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Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse!

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Washington Square Press 2005 Unread, Previous owners stamp inside cover o/w New. From Shaped by reverence for the feminine mystique and leavened with a dash of fantasy, this enthralling novel from British author, Joyce (The Facts of Life) offers a poignant appraisal of an English household steeped in folk traditions and its uneasy transition to contemporary times. Although it's 1966, Mammy Cullen, a beloved midwife in rural Hallaton, still dispenses a kind of herbal medicine that women have practiced since time immemorial. But times are changing and prejudices are building. When one of her remedies appears to kill a patient, the locals turn on Mammy. Her practice falls to Fern, her adopted daughter and apprentice, who soon finds herself confronting contemporary reality in several forms: Arthur, an amorous biker with marriage on his mind; an intrusive commune of feckless hippies who settle next door; and a devious landlord who schemes to evict her from her cottage. Fern's dilemma over whether to pack it all in under these pressures or contrive ways to continue with hedgerow medicine invests the tale with both pathos and humor. Joyce tackled some of this story's themes in his 1992 debut, Dark Sister, but his treatment here is more seasoned and sensitive. Likewise, his ability to write convincingly from a female point of view only improves, and Fern is one of his best realized characters to date. This novel's old-fashioned sense of values and heartwarming depiction of customs of home and community are sure to charm fans and new readers alike. ¬ Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From BooklistFern is being raised by Mammy, a midwife and "wise woman" in rural England circa 1960. She is also her apprentice, learning the skills and lore that will enable her to carry on the traditional medicine that Mammy practices. But after Mammy is injured in a personal attack and hospitalized, Fern must fend for herself. She is linked to the past, in which there was a place for Mammy's way of life, but times are changing; and Fern has to cope with modern-day problems, such as the need to earn a living. With naive wisdom, she discovers her own place in the world, using common sense and guile but also a good dose of what can only be called magic. In desperate times she finds strength and good friends who come to her rescue. Joyce's tale is a coming-of-age novel, a fantasy, and a romance filled with charm and enacted by intriguing characters who should appeal to a wide variety of readers. Danise Hoover ¬ American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response.

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Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 263 p. Audience: General/trade.