The author Jean Stubbs is a fairly prolific writer. I've read a few of her books, and mostly enjoyed them. They're historical novels, set mostly in the 19th or early 20th century, and while they're somewhat more realistic than I'm entirely comfortable with, the characters tend to be very well drawn.
'The Vivian inheritance' is set in the early 19th century. Alongside the first steam trains introduced in the UK, it features the Howarth family. William is the ironmaster, and has many children, nieces and nephews.
Hal Vivian is a consultant engineer - a visionary, who soon becomes deeply involved in all the Howarth family's lives.
The people shine through as individuals, and despite a potentially dull setting (from my perspective), the story was very interesting as the writing was so good. There were several well-intertwined subplots to this book, and plenty of surprises to keep it moving along well.
Recommended. Not in print any more, but fairly widely available second-hand.
I know very little about Jean Stubbs, and can find almost nothing about her online. I've begun buying a few of her books at second-hand shops as they always seem interesting - and are mostly out of print.
'Kelly Park' opens with Flavia's last evening in Bon Appetit, a restaurant which she has built up from scratch with the unfaithful Jack. She goes to recuperate at Kelly Park, the run-down country home in Cornwall, belonging to her good friend Humphrey.
At Kelly Park, Flavia slowly develops some plans for her future, eventually persuading Humphrey to let her renovate it, and open it as a hotel. As she struggles to achieve her dreams, she becomes gradually accepted by the local Cornish people. At the same time, she has to fight unexpected setbacks, and also discovers that she is falling in love.
The characters were very well-drawn, and I enjoyed the romantic tension that permeates the book, leading at the end to a very satisfactory (if rather over-dramatic) ending.
Definitely recommended.
I can't quite make up my mind about the books by Jean Stubbs. I find them intriguing, and the characters well-developed, but the plots tend to have just a bit too much 'gritty reality' in them for my tastes. And they tend to be set in the early or late twentieth century, which is not my favourite time for historical novels.
Yet whenever I see another in a charity shop, I pick it up. Hence why I read 'Like we used to be' immediately after another of her novels.
As the story opens we're introduced to Leila and her boyfriend, at Leila's sister Zoë's marriage to Matthew. Leila does not like Matthew. Zoë is much more traditional than her sister, who is unconventional with no intention of settling down to marriage and motherhood.
As the book progresses, the viewpoint alternates in sections between Leila and Zoë, building up a picture of their family and Zoë's growing unhappiness.
Cleverly written, with a hopeful ending. I thought it made pleasant light reading.
No longer in print, but it's the kind of book that often turns up second-hand.
I can find nothing about the novelist Jean Stubbs online, other than lists and reviews of some of her books. It seems that she has been a fairly prolific writer, although she is now over 80 and does not seem to have written anything since 2005.
'A Lasting Spring' starts with a young woman waiting for someone in a tea shop, shortly after the end of World War II.
Almost at once we are taken back to 1928, and Evelyn's life as a girl and young woman. She was teased in school; she missed her mother who died when she was small. She had a stepmother and step-brother, and new relatives, and she gradually learned to love music.
The years go by in believable fashion through Evelyn's eyes, as she learns to deal with many different people, sees death, and falls in love.
The horror of war is hinted at, but not spelled out in any way. Eventually the novel brings us to the present - or, rather, the starting time of the novel - and the end of the book brings us to the beginning of the rest of Evelyn's life.
A bit long-winded in places, and not my favourite period of history, but an interesting read. Pleasant light reading, on the whole. Recommended if you like war-years books with strong characters and not too much actual war-talk.
This is one of those books I picked up at a charity shop, based on the blurb on the back and an attractive cover. I had not previously come across the author, Jean Stubbs.
'Summer secrets' opens, as so many novels seem to, with a funeral. Marina is mourning her eight-year-old daughter Sarah. But Sarah had a twin, Joshua, who - up till now - has always been 'difficult', and rather in his sister's shadow.
Marina decides to go for a long holiday with Joshua, in an isolated cottage, to begin to recover together from Sarah's death. Joshua quickly makes friends with a family nearby, and Marina finds herself drawn in, healing slowly, and also making some friends.
An attempted weekend in London with her husband leads to a shocking revelation, and a new life with many changes.
Marina's growing relationship with her son makes a powerful thread to the book, which I thought ended hopefully.
I thought this a well-written and positive book, on the whole.
