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Review
'Rich in human interest, sex, scandal, moral crises and a good deal of humour, it is a book to keep you hooked throughout' Sunday Times
'Howatch writes thrillers of the heart and mind … everything in a Howatch novel cuts close to the bone and is of vital concern' New Woman
'A mesmerising storyteller' Daily Telegraph
'One of the most original novelists writing today' Cosmopolitan
'Susan Howatch may well become the Anthony Trollope of the 20th century. Howatch is more than just a novelist of ideas… She is a skilled storyteller who makes the reader wonder and care about her people.' Washington Post
Product Description
Reissue of the author’s most famous and well-loved work, the Starbridge series, six self-contained yet interconnected novels that explore the history of the Church of England through the 20th century.
In 1963, when traditional values are coming under attack, a young woman in her twenties, Venetia Flaxton, becomes disastrously involved with her best friend's father, the powerful, dynamic but ultimately mysterious Dean of Starbridge Cathedral. Yet, as a married man and a senior Churchman, Aysgarth has nothing to offer her but an admiration which spirals out of control into an obsessive love.
As Aysgarth begins to take scandalous risks to further their friendship, pressures rise and the dangers multiply. Venetia finds herself trapped in a desperate web of love and lies from which it seems impossible to escape.
Witty, compassionate and compelling, Scandalous Risks explores not only the reality of sin and the fantasy of sexual obsession, but the overpowering human need for redemption, love and lasting happiness.
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Customer Reviews
In this book we have the only female narrator in the entire series, and the only non-clergyman. Venetia is a rebellious society woman who discovers a completely new dimension to herself when she falls in love with her dear "Mr Dean" - Neville Ayesgarth, the married Dean of Starbridge Cathedral. He too is carried away and it is quite alarming how both of they live in a cloud of self-deception as to the nature of their relationship... and more than once while reading this book the Clinton-Lewinsky affair came to my mind - especially when the question arises as to whether or not they have technically committed adultery.
This story takes place in the 60's, and is the first in the second trilogy; the first trilogy was set in the 30's and 40's so now the three major protagonists of those books are a greta deal older. Mr Dean could be Venetia's father, and in fact his daughter is her best friend, which only adds to the delusion (mostly HIS) that the relationship is mainly spiritual in nature.
I feel that of all the Starbridge books, this one works as well as a stand-alone as part of a series, and for anyone who would like a taste of post-saga Howatch but is not quite decided whether or not to plunge into an entire six-book series, I would recommend this one. Another great book for our online discussion group!
the Church of England should read this
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