who seem now on the right track.
I felt that the ending for Frances was unsatisfactory but that she would be OK in the end with her son and a burgeoning business in Spain..but very satisfactory for the rest of the family who seem now on the right track.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2019
I usually get interested in Joanna Trollope's books very quickly but this one took a while. There was WAY too much describing of the scenery etc the first time Frances went to Spain. Boring. I think the synopsis on the back of the book didn't describe the story very well either. It basically said that Lizzie thought that all the things she had in HER life should have been enough for Frances, but I think that what she really thought was that Frances should have all the same things in her life or she wouldn't be happy. I'm glad that, at the end of the story, Luis didn't suddenly change his mind about his relationship with Frances and have a ''happily ever after'' ending. What happened was much more believable. Lizzie was quite unlikable...I think her mother was supposed to be the really unlikable character but I didn't mind her; not really a very nice person but somehow that didn't make me dislike her. Lizzie, on the other hand, just seemed like a spoiled brat/control freak/jealous twit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2025
I’ve been reading the books on my last buy and discovered I have Joanna Trollope’s book a part of it. I liked the first book a passionate man more.
This started real good but I lost purpose of the story toward the end. The way Frances had a child against Luis wish yet he stayed with her through it and even worried for her.
I liked the way each character had their peculiarities. The kid Pimlott gave me the jibbies lol.
I loved Harriet’s speech to Frances that she’s just like all these adults with their secrets and choices they never think too far with.
Williams and Barbara irked me from the start.
I pitied Robert, Lizzie’s husband half the time.
There’s a way Trollope portrays her female characters as living exasperated lives of motherhood and stressful family life with little to no love. Just a managing-kind-of affair.
It is interesting to read in books. These imperfections, you realize color the everyday family life. I appreciate that. Good read overall like a 7/10 just cause.
This started real good but I lost purpose of the story toward the end. The way Frances had a child against Luis wish yet he stayed with her through it and even worried for her.
I liked the way each character had their peculiarities. The kid Pimlott gave me the jibbies lol.
I loved Harriet’s speech to Frances that she’s just like all these adults with their secrets and choices they never think too far with.
Williams and Barbara irked me from the start.
I pitied Robert, Lizzie’s husband half the time.
There’s a way Trollope portrays her female characters as living exasperated lives of motherhood and stressful family life with little to no love. Just a managing-kind-of affair.
It is interesting to read in books. These imperfections, you realize color the everyday family life. I appreciate that. Good read overall like a 7/10 just cause.
December 19, 2023
The storyline centres on twin sisters -Lizzie is married to Robert and jointly, run a gallery boutique, have four children and a large house and garden. Life is chaotic but Lizzie sees herself as the lynch pin of the extended family. Sister Frances is single and career minded, setting up a small travel business. On a trip to Spain she meets and falls in love with Luis. Against his wishes she becomes pregnant.
Meanwhile Lizzie and Robert hit a bad patch - business is not good and the bank calling in a large loan compels them to sell their much loved home and move above the Gallery, with Lizzie taking a job as a school Secretary, and coming close to breakdown at the sudden downward trend in their live, with her marriage moreover under stress.
Joanne Trollope is expert at writing about family relationships and brings to life the family dynamics. I liked Robert, trying to do his best for his family and the children’s different personalities are well drawn. But I was not drawn to either Lizzie or Frances. This is no trite novel in its writing style, but I must admit I began to find the continual wordy long introspection of all the characters tedious and the book drifted to a close with more optimistic times on the horizon.
Meanwhile Lizzie and Robert hit a bad patch - business is not good and the bank calling in a large loan compels them to sell their much loved home and move above the Gallery, with Lizzie taking a job as a school Secretary, and coming close to breakdown at the sudden downward trend in their live, with her marriage moreover under stress.
Joanne Trollope is expert at writing about family relationships and brings to life the family dynamics. I liked Robert, trying to do his best for his family and the children’s different personalities are well drawn. But I was not drawn to either Lizzie or Frances. This is no trite novel in its writing style, but I must admit I began to find the continual wordy long introspection of all the characters tedious and the book drifted to a close with more optimistic times on the horizon.
August 31, 2023
1993
Small parts of it set in Spain.
Interesting look at two twin women's relationship. The one feels in charge, with the other following, until at some point the follower decides to pursue her own thing without sister's help.
Rather well done.
It's set somewhere in Britain in 1991.
Some interesting comments/thoughts on 'the' Spanish character/personality.
I thought it was a pity to have everybody being well-off, but then an interesting twist here is the temporary financial setback [due to a financial crisis in Britain] that knocks the couple for a loop, as they never saw themselves as being unable to afford most anything they wanted. They are safely back in [upper] middle class by the end....
Trollope's books balance or totter between literary and women's novels....
Small parts of it set in Spain.
Interesting look at two twin women's relationship. The one feels in charge, with the other following, until at some point the follower decides to pursue her own thing without sister's help.
Rather well done.
It's set somewhere in Britain in 1991.
Some interesting comments/thoughts on 'the' Spanish character/personality.
I thought it was a pity to have everybody being well-off, but then an interesting twist here is the temporary financial setback [due to a financial crisis in Britain] that knocks the couple for a loop, as they never saw themselves as being unable to afford most anything they wanted. They are safely back in [upper] middle class by the end....
