- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Black Swan (1 Nov 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0552996874
- ISBN-13: 978-0552996877
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 260,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Purveyor of Enchantment: Reissued
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Wonderfully funny, with a strong undertow ... a joy to read' Deborah Moggach Marika Cobbold is an exceptional novelist Observer I strongly recommend The Purveyor of Enchantment Daily Mail
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
A magical new novel by the author of the bestselling Guppies for Tea.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A quirky and quick read,
By
This review is from: The Purveyor Of Enchantment (Paperback)
Clementine Hope comes from a family where all the women are named after dead heroines. She frets about this. She also frets about upsetting people and then also the more serious stuff - such as crime, disease and illness. All in all, she worries about everything. One of her sisters, Ophelia, is completely the opposite and following her Great Aunt Elvira leaving her a house; they both end up living together.
Along with the house, Clementine has been left a collection of fairy tales. Some of which are ones told in the tradition of Aunt Elvira's family, others more recognisable tales. They help Clementine see life more clearly and realise that life is for living not for worrying about. Her fears threaten the love of her neighbour's son and Clementine has to make choices and changes. A novel full of messages and flashes of inspiration. It is told in a mix of flashback and present tense. The flashback is told as it is happening but at the beginning of each chapter are one or two short paragraphs from the present until almost at the end when the reader has caught up with Clementine's life. This is an okay read, not one I'd rave about even though it's enjoyable. The cover and title are excellent, once you've settled into the novel their appropriateness becomes evident. I would certainly be prepared to try out another of Cobbold's novels.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lighthearted, funny, and memorable.,
This review is from: The Purveyor Of Enchantment (Paperback)
I read this book some years ago, and was keen to find it again. Bits of the story stuck in my mind. The heroine is slightly tragic, but with a humourous edge, which makes her appealing, especially as many will identify with some of the situations she finds herself in. A heartwarming, feel good read.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving, Sensational, The Best Book That I Have Ever Read!!,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Purveyor of Enchantment (Hardcover)
I am younger than probably most of the people are that are going to be reading this, I'm still only a young teenager, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book to an extent that I can't even express it in words. This book is about a woman, around ehr 30s, and her name is Clementine, and she spends her worthless life worrying about everything else but herself, which is what makes it so worthless. I practically fell in love with Clementine's guy and this made me love the book even more. Everything in the book brings you into it and while I read it I felt like I was actually living there in Aldringham along with the rest in that house that once belonged to Aunt Elvira. I don't want to tell you everything about the book b/c I want you to read it yourself, but all I can say is that this is a must-read...it is almost a modern fairy tale in itself and I was so intrigued with it that I am looking for the rest of her books. I hope you actually do read this booka nd enjoy it while you do b/c in my opinion, this is the best book in the world that i have experienced and I certainly soaked it all up!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A moving adult fairy tale,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Purveyor of Enchantment (Hardcover)
Thirty-something Clementine Hope inherits her recently deceased Aunt Elvira's cottage in Aldingham, England. Clementine, who recently divorced, is a classic worrier who wonders about the essence of people and things and is always concerned that her world may fall apart. Clementine will do anything not to upset the balance of nature, God, or even the shopkeepers because she simply worries about and for them. In Aldingham, Clementine, accompanied by her sister, finds their aunt's unfinished fairy tale collection. Clementine begins to work on completing the project. However, even as she falls in love (and worries about her future relationship), Clementine concludes that a new resident is the person responsible for a rash of robberies afflciting the town. When she acts on her compulsive anxieties, Clementine places herself in danger. She must come to grips on her dark impulses or lose everything because there is no hero waiting to save the "Pauline" from her perils. THE PURVEYOR OF ENCHANTMENT is the third novel by Marika Cobbold, who writes books so good, she seems like a ten year veteran. Her latest book mixes a well written fairy tale with some acute carnal humor. The characters are fun to read about, especially Clementine who sees the world as if Murphy was an optimist (think Mel Brooks in HIGH ANXIETY but enormously worse). The so-called hero is capricious in love and just not there to save his beloved. In fact, Clementine needs to be there for him. This fairy tale role reversal (more like real life) turns the story line into a brisk and spectacular reading occurrence. Harriet Klausner 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting novel,
By Busy Mom - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Purveyor of Enchantment (Hardcover)
I picked this novel up on a whim. I never have heard of Marika Gobbold ~~ and I thought perhaps it's time I try a new author. (I am surprised that my tiny library has this on their shelves!) It is a really enchanting little book ~~ one with a British wit and a true-to-life character ~~ a little annoying but not as annoying as her sister ~~ and one you began to wish for happy endings for.
Clementine Hope is newly divorced and inherited a lovely little house and moves in with her youngest sister, Ophelia. Ophelia is everything that Clementine isn't ~~ small, petite, and beautiful and engaged to be married. Clementine is a worry-wort and timid ~~ and a dreamer. She is planning to collect all of her aunt's fairy tales and rewrite them into a book. However, Clementine finds that sometimes life is just too interfering. Then she falls in love with her next-door neighbor's son. In between love and the fairy tales, Clementine decides to remake herself into the person she wants to be ~~ and it's a glorious and sometimes funny little book. It definitely has the British flavor to it and I love reading about the Brits. This is a great autumn book ~~ perfect to read on those nights when twilight begins too soon and the cool air is settling in. Be sure to drink a cup of tea with it ~~ it's a cosy read. 9-24-04 |
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
