Out of the Rain (1987) by Elizabeth Cadell

 

💕 In the excitement for #NovNov26 and #NonFicNov26, I almost forgot that I have actually finished reading Elizabeth Cadell's Out of the Rain in October. It was a charming and comforting read (I listened to the audiobook), that soothed my stressful life then. This was my second Cadell's book; the first was The Golden Collar, which I loved. And the premise of this one is very similar to The Golden Collar: a big-city-boy is forced - or harrassed is more appropriate - to have business deal with a charming free-spirited family, only to be falling in love with the country life of the family he was supposed to 'handle'. But this book has a little deviation from that formula, although the result is as charming as the other.

💕 Edward Netherford is a lawyer, succeeding his father's business. He lives a quite contented bachelor life in a small apartment in London. A wealthy family - longtime clientele of his father - came and "bully" him to deal with their father's second wife, whom, they claimed had illegally withhold the return of three impressionist paintings originally belonging to the family. Interestingly, the second wife is actually the family's ex housekeeper, whom the father had married - happily - several years before his death. The paintings were his gift to her, who had cared and truly loved him. But the second wife is a brave woman, and does not easily succumbed to the arrogant children - she would return the paintings, but in her own term. Meanwhile she's excited to see them squirm in incompetent rage. 

💕 To do his bidding, Edward Netherford left his comfortable office in London, and headed to York. The hotel he usually stays in - belongs to his school friend - was on fire, and the only accommodation available in such short notice was a former B&B located miles from York. It's a rather messy house owned by a widow with three children, her mother, and grandfather. The chaotic life of Estelle Denby - the widow - is a far cry form Edward's well-ordered life in London. And that makes his adjusting and melting into the family's life is so charming to follow. Of course, there's a romance budding also, as you would have expected from Cadell.

💕 The business with the three paintings is what makes this book similar to The Golden Collar - where the main character changed his view about the task he should have performed, and symphatized instead with the supposed "villain". That - along with the romance aspect - is what makes these novels are satisfying to read. The easygoing and free-spirited personalities of the country folks, and the simple life they lead, added more charm to it. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Shell Seekers (1987) by Rosamunde Pilcher #20BooksofSummer2025

🐚 The Shell Seekers is the title of a painting which hung on the wall of Penelope Keeling's abode. It was a wedding gift from his father, with herself as one of the shell seekers depicted in the painting. The story opens when Penelope is sixty years old, and has just been out of hospital and recovering from a heart attack. After that, the story runs parallelly between Penelope's past and present, giving us the view of how she had become what she is now, and why she does things that is incomprehensible to her children.

🐚 Penelope is the daughter of a bohemian parents; her father was a painter who married a much-younger French girl. And so, Penelope had been brought up quite unconventionally, and has an unconventional way of thinking too. For her, money means freedom. And it is money that created diversions between the mother and the three children: the bubbly, self-indulgent Nancy, the sensible, businesslike woman Olivia, and the selfish, greedy Noel. Nancy and Noel, especially, have been pestering her to sell The Shell Seekers and other paintings by grandpa Lawrence Stern, whose name had been resurfacing lately in art galleries. But Penelope was adamant, the paintings were hers - her father had given them to her only, and it's up to her what she'd like to do with it. She had done everything to make her children happy - she had even put up with her ill-suited and cheating husband for the sake of the children. And now it's her turn to make herself happy - free and happy. And I agreed with Penelope 100%.

🐚 I loved Penelope from the start, both as young girl and elderly lady. I always believe that when a child is brought up with love and trust, the child would be blooming to be unique, affectionate, and self-confident adult. I loved the relationship between Sophie - Penelope's French mother, and her daughter. Their relationship reminded me of mine and my mother - not that my mom's a bohemian, but she always put trust in me, and let me be what I want to be. Unfortunately for Penelope, only Olivia who has similarity to her mother; while Nancy and Noel must have inherited their father's character - money-oriented and petty.

🐚 I couldn't decide which part of the book I loved most - each had charm and interesting characters. Penelope's wartime story with, first, her husband, and then with the only man she ever loved, and also her friends who were evacuees, living at the family's house? Or Penelope's story as an old lady living alone in the village, befriended the young gardener and a girl that acquainted to Olivia, of whose future she helped building? Each had its warmth and charm, and I loved how Pilcher interwoven the past and the present into one wholesome story.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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20 Books of Summer 2025

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