Die Muschelsucher 1/2

by Rosamunde Pilcher, Jürgen Abel (Übersetzer)

Penelope Keeling kann zurückblicken auf ein langes und bewegtes Leben. Ihr liebster Besitz: ein Gemälde mit dem Titel "Die Muschelsucher", das ihr Vater einst malte. Als ihre Kinder erfahren, dass das Werk mittlerweile ein Vermögen wert ist, entbrennt ein heftiger Streit darum. Doch Penelope kann sich nicht von dem Bild trennen. Zu viele Erinnerungen sind damit verbunden: an ihre unkonventionelle Kindheit in Cornwall, eine Zeit unbeschwerten Glücks, aber auch an die Kriegsjahre, eine unglückliche Ehe – und natürlich an ihre große Liebe. Und je tiefer die Erinnerungen sie in die Vergangenheit ziehen, desto klarer wird Penelope, dass sie die vor ihr liegenden Entscheidungen nur mit dem Herzen treffen kann …

Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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

[Christine Mathieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful novels I've ever read.
My favorite part are those 10 pages with Richard and Penelope in Roseland, Cornwall.
Only "Homecoming" is IMHO better and describes WW II from the point of view of a teenager, Judith Dunbar.
Another great Pilcher novel is "Winter Solstice".

Now I'll enjoy the Angela Lansbury and the Vanessa Redgrave "The Shell Seekers" adaptations on DVD.