The Purveyor of Enchantment [Large Print]

I picked this novel up on a whim. I never have heard of Marika Gobbold ~~ and I thought perhaps it's time I try a new author. (I am surprised that my tiny library has this on their shelves!) It is a really enchanting little book ~~ one with a British wit and a true-to-life character ~~ a little annoying but not as annoying as her sister ~~ and one you began to wish for happy endings for. Clementine Hope is newly divorced and inherited a lovely little house and moves in with her youngest sister, Ophelia. Ophelia is everything that Clementine isn't ~~ small, petite, and beautiful and engaged to be married. Clementine is a worry-wort and timid ~~ and a dreamer. She is planning to collect all of her aunt's fairy tales and rewrite them into a book. However, Clementine finds that sometimes life is just too interfering. Then she falls in love with her next-door neighbor's son. In between love and the fairy tales, Clementine decides to remake herself into the person she wants to be ~~ and it's a glorious and sometimes funny little book. It definitely has the British flavor to it and I love reading about the Brits. This is a great autumn book ~~ perfect to read on those nights when twilight begins too soon and the cool air is settling in. Be sure to drink a cup of tea with it ~~ it's a cosy read. 9-24-04

I am younger than probably most of the people are that are going to be reading this, I'm still only a young teenager, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book to an extent that I can't even express it in words. This book is about a woman, around ehr 30s, and her name is Clementine, and she spends her worthless life worrying about everything else but herself, which is what makes it so worthless. I practically fell in love with Clementine's guy and this made me love the book even more. Everything in the book brings you into it and while I read it I felt like I was actually living there in Aldringham along with the rest in that house that once belonged to Aunt Elvira. I don't want to tell you everything about the book b/c I want you to read it yourself, but all I can say is that this is a must-read...it is almost a modern fairy tale in itself and I was so intrigued with it that I am looking for the rest of her books. I hope you actually do read this booka nd enjoy it while you do b/c in my opinion, this is the best book in the world that i have experienced and I certainly soaked it all up!!

Thirty-something Clementine Hope inherits her recently deceased Aunt Elvira's cottage in Aldingham, England. Clementine, who recently divorced, is a classic worrier who wonders about the essence of people and things and is always concerned that her world may fall apart. Clementine will do anything not to upset the balance of nature, God, or even the shopkeepers because she simply worries about and for them. In Aldingham, Clementine, accompanied by her sister, finds their aunt's unfinished fairy tale collection. Clementine begins to work on completing the project. However, even as she falls in love (and worries about her future relationship), Clementine concludes that a new resident is the person responsible for a rash of robberies afflciting the town. When she acts on her compulsive anxieties, Clementine places herself in danger. She must come to grips on her dark impulses or lose everything because there is no hero waiting to save the "Pauline" from her perils. THE PURVEYOR OF ENCHANTMENT is the third novel by Marika Cobbold, who writes books so good, she seems like a ten year veteran. Her latest book mixes a well written fairy tale with some acute carnal humor. The characters are fun to read about, especially Clementine who sees the world as if Murphy was an optimist (think Mel Brooks in HIGH ANXIETY but enormously worse). The so-called hero is capricious in love and just not there to save his beloved. In fact, Clementine needs to be there for him. This fairy tale role reversal (more like real life) turns the story line into a brisk and spectacular reading occurrence. Harriet Klausner