A Rare Beauty

As Dame Catherine Cookson so perfectly said, “In reading Sally Stewart, I found someone after my own heart, a real storyteller.” I agree wholeheartedly. From the first time I picked up one of Stewart’s novels I felt exactly the same, and ‘A Rare Beauty’ is no exception. Set in London and Spain, a country that Stewart seems to love and know well, the book introduces Francesca, a physiotherapist in London. Heartbroken and lonely, Francesca finds herself abandoned by her fiancé who has gone off to America with her ebullient younger sister. Francesca seeks to get away from her heartache by taking on a challenging job assignment in Spain—a job her sister failed to keep her own commitment to. Facing a difficult and angry young patient, as well as the girl’s rather formidable uncle, Conde Luis Esteban y Montilla, Francesca finds herself up against family dysfunction and relationships and realizes she’s not truly welcome. In her typically engaging style, Stewart leads readers on a journey with Francesca and a host of larger than life characters, surrounded by the rich drama and beauty of Northern Spain. Like all of Sally Stewart’s novels, this book is not just ‘another story’ and quickly and masterfully brings to life a host of characters who become people the reader can’t help but care about. Once you’ve read one of her books, you will want to pick up and visit Stewart’s stories again and again. I can’t help but be a fan, and how I wish I’d known about this remarkable British author sooner. So glad I found her as I happily plan on adding all of her great writings to my collection.