Hardback: 340 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Bantam Press 2020
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentences: I have told Eileen to get rid of all the mirrors. I used to like them but I certainly don't now. Mirrors are too honest. there is only so much truth a woman can take.
Favourite Quote: “There are three types of people in this world, Very. (He called me Very.) There are those who make the world worse, those who make no difference and those who make the world better. Be one who makes the world better, if you can.”
Review Quote: A touching, uplifting tale. ― Jo Wiley, Radio 2 Book Club
My Opinion: What an agreeable read this was, one of those stories that you are left feeling you want more of when it finishes. The sequel ‘Call of the Penguins’ has already been published and is already on my TBR list. Veronica McCreedy is the elderly female protagonist and is a reminder to the senior citizens amongst us, including myself that it is never too late to have more adventures.
Veronica leads an isolated life with no one close to inherit her substantial fortune. With this in mind she decides to research both her ancestry and potential projects that might benefit from an inheritance when she dies. Discovering she has an adult grandson is not an immediate success, so she continues to search for a beneficiary. Watching a television programme about penguins leads her to Antarctica on the trip of a lifetime.
It was a delight
to learn so much about Penguins within this edifying novel. I certainly
recommend it to everyone this unique, charming and heart-warming story, with an
environmental message. I am now looking forward to reading the sequel.
Précis Courtesy of Amazon:
Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .
Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she's never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.
Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.
She can be found either collecting litter from the beach ('people who litter the countryside should be shot'), trying to locate her glasses ('someone must have moved them') or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen ('Eileen, door!').
Veronica doesn't have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she's going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.
But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.
Author Profile:
Hazel Prior lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger cat. As well as writing, she works as a freelance harpist. Hazel is the author of Ellie and the Harp-Maker and Away with the Penguins, which was a #1 bestseller in ebook and audiobook. Call of the Penguins is her third novel. For more autobiographical information, visit ABOUT | hazelprior.co.uk
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Amazon Author Page Hazel Prior - Twitter Official Author Website
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