A life lived in fear is a life half lived,' Clementine Hope's sister, Ophelia, is fond of quoting to her. Clementine lives in a small Hampshire town, teaching music and working on a collection of fairy tales left to her by her Great Aunt Elvia. But mostly she worries. She worries about the rising crime rate, about disease and illness, about offending God and, in the rare moments when she is at peace with Him, about upsetting the man in the carpet shop or Mrs Challis who runs the cafe where she meets with her friend Jessica. Then, at a moment of real crisis, Clementine sees the destructive quality of fear, and she resolves to change and to make amends. To do so, she must turn from Damsel in Distress into Knight Errant, slay her personal dragon, and rescue Prince Charming in the process.
Purveyor of Enchantment
and over 1.5 million 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 Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
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.
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.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Carol 'avid little bookworm'
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
As soon as I finished the first novel I'd read by Marika Cobbold, Drowning Rose, I downloaded this book. I loved this first read so much I couldn't wait to devour more of Mirika Cobbold's wonderful prose.
I love the cover and the title of this book - Purveyor of Enchantment - just wonderful. So I sat down expecting a pure enjoyment experience....... and thought what's going on here. It's started ok but I just wasn't sure where it was going, but continued on not really taking to the story immediately.
However, around the fourth chapter it gained momentum and all the wit, humour, and beautifully descriptive writing all came flooding back keeping me completely hooked and chuckling through this novel, finishing it in a couple of days.
It's a beautiful love story and I took to Clementine early on. She's big and clumsy, neurotic, a gentle generous soul, put upon, particularly by her half sister Orphelia, 'the whole child' and oooh such a meanie and selfish character. I didn't like her from the beginning but boy oh boy by the end of the book!
Clementine, privileged, with an inheritance from her late father inherits her aunt Elvira's house in an enchanting village and takes Orphelia in as her house mate (very foolish decision in my humble opinion, but of course helps the storyline!). With a lovely 'old boy' for a neighbour Mr. Scott. She befriends him and falls completely in love with his son Nathaniel who in turn falls in love with her.
Twists and turns begin, where I felt poor Clementine was badly let down by two special people in her life but she pulls through it with an imaginative set programme of events she puts in place to turn her life around.
I loved it and recommend it, nearly as highly as Drowning Rose. This won't be the last Marika Cobbold book I read.
I love the cover and the title of this book - Purveyor of Enchantment - just wonderful. So I sat down expecting a pure enjoyment experience....... and thought what's going on here. It's started ok but I just wasn't sure where it was going, but continued on not really taking to the story immediately.
However, around the fourth chapter it gained momentum and all the wit, humour, and beautifully descriptive writing all came flooding back keeping me completely hooked and chuckling through this novel, finishing it in a couple of days.
It's a beautiful love story and I took to Clementine early on. She's big and clumsy, neurotic, a gentle generous soul, put upon, particularly by her half sister Orphelia, 'the whole child' and oooh such a meanie and selfish character. I didn't like her from the beginning but boy oh boy by the end of the book!
Clementine, privileged, with an inheritance from her late father inherits her aunt Elvira's house in an enchanting village and takes Orphelia in as her house mate (very foolish decision in my humble opinion, but of course helps the storyline!). With a lovely 'old boy' for a neighbour Mr. Scott. She befriends him and falls completely in love with his son Nathaniel who in turn falls in love with her.
Twists and turns begin, where I felt poor Clementine was badly let down by two special people in her life but she pulls through it with an imaginative set programme of events she puts in place to turn her life around.
I loved it and recommend it, nearly as highly as Drowning Rose. This won't be the last Marika Cobbold book I read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Hillyfields
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Character of "heroine" so irritating and dull one wished some old troll would whisk her away
After reading three quarters of the book simply couldnt be bothered to finish it
After reading three quarters of the book simply couldnt be bothered to finish it
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By SJSmith
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format: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.
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.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A most satisfying read
Clementine's enjoyment of life is curtailed because of her fear of everything. She cannot do the simplest thing without being ruled by worry, which threatens her chances of being... Read more
Published 3 months ago by sue
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lighthearted, funny, and memorable.
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... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2010 by sue, cheshire, england.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
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.
