Marg is currently reading....

Carrie from Books and Movies is hosting a readalong of The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons. The book has been out here for a while now, but it was initially published under the title of The Novel in the Viola.

I loved Solomons first book, Mr Rosenblum's List, and so was very excited when I heard that her second book, The Novel in the Viola, was going to be released. There is really therefore no good excuse as to why it has taken me more than a year to actually getting around to reading it!

Here's the synopsis from the author's website:

In the spring of 1938 Elise Landau arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay. A bright young thing from Vienna forced to become a parlour-maid, she knows nothing about England, except that she won`t like it. As servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn, Elise wears her mother`s pearls beneath her uniform, and causes outrage by dancing with a boy called Kit. But war is coming and the world is changing. And Elise must change with it.

At Tyneford she learns that you can be more than one person.

And that you can love more than once.

Another thing you can find on the author's website is a link to the waltz that was composed for the book! (It is down the bottom of this page)

This book was also chosen as one of the Richard and Judy Bookclub choices in the UK last year. If you are interested in hearing a bit more about the inspiration for the book, here is a short interview with Richard and Judy with the author:






The setting of Tyneford in itself is a fascinating story!