A Week in Winter - Softcover

Over the objections of her spiteful daughter-in-law and despite her own sentimental misgivings, the sharp-witted, tweed-wearing widow Maudie Todhunter is selling the remote Cornish farmhouse left to her by her husband, Patrick. In A Week in Winter, her first book to be published in the U.S., British author Marcia Willett explores the competing claims of love, memory, and duty. Maudie knows that her beloved granddaughter Posy would have liked to inherit Moorgate. But she is surprised to learn who else wants the old house and what secrets unfold as she puts Moorgate on the market. What makes A Week in Winter a "women's" novel (and may narrow its appeal) is its slow development--nothing is rushed here--and a tendency to linger in the moment, savoring emotional nuances and fine points of plot and character. At best, this makes the novel a smooth and leisurely read, but it can also bring the action to a crawl. To compensate, Willett provides some mysterious clues that lend a Gothic aura to an otherwise straightforward tale of giving up a much-prized object in the hope that something better will arrive. --Regina Marler

Every once in a while a very special story comes along that deserves an enormous cozy chair with a view of rolling hills, a fire snapping quietly in the hearth, a cup of real cocoa in a favorite mug, and a plate of homemade cookies. A Week in Winter is such a tale.

Moorgate is an enchanting old country house that belongs to Maudie Todhunter, a spirited widow who has been holding on to the place for the sake of her beloved granddaughter. But Maudie can no longer afford a second home, so she reluctantly puts it up for sale.

Moorgate immediately attracts more buyers than Maudie knows what to do with. The first is Selina, her stepdaughter, who has never seen eye-to-eye with Maudie on anything. The second potential buyer is Rob Abbot, a contractor who has lovingly restored every nook and cranny and who is embarrassed by his own passionate devotion to the house. The third is Melissa Clayton, a young woman with a sad, sad secret who discovers at Moorgate all she's ever wanted.

As the story weaves between the past and present, Maudie is startled to uncover patterns of deceit and betrayal that contradict all her most cherished beliefs. At times it seems that her most trustworthy companion is her granddaughter's giant English mastiff Polonius, who is boarding with Maudie after having been banished from his own home by an irate Selina.

As the final revelations stun both Maudie and the reader, A Week in Winter achieves a combined richness of character and circumstance that raises it above most modern contemporary fiction. Marcia Willett is a writer to discover and to celebrate.