The Cornish House by Liz Fenwick

Paperback: 341 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction
Publisher:  Orion May 2012
Source: The author in return for an honest and unbiased review.
First Sentence: It was nearly eleven and Maddie had been behind the wheel of the car for over eight hours.
Review Quote:  A heart tugging story of loss and recovery. (Fanny Blake WOMAN & HOME 2012-06-01)
My Opinion: An escapist and emotional read.

What a lovely escapist and emotional read this début from Liz Fenwick is, I will definitely be reading her novels again.  Her second novel A Cornish Affair was published in May of this year and she is already writing a third. Personally I find her writing reminiscent of that of  Rosamunde Pilcher a novelist I was a great fan of until her retirement from writing in 2000.

The novel centres around 'Trevenen' the house of the title, as the novel starts the protagonist Maddie a recently widowed artist, arrives to make a home there with her step daughter. Having inherited the property Maddie is hoping that she and Hannah will be able to make a fresh start here. Neglected and rambling the house very soon gets under her skin and she becomes more and more interested in the past generations that have lived there. Her dream of a new life though is fraught with problems, the costs of repairing the house, her lack of inspiration for her art on which she depends for an income and last but not least her relationship with Hannah, which is far from easy. As Maddie and Hannah unravel the secrets of the house and start to settle it also becomes painfully obvious that they may not be able to afford to make it their home after all and may have to sell up.

Consider when you pick this up to read, which if you are a fan of this genre I can recommend, that this is a début novel, from an author that will continue to entertain us as her confidence grows and she becomes bolder in her writing. This is what I am hoping anyway.

I have included links to two interesting videos, neither of which will spoil the novel for you.

The Cornish House - Book Trailer

Liz Fenwick at London Launch of The Cornish House


Author Profile

Liz Fenwick was born in Massachusetts  Growing up in Boston, she discovered early on that her best friends could be books. While waiting on a place for Harvard, she moved to London to see if life looked different from the other side of the Atlantic. It did and she soon fell in love with an Englishman. After nine international moves she now lives in Dubai with her husband and two mad cats. She made her first trip to Cornwall in 1989, and seven years later purchased property there as although she lives in Dubai, her heart is forever in Cornwall, creating new stories.


The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing. 

Goodreads Author Profile   Twitter - Liz Fenwick   Facebook - Liz Fenwick Author    YouTube - Book Launch

Liz Fenwick Books - Lovereading   Amazon Author Profile  The Cornish House - Book Trailer

Official Author Website - Liz Fenwick


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