Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010. A haunting coming-of-age novel with a love story at its heart, for anyone who has ever loved L.P. Hartley's The Go-Between. England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, eight-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which has been opened up to evacuees by Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton, an enigmatic childless couple. Soon Anna gets drawn into their unravelling relationship, seeing things that are not meant for her eyes and finding herself part-witness and part-accomplice to a love affair, with unforeseen consequences. A story of longing, loss and complicated loyalties, combining a sweeping narrative with subtle psychological observation, The Very Thought of You is not just a love story but a story about love.
The Very Thought of You
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"Irresistibly romantic ...a highly-charged story of love, longing, betrayal and loss ... written with such conviction that you can’t help but be swept along by its intensity." – The Mail on Sunday
"Melancholic, mysterious and heartbreakingly gorgeous." --The Times
"written with such conviction that you can't help but be swept along by its intensity." --The Daily Mail
"A sincere attempt to depict the reverberations of war - chronicling fractured relationships and the inability to love in the right way... Anna is a likeable and memorable heroine." --The Guardian
"...Through a series of subtle plot devices and a haunting contemplation of the different kinds of love that we meet in our lifetime, the story builds to a page-turning and tear-jerking climax." -- Lancashire Evening Post
"A hugely affecting novel" -- The Yorkshire Post
"Without question one of the best debuts I've read in recent years." – John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
"Melancholic, mysterious and heartbreakingly gorgeous." --The Times
"written with such conviction that you can't help but be swept along by its intensity." --The Daily Mail
"A sincere attempt to depict the reverberations of war - chronicling fractured relationships and the inability to love in the right way... Anna is a likeable and memorable heroine." --The Guardian
"...Through a series of subtle plot devices and a haunting contemplation of the different kinds of love that we meet in our lifetime, the story builds to a page-turning and tear-jerking climax." -- Lancashire Evening Post
"A hugely affecting novel" -- The Yorkshire Post
"Without question one of the best debuts I've read in recent years." – John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
From the Publisher
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010
Shortlisted for Amazon's Rising Stars award 2009
Longlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2010
Longlisted for Le Prince Maurice Prize for Literary Love Stories 2010
Shortlisted for Amazon's Rising Stars award 2009
Longlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2010
Longlisted for Le Prince Maurice Prize for Literary Love Stories 2010
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
118 of 130 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a coming-of-age novel, a story of war, love and loss, beautifully told, inspired by the author's visit to a country house and letters written by a cousin in 1939.
It is set in a country estate, Ashton Park in Yorkshire, the estate and its owners having been brought low by the First World War. Now, at the start of the Second World War in 1939, 8-year-old Anna Sands is evacuated here from London with 85 other children. Anna, intelligent and perceptive, is quickly drawn into the family by the Ashtons who have turned their estate into a school. Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton shape Anna's life.
The story is gripping from the start, with subtle observation and superb detailing, the writing highly visual. The author paints wonderful pictures of London and vividly communicates the feel of Ashton Park.
I count this among my favourite books and highly recommend it.
It is set in a country estate, Ashton Park in Yorkshire, the estate and its owners having been brought low by the First World War. Now, at the start of the Second World War in 1939, 8-year-old Anna Sands is evacuated here from London with 85 other children. Anna, intelligent and perceptive, is quickly drawn into the family by the Ashtons who have turned their estate into a school. Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton shape Anna's life.
The story is gripping from the start, with subtle observation and superb detailing, the writing highly visual. The author paints wonderful pictures of London and vividly communicates the feel of Ashton Park.
I count this among my favourite books and highly recommend it.
55 of 61 people found the following review helpful
By k. brooke
Format:Paperback
I found this book to be totally enthralling and thought provoking. A book that stays with you for some time after reading it.
It takes place during the Second World War and is essentially based around an evacuee who along with others is sent to a large house in the country. It follows her story as well as her Parents and the couple who take her in.
I thought that all the characters were well developed and believable, they were not simply good or bad but people who found themselves in situations that they were unable control or cope with.
The description of the little girl and her Mother shopping together before her departure was particularly heart rending but in a most unsentimental way.
This book also tackles the effects of polio, a disease that we have all but forgotten about but which had devastating effects on both its victims and their families.
All in all an absorbing read and one which I found difficult to put down.
It takes place during the Second World War and is essentially based around an evacuee who along with others is sent to a large house in the country. It follows her story as well as her Parents and the couple who take her in.
I thought that all the characters were well developed and believable, they were not simply good or bad but people who found themselves in situations that they were unable control or cope with.
The description of the little girl and her Mother shopping together before her departure was particularly heart rending but in a most unsentimental way.
This book also tackles the effects of polio, a disease that we have all but forgotten about but which had devastating effects on both its victims and their families.
All in all an absorbing read and one which I found difficult to put down.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By L. Bretherton
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I agree so much with a couple of the other reviewers who refer to the writing as flat, or lacklustre. While the prose is very well crafted in places, the book as a whole is rather unsatisfying. None of the characters really engage you. The narrative keeps jumping from one person to another, then suddenly speeds up towards the end, so characters age from one page to the next. As commented on by another reviewer, there are some incidente which are drawn out to the edges of tedium (the build-up to the love affair between Ruth and Thomas, for example) while other major events are dealt with in a single abrupt paragraph. In her author's notes at the end, Rosie Alison refers to a visit to a house in Cornwall as the starting point for this book. Why then, was it set in Yorkshire, and in a Yorkshire which we never got to see or experience in any way? I just found the book very oddly put together, and felt frustrated with the author, because some of the passages were very well done, it just didn't work as a whole. Also, I was unconvinced by the relationship between Anna and Thomas - what was that about, it seemed a tad creepy?
Not one to keep, I'm afraid, or even pass onto a friend.
Not one to keep, I'm afraid, or even pass onto a friend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
None
not normally a fan of war time fiction, but this book is not only beautifully written, but a beautiful moving novel about the power and influence of love and a lovely rendition of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Alison L. Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sheer Nostalgia
Anna was a couple of years older than I was, so I found it very easy to relate to her and her circumstances, they were so similar to mine. Read more
Published 2 months ago by jan mangles
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bored
Promising start but the author lost her way and lost my interest. Sorry but I'm glad it's over. Wouldn't be too keen to read another
Published 3 months ago by Karen Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
the very thought of you
1st class novel, good reading just what I expected from amazon, quality, delivery, back-up, totally satisfied with the goods, will continue to use Amazon again for more... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Moorsie
5.0 out of 5 stars
The very thought of you
I found this book a beautiful book full of emotions both happy and sad. A glimpse of a life through the war but not about war itself it is about people's life's coping through war... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Vivien Cioma
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stop start..
Interesting. Quite obviously a first novel from a very well-educated mind. Spoilt for me by this very fact - the ideas were there but not at all developed maturely, either in terms... Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. Sproxton Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice!
I really enjoyed this book, ok it's not the best book I've ever read but well worth a try if you're looking for a easy read.
Published 6 months ago by Miss Joanne M. Currey
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit of everything
Amid a rich historical setting we follow a cast of very 'real' characters during the second world war. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dinah93
5.0 out of 5 stars
involved from the start
From the first page I was totally encapsulated with the book. The characters and the way that the house was brought to life, had me reading it whenever I could. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Linda
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the read!
Despite some adverse reviews about this book I found it absolutely charming! The author paints the atmosphere so thick you can smell it and taste it. Read more
Published 8 months ago by BoogieBear
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