Blackthorn Winter

Format:	Paperback 352 pages

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Synopsis

In April, when blackthorn blossom clothes the hedgerows like a wedding veil, there sometimes comes a frost so severe that it seems as if the summer will never come. Country people call this a blackthorn winter. For Claudia Barron, arriving in the Dorset village of Court Barton that April, blackthorn winter seems like a metaphor for everything that has happened to her. Hiding from her previous life, she adopts an assumed name and applies for a job in the local school. But villages don't much like mysteries and secrets and soon the inhabitants of Court Barton set out to find out what it is that Claudia Barron is hiding from and why.

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Published
19/01/2004

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Headline Review

ISBN
9780755300389

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UK Kirkus review

A wickedly artful and accurate exposure of life in an English village. Claudia Barron retreats to Court Barton to avoid the hounding of the gutter press when her charismatic (and unfaithful) huisband is 'banged to rights' on a fraud charge. Her anonimity doesn't last, of course. Inevitably she must soon face up not only to the relentless reporters, but a barrage of curiosity from her new neighbours, who are every bit as humanly flawed as she - or the erring Roger. In the end it is the neighbours' innate kindness that wins through, though not before Claudia has learned to acknowledge her own weaknesses and strengths. Set against the glorious Dorset countryside the author knows well, the story bounces along; but what makes it especially memorable is Sarah Challis's shrewd observation of human nature, the various strata of English society, the assumptions people make about each other; and the entertaining accuracy of the dialogue. A great read! (Kirkus UK)