The Postcard: Escape to Cornwall with the perfect summer holiday read

Product Information

The Big Allotment Challenge was a wonderful show to work on. I really loved learning from Jim Buttress. He is not only a gardener through and through but he is a great storyteller and hugely funny. I rather fell in love with him! Also Jonathan Moseley is THE man when it comes to flowers and creating incredibly beautiful arrangements. He’s a real gardener too and knows the names of everything. He’s also a great giggler! As a mother myself leaving behind my children seems unimaginable but I cannot begin to comprehend how it would affect everyone involved.

Over the course of the book we learn a lot about Adela and William's relationship, and what Sennen was like as a child. We see what Sennen has been doing from when she ran away, and also what her children are doing in the present. Although this is another book set in Pendruggan, and I did love my return to Trevay, this is definitely a standalone book, and the few recurring characters that were present really were there in a minor way this time around. The storyline is very well written, engaging readers from the get go, allowing them to form their own opinion of every eventuality the author describes. Whilst I had to remember to not judge the mother on her decision, seeing as I wasn't in her position, I still found it hard to just sit on the fence where she was concerned. Obviously, seeing as I don't wish to sway anyone with my own opinion, I'll keep that part of it to myself. Just be prepared to go on an emotional journey.

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

The author describes these characters well and it is difficult not to like them. There is a calm about this book which is welcoming and draws you in. Cornwall is as magical as we all know it and I really enjoyed this book.

I loved getting to know Penny and all the other people in Pendruggan, including her new neighbours Adam and Kit. I also really enjoyed Ella's storyline and can't help but think this isn't the last that we have seen of her, at least I hope it isn't. And who the hell thinks inviting your new family to a huge event for your old (abandoned) family without mentioning it yo anyone is a good idea?! Apparently I'm the only one who thinks that's not normal behaviour. The characters in the book certainly acted as if it was normal... well apart from Henry... (See my next comment) You can feel her desperation to be reunited with her children and her shopping trip to buy some more traditional clothing is particularly bittersweet. She is an individual but wants to create the right impression with her children.

Subscribe

The star of the show is TV producer Penny Leighton, who combines a starry freelance job in London with life as a vicar’s wife in Cornwall. She and her husband Simon are both in their forties and much to their delight and surprise have a gorgeous baby daughter called Jenna. Britton cleverly conveys the mix of utter devotion to Jenna and the complete exhaustion that comes with looking after a small baby. Coming Home is based in Cornwall, England - a beautiful seaside area with loads of fisherman around. The author describes the place so well, that it made me want to go there, just to see it and be close to the characters. It reminds me of South Shields very much as well. I am most fond of the hedges that my husband has planted. He has put in three mixed hedges and at this time of year the smell of the hawthorn drifts through the kitchen windows. I also love the Wisteria climbing over the pergola under the bedroom windows. I have planted Wisteria in every house I have ever lived in and they all failed until we got to our current house.

The two time frames work very well without becoming confusing in any way. Information is fed to the reader steadily as we gradually build up a picture of the family dynamic over the years and we understand that there is a lot of resentment between the sisters. Tensions build to a head when Penny’s sister Suzie comes to stay in the village after the death of their mother, making waves not only between herself and Penny but also with other village residents. The two girls’ very different personalities are expertly written and I personally felt that I could understand why they each felt the way they did about each other. When you’re working and writing it must be difficult to find time to relax, how does gardening or visiting gardens help you unwind?

I know personally a family who has been affected by a similar event and I could relate Ella and Henry’s attitudes in a almost identical way. The need for explanations and understanding for some and the denial from others. She has had issues with her family in the past, and those problems soon rear their ugly heads again and threaten to unsettle Penny and her family once more. Her sister, Suzie, is another pretty ghastly character which does distract a little from the main flow of the book.

The time line floats about between the various elements and after a while I got used to never being quite sure what the next chapter would bring or who the focus would be on. What a wonderful and moving story, spanning three generations of one family, and I was privileged to learn all of their stories. I was also delighted to see this book was focused on Ella's story, which I had been wanting to know more about since I finished The Postcard. All families have drama, it's the way of life. Fern Britton has focused on the concept of family dramas, highlighting one of the reasons which cause families to drift apart to begin with - parents not being around. When Sennen fell pregnant, she was facing motherhood as a single mum. When Sennen fell pregnant for the second time, the thought of coping on her own with two young children, became far too much for Sennen to deal with (even if she did have her parents to help). 'Coming Home' is a story which explores the aftermath of Sennen's decision, as well as finding out how the innocent parties of the situation, the children, grew up knowing the truth of what their mother did. Is their anger justified? Was Sennen right to leave her two young children with her mother, disappearing into the night? I loved hearing about all the various stories involved, although Henry really didn't come off that well, I can understand his anger. I loved getting to know Ella and Kit a lot better and the situation with Sennen had me gripped at all times. This was nice and light, very pleasant reading. It’s a cosy village saga set in Cornwall focusing on the lives of the local vicar Simon and his wife Penny. It’s easy reading, and contains a good mix of true to life everyday issues, secrets and lies, trials and tribulations, happiness and health, and ill health.I would love to get to know some of the other characters in more depth, or get to discover what e The Postcard is a compelling read, made all the more so thanks to the stunning Cornish setting. You can tell how much Britton adores the place because the seaside walks and descriptions of village life are so lovingly told. You can almost smell the salty sea air and picture the rounders match at the Pendruggan summer fair. A family saga beginning at the end of the first and continuing through second world war, as it begins in 1918 with Clara Bolitho fighting for her family. Later in 1947 Hannah, Clara’s daughter, is falling in love for her very first time, but with the wake of World War Two underway, she must now protect her baby Caroline. Moving ahead to 2020, Caroline is living quietly on the Cornish coastline, but there’s devastating family secret that threatens to rear its head. Will she be able to get past it, can they all overcome this hurdle, and what will become of the daughters of Cornwall?