Trollope's books balance or totter between literary and women's novels....
May 3, 2020
Bogen er læst på dansk " Den spanske elsker". Bogen er meget underholdende, den skildrer alt om en families dagligdags problemer til deres egne "livets store udfordringer". Hver eneste kapitel omhandler en bestemt hovedkarakter og er skrevet fra dens virkelighed, forfatteren er rigtig god til at få læseren til at føle sig tæt på karakteren og have forståelse for vedkommende. Hovedsagligt følger bogen to voksne tvillingers liv, og alle de mennesker der omringer dem. Derudover omfatter bogen også deres specielle forhold ved at være tvillinger, og hvor meget deres valg påvirker den anden, men kommer også ind på løsrivelsensprocessen man oplever når man prøver at løsrive sig fra ens nærmeste.
April 9, 2021
Twins Frances and Lizzie couldn’t be more different. Lizzie is the traditional achiever with husband and four children, a thriving business set in a fashionable town, and a large period-style family home furnished in the epitome of good taste to show for it all. Her days are interminably busy since looking after everything she's created with her husband is a full-time job; and when the family finances take a considerable and worrying nosedive, their situation raises serious questions about what they value. Meanwhile, Frances creates a bespoke travel business and whilst seeking out off-the-beaten-track holidays for her clients, she meets and begins an affair with an enigmatic, wealthy – albeit married – Spanish hotelier. It seems that the freedom of choice for Frances is far more liberating and interesting than an indulgent lifestyle, and Lizzie finds she’s suddenly less than fulfilled with her lot.
Again, a misleading title as this novel is much more about the complexities of the family dynamic rather than a casual romance. This is a work-life balance problem versus feminism kind of novel, set in the early nineties. I really enjoyed the way these characters developed and the questions raised by their actions. My only negative was the amount of background detail about Andalusia, although the imagery was vivid and engaging.
Again, a misleading title as this novel is much more about the complexities of the family dynamic rather than a casual romance. This is a work-life balance problem versus feminism kind of novel, set in the early nineties. I really enjoyed the way these characters developed and the questions raised by their actions. My only negative was the amount of background detail about Andalusia, although the imagery was vivid and engaging.
October 18, 2021
“Hispaania armuke” on lugu kaksikõdedest, kelle elud on kulgenud eri radu. Lizziel on mees, lapsed, karjäär ja kaunis maja, Francesil on üksnes karjäär ja nurjunud suhted. Ühel aastal aga teatab Frances, kes on jõulud alati õe pere seltsis veetnud, et ta sõidab hoopis Hispaaniasse. Sellest otsusest saab alguse sündmuste jada, mis sunnib mõlemat õde oma väärtusi ja ettekujutusi ümber hindama.
Minu kommentaar: Ei meeldinud, jättis külmaks, igav.
Minu kommentaar: Ei meeldinud, jättis külmaks, igav.
May 9, 2022
An enjoyable read featuring grown twins one of which is married with children and a successful business the other one has her own business but is unmarried. The unmarried twin takes up with an older spanish man who becomes her lover and despite him stating that if she were to get pregnant it would be the end of them she goes ahead and has a baby. The consequences of this decision effect the pair but also the parents of the twins and the other twin in ways that are not obvious.
January 23, 2024
While I enjoyed reading details about Frances’s travel company, the hotels, the exotic trees and plants, I found all of the characters too stiff, and completely boring. By the middle of the story I was ready to give up, because every single character was just complaining about their own situations, but I was curious about how the story finished, so I slogged through to the end. Usually I enjoy Joanna Trollope, but this one wasn’t a winner.
August 1, 2024
Really didn't enjoy this read. Two twins Lizzie who is married and has four children a successful business with her husband when suddenly their business falls into money troubles Lizzie's can't cope, her twin sister Frances has never been married. She goes on a business trip to Spain meets someone and has an affair her sister Lizzie becomes jealous. The ending didn't impress me maybe I didn't understand it
April 11, 2020
I enjoyed this book. It was quite thought provoking. One of the underlying themes was the idea of “Choice” and the impact knowingly and unknowing it has on others in our lives. The main characters are twins, and the insight there was interesting. The descriptions of Spain, were very vibrant , and made me want to visit.
August 26, 2021
Families
A story about two families one in England and one in Spain. The families are quite similar despite their different culture. The main characters are twin sisters who are striving to be individuals after one takes a Spanish lover. An excellent read with lots of strong characters.
A story about two families one in England and one in Spain. The families are quite similar despite their different culture. The main characters are twin sisters who are striving to be individuals after one takes a Spanish lover. An excellent read with lots of strong characters.
November 6, 2023
I’ve read a few books by this author, and enjoyed them.
This is about an English family- in particular, twin sisters- one who lives a typically English country life with husband and 4 kids, the other who is perceived to be probably a bit aimless- until she heads off to Spain and well you can guess the rest.
Easy to read with interesting characters.
This is about an English family- in particular, twin sisters- one who lives a typically English country life with husband and 4 kids, the other who is perceived to be probably a bit aimless- until she heads off to Spain and well you can guess the rest.
Easy to read with interesting characters.
May 31, 2020
Magnificent! A lovely love story with an unexpected ending. I also enjoyed the humor woven cleverly throughout the book at the expense of all the family members. It was precious. Loved the European setting and it took me back to my days in Paris.
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