Trashy Books for Smart People: Rosamunde Pilcher
Get your romance on with #47
Friends, Romans, countrypeople, lend me your eyes - it’s time for another edition of “Trashy Books for Smart People” (though let’s face it, 75% of my suggestions could fall into this category. I have 0% shame about this. In fact should I rename this whole newsletter with that title?)
The ne plus ultra in this category for me is Pat Conroy and I urge you to check out why that word-master is the best, in a post from way back in February. But another candidate for me is English romance writer Rosamunde Pilcher. OBE Rosamunde Pilcher, in fact, but who’s keeping track. OH THAT’S RIGHT THE ACTUAL QUEEN.
So, Pilcher’s genre is romance which I can appreciate is disqualifying for some. (If that’s you, find many other options in the archive!) And her popularity came in the 80s and early 90s so they’re not deeply contemporary. Incidentally, at that point she was in her sixties so let’s toast to the late bloomers, hey?
But in the grand scheme of romances, hers are substantive, thoughtful, and reasonably unsentimental about love versus self-actualization. Many of her books have a through line of WW2 which give them a clear-eyed core but make love, and loss, all the sweeter and more melancholy. And her writing is deeply intelligent, tasteful and descriptive. There’s simply more adult weight to them than many modern rom-com beach reads (which I also love).
Here are the three I’ve enjoyed and read more than once. And let me know any romance, romance-adjacent, or other “trashy” writers you think are overlooked.
I included Coming Home in my WW2 roundup alongside much more “serious” works, that’s how much I love it as a period romance. This follows plucky Judith Dunbar from her British boarding school through the war, from girlhood to adulthood, from friendship to love and everything in between. Also it’s set in Cornwall so the whole place is just a beautiful backdrop. Ugh, now I want to read it again.
Oh yeah, you probably remember The Shell Seekers being on your mom’s bookshelf, and let me tell you - it is a saaaaaga, honey. This centers around aging Penelope Keeling; her prized possession, a painting by her father; and her relationships with her children (as well as her memories of the past). But really of course it’s about family, and values, and love, and secrets, and aging, and choices. It was “beloved” (per the cover) for a reason. So good.
Dear lord, what’s with these clip art covers? Anyway, September is not quite as mesmerizing as the other two - read those first - but it’s still a Rosamunde Pilcher classic, following matriarch Violet Aird as her family, children, grandchildren, and friends gather in gorgeously autumnal Scotland for a wedding. Naturally, secrets, recriminations, betrayals, lost loves, and family ties all come into play. Deeply satisfying.
And once you’ve worked your way through these, you might want to pick up a Maeve Binchy book or two, which are similar in their “following a hardworking heroine,” often in the 50s, set in Ireland. The writing isn’t quite as nuanced and the plots are a little more “tied up in a bow” but they’ll get you through a dreary afternoon just fine. I’d probably suggest Firefly Summer or Circle of Friends but you do you.
And finally …
As always, all links above go to Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores. You can also see and shop all of my past recommendations here. (This is where I’m supposed tell you that if you buy a book through that link, I’ll theoretically receive an affiliate fee, but it hasn’t happened yet so I’m likely not an FCC scofflaw just yet.)
Thank you to all and sundry who have shared this newsletter, a labor of love and fast reading. I’m truly grateful, it lights me up every time.
Since last week’s newsletter, I have read five - FIVE - (5) - Spenser for Hire books. Please send help.