Thea's Parrot (by Marcia Willett)

(Amazon UK link)

'Thea's Parrot' is a modern novel by Marcia Willett. She is gradually becoming one of my favourite modern authors.

George falls in love with Thea, in this book.  This frustrates the hopes of his long-term mistress Felicity. Thea inherits a parrot who inspires her to become more independent. She also makes several friends, including various people who appear in other novels by this author.

I thought there were some excellent character studies in this book.  There's some  clever plotting too, and a satisfying conclusion after a tragic - but not unexpected - climax.

This novel can an easily be read as a book on its own. But it perhaps makes more sense if at least the previous book by this author has also been read, since she tends to use the same minor characters. Without having read any of the other books, the sheer quantity of minor cast members could seem rather overwhelming.

Recommended.

You can read my longer review of 'Thea's Parrot' when I re-read it in 2008