What do you think?
Rate this book
Folly
Jamie Ballantyne and Artemis King were never meant to fall in love. The feud between their families has run for three generations.But whatever Jamie's head might tell him, his heart will always belong to Artemis. After fifty years, perhaps it's time for the Kings and the Ballantynes to bury the hatchet.Then Jamie and Artemis start to uncover their shared past. What they find will rock the foundations of both their families, as a web of deceit and intrigue is ruinously exposed...
340 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
116 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
November 28, 2020
I often enjoy an Alan Titchmarsh novel but this for me, was a little slow. I enjoyed the auction storyline but everything else fell a little flat.
July 28, 2021
This is full of 'If Onlys' and the inevitability of Love's Serendipity. In Oxford in 1949, the lives of four men and one woman were deeply intertwined... for they were all Art students and they were all good friends. They were about to go their own separate ways because some were about to graduate. Both Ballantyne and King were in love with Eleanor and she was in love with Ballantyne. Both Ballantyne and Eleanor spent one glorious night together... but came the morning after, Ballantyne did not at once ask her to marry him. When he was ready to propose, he misunderstood something he heard between Richard King and Eleanor, so he left to parts unknown. Later, when Eleanor found out she was pregnant with Harry Ballantyne's child, she married her rejected suitor. If only Ballanyne was not such a coward to put it to the touch... if only King was not so covetous that he had to have Eleanor anyway he could get her... if only Eleanor was strong enough to have the baby out of wedlock but given the timeline and society's censure?... Then there was Mac's homosexual love for King and I believe Leo's for Ballantyne?... again, given the timeline and the law's stand on such taboos?...
Fastforward to 2007. Artemis 'Missy' King and James 'Jamie' Ballantyne knew each other since nursery grade, unbeknownst to their contentious families... they also came to love each other deeply despite long distance separations and the passage of time... and, of course, against strong familial disapproval. Apparently Time and Space could not divide or break them up... only the possibility of Incest.
The other layers of the story were those of Leo's and Mac's and what Mac did as a form of Revenge on Richard King.
Fastforward to 2007. Artemis 'Missy' King and James 'Jamie' Ballantyne knew each other since nursery grade, unbeknownst to their contentious families... they also came to love each other deeply despite long distance separations and the passage of time... and, of course, against strong familial disapproval. Apparently Time and Space could not divide or break them up... only the possibility of Incest.
The other layers of the story were those of Leo's and Mac's and what Mac did as a form of Revenge on Richard King.
January 15, 2019
This is a Romeo and Juliet inspired story as the main couple have families that hold a grudge against each other. It is set against the backdrop of some very dull art dealing.
I didn't mind this book but my attention kept wondering while I was reading it so it didn't keep me gripped.
I didn't see how the book could have a happy ending as I felt too much had happened between the characters and their families so I felt the end was unrealistic. It seemed that if Artemis had not found out she wasn't related to Jamie, she was never going to tell him. It's frustrating that you do not actually get the benefit of the reaction to the big reveal at the end of the book either.
I didn't mind this book but my attention kept wondering while I was reading it so it didn't keep me gripped.
I didn't see how the book could have a happy ending as I felt too much had happened between the characters and their families so I felt the end was unrealistic. It seemed that if Artemis had not found out she wasn't related to Jamie, she was never going to tell him. It's frustrating that you do not actually get the benefit of the reaction to the big reveal at the end of the book either.
May 7, 2020
One of my favourite contemporary authors who writes a rattling good story. Loved this book, a tale of friendship, intrigue, deception and misunderstandings. Gripping from start to finish!
January 23, 2018
That was a pleasant surprise as I didn’t realise Alan wrote fictional books so borrowed this book not knowing what to expect and I am very impressed!!!
The characters were strong and I liked the different timelines.
Definitely read another of his books.
The characters were strong and I liked the different timelines.
Definitely read another of his books.
August 13, 2009
He might get knocked, but I do find Alan Titchmarsh's books enjoyable...a bit like a duvet day with a mug of coffee and a whole packet of jaffa cakes. Usual type of romance set within a feud between two families, the world of art and Oxford Uni.
February 13, 2017
My first AT, liked the idea but didn't like the way the book read - with every chapter changing to a different time frame = present then back to the past and then back to the present again. It took me too long to read 60+ pages, so disappointingly this book has ended up on the "not-finished" shelf.
September 25, 2016
I don't know why but I just love Mr Titchmarsh's books. They are easy to read and the storyline always grabs me. Fantastic.
April 1, 2023
Alan Titchmarsh’s 2008 novel is a romantic story set across generations with a couple of twists.
He’s done this time-jumping before; it’s always a risk: maybe the reader will get confused or even lost. Here, it works well enough. The story begins in 2007 and concerns two long-established businesses in Bath – the Ballantynes and the Kings – both involved in the sale of artwork.
