Let's Have Tea with Rosamunde Pilcher

   

^{If you want to spend a quiet time walking the rugged landscape of England and Scotland you should spend some time with author Rosamunde Pilcher.  She was born in Cornwall, England on September 22, 1924 so she is almost 88 years old and now lives in Scotland.  Although she retired from writing in 2000, her books continue to captivate readers with their warmth and good old-fashioned storytelling.} 

<sup>A few years after retiring she received The Order of the British Empire.  The OBE was established in 1917 by King George V as one of the British orders of chivalry and has over 100,000 living members worldwide.  

Ms. Pilcher became famous with her 1987 novel, The Shell Seekers.  It focuses on an ordinary elderly British woman who relives her life in flashbacks, and on her relationship with her adult children.  Author Mauve Binchy said it spans "a time of huge importance and change in the world".  The reader is transported to England and gets to know the details of everyday life for British citizens during World War II.</sup>

^{Even though winter might be over (and did we even have a winter this year?!) try one of her other beloved novels, Winter Solstice.  It is a romance novel in the very best sense.  The setting is Scotland a few days before Christmas.  Carey Green in her review in Goodreads says "As one character after another must learn to live with their losses, they find themselves collectively spirited northwards, from Sussex to Scotland, by way of Cornwall. And, as events unfurl, slowly, surely, but inevitably, those in need find solace in unexpected places.".}

^{The setting of Winter Solstice is so detailed you feel as if you are there having tea after a brisk winter's walk.  I mentioned that to a patron who also loves her books.  She told me that there is an out of print book about Ms. Pilcher that she was lucky to peruse.  The house described in Winter Solstice is actually based on one owned by Ms. Pilcher in Scotland.  The patron said that the descriptions in Winter Solstice are exactly like the real home.  It has so much importance to the other characters that it is almost a character itself.}

^{When reading The Shell Seekers and Winter Solstice you get the feeling that you are meeting Rosamunde Pilcher herself, her author's voice is so warm and gracious.  Why not pick up one of her books and get to know her?  Be ready to be to be charmed.}