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The Brass Dolphin
 
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The Brass Dolphin (Hardcover)

by Joanna Trollope (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Viking Pr (Sep 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0670885185
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670885183
  • Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 14.6 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 514,026 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #31 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > T > Trollope, Joanna

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Product Description

Product Description

Lila Cunningham, motherless since babyhood, was almost twenty-one when her familiar, boring life in a small town on the Suffolk coast came abruptly to an end. It was 1938, and after many years of struggling she learned with a shock that her endearing but feckless artist father faced financial disaster. With the loss of their home imminent, they had no option but to accept an offer of a house in Malta, and on that hot and exotic island, in the magnificent but crumbling Villa Zonda, Lila at last glimpsed a chance of a life she had always dreamed of. But war was looming, and Malta became the focus of Hitler's attention just as Lila became the focus of attention of three very different young men. As bombing devastated the island and Lila, along with the other inhabitants, learned to live with privation and fear, she also came slowly to realise the value of true love in all its forms, and the difference between hope and illusion. In this enchanting new novel, Joanna Trollope, writing as Caroline Harvey, captures all the warmth and romance of Malta as well as its dramatic sufferings during the second world war. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


From the Back Cover

Lila Cunningham, motherless since babyhood, was almost twenty-one whe her familiar life in a small town on the Suffolk coast came abruptly to an end. It was 1938, and she learned with a shock that her endearing but feckless father faced financial disaster. With the loss of their home imminent, they had no option but to accept an offer of a house in Malta, and on that hot and exotic island, in the magnificent but crumbling Villa Zonda, Lila at last glimpsed the kind of life of which she had always dreamed.

But war was looming, and Malta became the focus of Hitler's attention while Lila became the focus of attention of three very different young men. As bombing devastated the island Lila, along with the other inhabitants, learned to live with privation and fear, and also to discover which dreams are really worth pursuing.

In this enchanting new novel Caroline Harvey captures all the warmth and romance of Malta as well as its dramatic sufferings during the Second World War. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This story has a great after taste., 20 Oct 2002
By bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The Brass Dolphin (Paperback)
On the surface this looks like just such a novel. It even has the standard formula of princes and castles and what not. Why would I have even attempted this novel? My wife insisted that Caroline Harvey; Joanna Trollope was not mindless. O.K. so I was challenged to red this one.
Ha! I spotted the formula and as soon as Lila Cunningham hit Malta I figured out pretty much how it was going to end. A curious thing happened. By then I was hooked and had to go on. There were many details that I did not guess. Unlike most formula books that try to hook you on romance or those ones that have endless nonsensical descriptions, this book had the feel that it was going somewhere and only described what was necessary to tell the story.
After I finished the book I said "See it was a formula book." Why would someone want to read about some girl in Malta? It was pointed out that the setting is to depict a different lifestyle. This is not so much of an escape from reality, but a diversion of a different reality. Later you see that the castle and prince and even the Perrimans are the backdrop of real people that we run across everyday. Lila's situations and decisions are ones we may have to make. The real story is about Lila, her choices and consequences. The story implies that she grows up. Personally I think she changed but that does not constitute growing up.
Ayn Rand says that love is a reflection of your values as seen in the other person. You can see this as Lila's values changed, so has the target of her love. Ayn Rand also says that you should not just live for love. You should have a career and or a purpose beyond love. Lila and others discover this throughout the novel. So this novel leaves you with many after thoughts.
Well done Caroline Harvey.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A love story set in war torn Malta, 5 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Brass Dolphin (Paperback)
This book is in the same vein as previous novels of Caroline Harvey: of intrepid English women surviving and falling in love in far flung corners of the world. This one is slightly different in that it is set in the twentieth century yet follows the pattern of being set in a former colony. Set during the Second World War in Malta this is a lovely story of love and survival in a historical setting. What I would class as educational easy reading!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Light, Pleasant and close to home, 8 Dec 2001
This review is from: The Brass Dolphin (Hardcover)
This is the story of Lila Cunningham who was forced to move to Malta from pre World War 2 England to try and make a living for herself and her father. Gradually, she begins to get used to the locals and the local way of doing things when War breaks out. After the war, she is unsure of herself and wonders whether she ought to leave the island (and all its emotional baggage) to return to England or not.

Living in Malta gave me an added perspective on this book. I was not only able to identify with the places but also with the war stories that I used to hear on my grandpa's lap. It is light reading and very pleasant; Trollope does not have a heavy hand when it comes to writing and prefers to let the reader fill in some minor details. The only part which spoilt the book for me was when Lila was supposed to have cycled a fairly long distance to work and back - not entirely unbelievable if you go by distance (as non-Maltese readers would) but given the steep hills and the terrain that I know exists, it would be a tough exercise regime, first thing in the morning. Of course, perhaps under the duress of war, people did all sorts of abnormal things, but ...
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5.0 out of 5 stars This story has a great after taste.
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