We fleetingly meet Jamie Ballantyne during an auction of some famous paintings, and Artemis (‘Missy’) King. He’s selling, she’s buying. They’d been friends for a long time and then she went off to the US and stayed for five years.
Then we step back into Oxford in 1949. There are four art students who go around together: the rich Honourable Leo Bedlington; John (‘Mac’) Macready, a Glaswegian; Harry Ballantyne; Richard King; and Eleanor Faraday. Both Harry and Richard desired her but neither did anything about it.
Jamie mulled about Missy and her appreciation of the painter Munnings. ‘Where dogs craved affection and cats demanded respect, horses inspired admiration and awe, and any artist who could catch their spirit seemed to her to be peerless. (p76).
In 2007 Missy’s grandfather is Richard and Jamie’s is Harry. Neither knows why, but their grandparents have been at loggerheads for almost sixty years! Nobody talks about it. Jamie’s mother has a streak of common sense to her: the feud’s ‘origins are lost in the mists of time and I think everyone would be better diverting their energies into today, rather than yesterday’ (p271). If only the ‘woke’ who want to rewrite history would listen!
Jamie and Missy reawaken their previous attraction and indeed fall in love. Yet the family feud threatens to confound them.
Skipping back and forth through time, we see how chances are lost, love is not reciprocated, and indeed the reader becomes irritated at the folly of these people who are incapable of revealing their true feelings. Except for Mac; he did just that, with disastrous results!
The descriptions of the period, the art world and the countryside sometimes verge on the poetic and at other times Titchmarsh delivers humour: ‘It seemed as if his inquisitor was in danger, at any moment, of bursting out of his clothes and sending buttons flying to the four corners of the book-lined room. All three chins wobbled as he made his point, and his cheeks were the colour and shade of Worcestor Pearmain apples… (p219).
The final twist was a mite too convenient but clearly Titchmarsh wanted to avoid an unhappy ending! An enjoyable novel, nevertheless.
He’s done this time-jumping before; it’s always a risk: maybe the reader will get confused or even lost. Here, it works well enough. The story begins in 2007 and concerns two long-established businesses in Bath – the Ballantynes and the Kings – both involved in the sale of artwork.
We fleetingly meet Jamie Ballantyne during an auction of some famous paintings, and Artemis (‘Missy’) King. He’s selling, she’s buying. They’d been friends for a long time and then she went off to the US and stayed for five years.
Then we step back into Oxford in 1949. There are four art students who go around together: the rich Honourable Leo Bedlington; John (‘Mac’) Macready, a Glaswegian; Harry Ballantyne; Richard King; and Eleanor Faraday. Both Harry and Richard desired her but neither did anything about it.
Jamie mulled about Missy and her appreciation of the painter Munnings. ‘Where dogs craved affection and cats demanded respect, horses inspired admiration and awe, and any artist who could catch their spirit seemed to her to be peerless. (p76).
In 2007 Missy’s grandfather is Richard and Jamie’s is Harry. Neither knows why, but their grandparents have been at loggerheads for almost sixty years! Nobody talks about it. Jamie’s mother has a streak of common sense to her: the feud’s ‘origins are lost in the mists of time and I think everyone would be better diverting their energies into today, rather than yesterday’ (p271). If only the ‘woke’ who want to rewrite history would listen!
Jamie and Missy reawaken their previous attraction and indeed fall in love. Yet the family feud threatens to confound them.
Skipping back and forth through time, we see how chances are lost, love is not reciprocated, and indeed the reader becomes irritated at the folly of these people who are incapable of revealing their true feelings. Except for Mac; he did just that, with disastrous results!
The descriptions of the period, the art world and the countryside sometimes verge on the poetic and at other times Titchmarsh delivers humour: ‘It seemed as if his inquisitor was in danger, at any moment, of bursting out of his clothes and sending buttons flying to the four corners of the book-lined room. All three chins wobbled as he made his point, and his cheeks were the colour and shade of Worcestor Pearmain apples… (p219).
The final twist was a mite too convenient but clearly Titchmarsh wanted to avoid an unhappy ending! An enjoyable novel, nevertheless.
October 12, 2021
This is a tale of what I call a 'Then' & 'Now' story. The then is set in 1949 at Oxford University and 'Now' Bath 2007 with a few years in between. As with other of Alans books each chapter begins with a quote from other famous writers.
5 students become firm friends 4 Males and Elenor who are reading art. We enter the world of art, painting, buying selling, auction houses. Elenour, and two of the males meet a well known artist before finishing at Uni. We follow the lives, loves of all 5 of the students. In the now part of the story Jamie snd 'Missy' meet and fall in Love. By this time Harry, Richard and Elenour now living in Bath and in their 80's some 60 years after Uni. However Missy is told that she and Jamie have the same Grandfather 'Harry'
It is a sad and happy story all in one. I found the start of the story very hard going. I was a ;ittle confused when 'Missy' and then 'Artemis' were mentioned, perhaps I missed something but they are one of the same person. But as the story progreed I managed to really enjoy it and could not wait to see how the story woul end. I was not sure how many stars to give 3 or 4. in the end it was 4 another good read from Alan.
