- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Littlehampton Book Services Ltd; First THUS edition (18 Sep 1986)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297789511
- ISBN-13: 978-0297789512
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,721,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Set in Oxford during the 1950s, this book is the story of Tessa, a young woman whose profound belief in the Roman Catholic Church is challenged by her love for a Catholic priest. From the author of "Knowledge of Angels", which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A beautifully written story about a Catholic girl, reading English at Oxford, who does the one unforgivable thing for a Catholic - falling for a priest. Paton Walsh describes Oxford in the 1950s wonderfully, capturing the spirit of the day without ever seeming to lecture the reader, and there are also some lovely descriptions of Oxford colleges, the countryside around the city and student life. Tessa, the heroine, is a vivid and likeable character, and there are many other memorable figures in the novel: Ben, the young lecturer and devout Catholic who becomes Tessa's husband, Richard the wealthy student who is passionately in love with Tessa but who she spurns due to his agnosticism, Cathy, Tessa's best friend, who attempts to become a nun after an unhappy love affair, Father Max, the jovial priest who is in charge of looking after the Catholic students of Oxford - and lots more. Theodore, the priest that Tessa loves, is also a very memorable figure, though his self-absorption can make him at times a little difficult to sympathise with (and he seems to feel remarkably little guilt about his feelings for Tessa as they become more physical). But Paton Walsh writes very well about their platonic love affair and its increasingly troubled course. The only thing in the book that I disagreed with was Tessa's 'lapsing' - I found it hard to believe that someone to whom religion had meant so much and who had directly sensed God's presence would give it all up so easily, and indeed even embrace atheism. I felt that the author's own views were coming in a bit too strongly here. But this is a small quibble in what is on the whole a wonderful read. It is an enormous shame that the book is not still in print - and that Paton Walsh is no longer writing novels of this kind. Definitely recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book as a birthday present for a freind. She was delighted with it.
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