It is 1905, and Bessie is a small child living in a South Yorkshire mining town. Unusually gifted, she sits quietly and studies hard, waiting for the day when she can sit the Cambridge entrance exam and escape the way of life her ancestors have never even thought to question. At the other end of the century her granddaughter, Faro, is listening to a lecture on genetic inheritance. She has returned to the town where her grandmother grew up and sees the families who have lived there for longer than anyone can remember. But for all her exotic ancestry and glamour, has she really travelled any further than them?

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Geishabird - relay release. Surface mail Canada 9th August 2006

Wow, that was fast...how come it takes forever whenever *I* use surface mail? :) Thank you - Margaret Drabble is one of my favourite writers.

Really glad I finally got around to reading this - I enjoyed it enormously. I've noticed that in the last ten years Margaret Drabble's style has changed somewhat; her more recent books have a distinctly different feel than her older books, from the 60's & 70's in particular. I wasn't sure how I felt about The Red Queen but I really liked this book very much. It was a wonderful depiction of a family through several generations. I've known women of Bessie's generation, or near to it, and I've witnessed that angry hopelessness that many of them sink into...it's a very sad thing; such a cloud of waste and rage envelops them. I think Drabble's done an excellent job depicting it, its causes and its effects.

I was quite engrossed in the discussions of death that played out in the book; lately I've been spending a lot of time pondering the concept of mortality (yes, I'm a lot of fun at parties) and it's interesting how I came to pick up this book at this particular time. Some really excellent observations about death, the past, the future and the concept of immortality.

Thanks for sharing this. Great read.

Mailed February 15th to bartonz via the Everybook VBB at BookObsessed.com.

It's gere and I look forward to reading it!