3 people
5 students become firm friends 4 Males and Elenor who are reading art. We enter the world of art, painting, buying selling, auction houses. Elenour, and two of the males meet a well known artist before finishing at Uni. We follow the lives, loves of all 5 of the students. In the now part of the story Jamie snd 'Missy' meet and fall in Love. By this time Harry, Richard and Elenour now living in Bath and in their 80's some 60 years after Uni. However Missy is told that she and Jamie have the same Grandfather 'Harry'
It is a sad and happy story all in one. I found the start of the story very hard going. I was a ;ittle confused when 'Missy' and then 'Artemis' were mentioned, perhaps I missed something but they are one of the same person. But as the story progreed I managed to really enjoy it and could not wait to see how the story woul end. I was not sure how many stars to give 3 or 4. in the end it was 4 another good read from Alan.
3 people
February 12, 2022
I picked up this book for free from a box of books someone was giving away. At the time I only knew Alan Titchmarsh as a TV gardener so I was amused to see he had written a book. It then sat on my shelf for the next 10 years because I always had other books I wanted to read more. Eventually I decided I would have to either read it or give it away, so I read it. Wow! I really really enjoyed it! It has a great plot, with bits from the past and bits in the present woven together with lots of intrigue as you only discover a little at a time. Nice likeable characters too. Big thumbs up from me and I will be recommending it to others
May 13, 2019
Deceit and the world of art. We are taken from 1949 to 2008 following the end of university in Oxford to Bath where the auction house and gallery are run by two rival families. Love stories and secrets of betrayal have destroyed the relationship. When Jamie meets Missy again can they resolve the feud?
September 29, 2018
Lovely little story again by Mr Titchmarsh, not as good as some of his earlier work. It took a while to get the grasp of the backwards and forwards from past to present, but you do come a point it all falls into place. Worth a read whilst the evenings are drawing in and it’s getting cold outside!
Read
November 8, 2019This was the first Alan Titchmarsh novel for me, and I was delighted. Now I'm going through the list of novels; Already own a couple of his gardening books, and have watched several of his TV shows. Who knew he was so talented?
April 4, 2021
First I thought I will not be able to finish this book as I found the beginning really really slow. But somehow it started to be more interesting. And as the story moved on I realised I can not put the book down. Great story to read if you want to switch off.
August 20, 2021
I began reading this 10 years ago during my lunchtime at work. Had a hiccough - and decided to read it again this year - and finished it!
Different from Mr Titchmarsh's other book - but an enjoyable read....
Different from Mr Titchmarsh's other book - but an enjoyable read....
May 10, 2023
This book kept me guessing
I enjoyed how this story goes back and forward in time. It kept me guessing and thinking. I had to draw out the family tree eventually which was interesting.
A thoroughly good read
I enjoyed how this story goes back and forward in time. It kept me guessing and thinking. I had to draw out the family tree eventually which was interesting.
A thoroughly good read
December 16, 2024
Easy Read
As all of AT’s books are, it was light and enjoyable. Great for 3am when one can’t sleep. Sadly, this was the only novel of his I hadn’t read - hope there will be another one. In the meantime, I’ll have to start reading them all again!
As all of AT’s books are, it was light and enjoyable. Great for 3am when one can’t sleep. Sadly, this was the only novel of his I hadn’t read - hope there will be another one. In the meantime, I’ll have to start reading them all again!
August 12, 2018
Enjoyable read of the chic lit genre. It surprises me to think it was written by a man!
I've read a few of Alan Titchmarsh's books and always found them a good romantic read.
I've read a few of Alan Titchmarsh's books and always found them a good romantic read.
October 5, 2018
Really surprised that I enjoyed this book. Didn’t think I would because of the author. He’s good. Great family story with relationship twists.
May 7, 2020
Bit slow to start but couldn’t put it down after good story thanks Allan
May 22, 2021
Enjoyed
A super read soft lovely story. You would never guess the ending. Perfect bedtime 📚reading. I am a Titchmarsh convert .
A super read soft lovely story. You would never guess the ending. Perfect bedtime 📚reading. I am a Titchmarsh convert .
June 15, 2021
First time I have read an Alan Titchmarsh book and thoroughly enjoyed the intriguing mix of past and present. No swearing or overkill on the descriptive sexual appetites. Just a good read.
January 9, 2023
Loved the book it has humour and tome just a feel good. Love his books
January 6, 2024
Took me a little while to work out which characters were related to which (book written in several different times and jumps back and forth). Lovely read
February 26, 2024
Couldn't get into the story. D.N.F
December 18, 2024
A bit different from your regular love story. Lots of characters to keep track of.
March 27, 2025
Amazingly good
June 26, 2024
Brilliant book I really enjoyed it just great I couldn’t put it down very enjoyable read
December 29, 2016
C. fiction, England, romance
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews