New re-edited version
Daisy had lived her life as if on a merry-go-round, and she'd never stepped on a roller-coaster. There had been a husband, children and even grandchildren, but things had changed. A change dictated by her fickle ex-husband, and which prompts a new life in London.
But Daisy wants more. A bigger life, a wilder life. An exciting life. She finds an unlikely friend in Sophie, her neighbour, and there is an imminent party planned for Sophie's 'sort of' boyfriend, the dissolute Lord Crispin. Crispin's parties are legendary and favour the excessive. And so begins the wildest week of Daisy Wyler.
Or as an unknown reviewer put it:
Daisy Wyler is a newly divorced, middle-aged, respectable housewife. Needing a break from her former home in a gossipy village community, she goes to London to stay in the flat owned by her friend Sally, an Oscar winning actress. Sally is away working in Hollywood, but things change quite rapidly and as Daisy's week progresses, she embarks on a new life full of wilder and wilder twists and turns. This book breaks a whole host of writing rules and does it brilliantly. The huge cast of characters carry the story forward in ways that are both clever and funny. The viewpoint switches from character to character giving the reader the insight they need to understand and relate to each one as they appear. It's a great story that will give hope to anyone who finds herself in Daisy's situation and also Grace, her highly respectable and well-behaved daughter. I particularly enjoyed the tennis match scenes, which added a whole new dimension to the story and formed one of many similar cameos that captured the imagination throughout the book. A great read and although I'm not sure there was anything 'gentle' about it, I would definitely recommend both the book and the author.
Daisy had lived her life as if on a merry-go-round, and she'd never stepped on a roller-coaster. There had been a husband, children and even grandchildren, but things had changed. A change dictated by her fickle ex-husband, and which prompts a new life in London.
But Daisy wants more. A bigger life, a wilder life. An exciting life. She finds an unlikely friend in Sophie, her neighbour, and there is an imminent party planned for Sophie's 'sort of' boyfriend, the dissolute Lord Crispin. Crispin's parties are legendary and favour the excessive. And so begins the wildest week of Daisy Wyler.
Or as an unknown reviewer put it:
Daisy Wyler is a newly divorced, middle-aged, respectable housewife. Needing a break from her former home in a gossipy village community, she goes to London to stay in the flat owned by her friend Sally, an Oscar winning actress. Sally is away working in Hollywood, but things change quite rapidly and as Daisy's week progresses, she embarks on a new life full of wilder and wilder twists and turns. This book breaks a whole host of writing rules and does it brilliantly. The huge cast of characters carry the story forward in ways that are both clever and funny. The viewpoint switches from character to character giving the reader the insight they need to understand and relate to each one as they appear. It's a great story that will give hope to anyone who finds herself in Daisy's situation and also Grace, her highly respectable and well-behaved daughter. I particularly enjoyed the tennis match scenes, which added a whole new dimension to the story and formed one of many similar cameos that captured the imagination throughout the book. A great read and although I'm not sure there was anything 'gentle' about it, I would definitely recommend both the book and the author.
