The Loving Spirit
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Review
'Daphne du Maurier's lushly written novel ... is a rapturous celebration of the beauties of the Cornish landscape' Michele Roberts 'Miss du Maurier creates on the grand scale ... a rich vein of humour and satire, observation, sympathy, courage, a sense of the romantic are here' OBSERVER
Product Description
Cornwall, 1900s. Plyn Boat Yard is a hive of activity, and Janet Coombe longs to share in the excitement of seafaring: to travel, to have adventures, to know freedom. But constrained by the times, instead she marries her cousin Thomas, a boat builder, and settles down to raise a family. Janet's loving spirit - the passionate yearning for adventure and for love - is passed down to her son, and through him to his children's children. As generations of the family struggle against hardship and loss, their intricately plotted history is set against the greater backdrop of war and social change in Britain. Her debut novel, The Loving Spirit established du Maurier's reputation and style with an inimitable blend of romance, history and adventure.
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Janet Coombe stood on the hill above Plyn, looking down upon the harbour. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Janet Coombe stood on the hill above Plyn, looking down upon the harbour. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a wonderful story - typical of du Maurier and its atmosphere is one of genuine grief and sadness. It has the capacity to make you cry and you cannot say that about many books! My daughter read this when she was about fourteen and has never forgotten it. She often speaks about it now - this says a lot for the book's content - that it should make such an impression and for it to last for over thirty years.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"High above the clustered houses and the grey harbour waters of Plyn, the loving spirit smiles and is free."
Although you know I'm not going to tell if that's from the beginning of the book or the end. This first novel of Du Maurier's tells the story of four generations of the Coombe family of Plyn, Cornwall beginning in the early 1800's as young bride Janet Coombe, happy as she is with her children and husband, always longs for the freedom of the sea. Her son Joseph follows his mother's dreams and sets sail in the merchant ship built by the Coombe family and named after his mother - as is her image the figurehead at the prow of the ship. Joseph eventually marries, but his real love is always the sea and when he can no longer sail he takes his bitterness out on his family, which eventually leads to dire changes in their lives.
Joseph's son Christopher, realizing he is not cut out for the sailing life, abandons ship in London and ekes out a living there and marries his landlady's daughter Bertha Parkins. Finally tiring of London life, they return to Plyn in hopes of reuniting with his estranged family and find work in the family's shipbuilding business - although his uncle Phillip's grudge against Joseph continues unabated against his son and forces the grief stricken family to return to London. The book culminates with the story of Christopher's daughter Jennifer as her restless spirit brings her back to Plyn to a chance meeting with a long-lost cousin at the wreck of the Janet Coombe, as well as a show down with her great-uncle Phillip over the damage his hatred has wreaked on the Coombe family.
Throughout the book, the loving spirit of Janet Coombe seems to guide her family through the best and worst times of their lives. As a first book it is certainly good, but far from what readers of her later classics might expect, and a bit slow paced for the most part except the last 50 or so pages - she had me biting my nails for a while there. While I do enjoy family sagas continuing over multiple generations, this one is far from the best either, a bit too short and not as well developed as I like them. I'd recommend this one for fans of Du Maurier wanting to get a look at her first book, but I doubt there's enough here to hold the interest of a more casual reader. 3/5 stars.
Although you know I'm not going to tell if that's from the beginning of the book or the end. This first novel of Du Maurier's tells the story of four generations of the Coombe family of Plyn, Cornwall beginning in the early 1800's as young bride Janet Coombe, happy as she is with her children and husband, always longs for the freedom of the sea. Her son Joseph follows his mother's dreams and sets sail in the merchant ship built by the Coombe family and named after his mother - as is her image the figurehead at the prow of the ship. Joseph eventually marries, but his real love is always the sea and when he can no longer sail he takes his bitterness out on his family, which eventually leads to dire changes in their lives.
Joseph's son Christopher, realizing he is not cut out for the sailing life, abandons ship in London and ekes out a living there and marries his landlady's daughter Bertha Parkins. Finally tiring of London life, they return to Plyn in hopes of reuniting with his estranged family and find work in the family's shipbuilding business - although his uncle Phillip's grudge against Joseph continues unabated against his son and forces the grief stricken family to return to London. The book culminates with the story of Christopher's daughter Jennifer as her restless spirit brings her back to Plyn to a chance meeting with a long-lost cousin at the wreck of the Janet Coombe, as well as a show down with her great-uncle Phillip over the damage his hatred has wreaked on the Coombe family.
Throughout the book, the loving spirit of Janet Coombe seems to guide her family through the best and worst times of their lives. As a first book it is certainly good, but far from what readers of her later classics might expect, and a bit slow paced for the most part except the last 50 or so pages - she had me biting my nails for a while there. While I do enjoy family sagas continuing over multiple generations, this one is far from the best either, a bit too short and not as well developed as I like them. I'd recommend this one for fans of Du Maurier wanting to get a look at her first book, but I doubt there's enough here to hold the interest of a more casual reader. 3/5 stars.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A book that re-introduced me to reading after a long pause I call `readers block'. It's a passionate tale about family. Maurier uses time as the backdrop & paints a vivid picture of Cornwall during these different periods. Captured my imagination.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another Du Maurier Masterpiece
Having read most of Daphne Du Maurier's most popular novels several times, I decided to try the less known stories and was pleasantly surprised by The Loving Spirit. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Peet
A bit sentimental but still good
I am not too keen on short stories and when I realised that this book was divided into four parts, with each part being about a character from each generation of the Coombes, I... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr Gordon Davidson
Ambitious but not about to quite pull it off
Every writer has to start somewhere. Daphne Du Murier was just 24 years old when she published her first novel; The Loving Spirit. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Willis
Daphne's Debut Is Definitely for the Fans
Dialect in a novel is a tricky beast, it adds the perfect authenticity but does take some getting used to (not that I mind some hard work as I read, I think any book is a mutual... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Simon Savidge Reads
My Favourite Book
My Favourite Book - have read this book 6 times and will always pick it up again and again. Lost the previous one but felt I just had to have it in reserve, if you like romance,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. Davey
Cornish saga
I nearly abandoned this book after forty pages. I have never been keen on multi-generational novels because they tend to ramble and lack focus. Read more
Published 22 months ago by D. J. H. Thorn
The Loving Spirit
This is an extraordinary 'tour de force' by a young female writer. Right from the outset she reveals herself to be a perceptive writer. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Derek
Not very enjoyable
This is one of the few du Maurier books I hadn't read, and was looking forward to a really good, gripping tale and a feeling of excitement and interest at what I was reading, as is... Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2009 by Helena
The Loving Spirit
I have read quite a few du Maurier books and have found them all thought provoking and spell binding, with a real insight into human nature and absorbing plots - apart from this... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2007 by J. E. Rayner
Enchanting and as du Maurier as ever!
Fascinating spellbounding characters, du Maurier describes another thrilling family portrait. You can't put it down until you've finished reading, and you would like to start... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2000 by mariastella@yoox.com
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