Winter Solstice

BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER • LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER • BOSTON.COM BOOKCLUB SELECTION A celebration and meditation on the season for drinking hot chocolate, spotting a wreath on a neighbor’s door, experiencing the change in light of shorter days. All aspects of Winter, from the meteorological to the mythological, are captured in this masterful essay, told in wise and luminous prose that pushes back the dark. Winter begins with the shortest day of the year before nightfall. As in her companion volume, Summer Solstice , the author meditates on both the dark and the light and what this season means in our lives. “Winter tells us,” Nina MacLaughlin says, “more than petaled spring, or hot-grassed summer, or fall with its yellow leaves, that we are mortal. In the frankness of its cold, in the mystery of its deep-blue dark, the place in us that knows of death is tickled, focused, stoked. The angels sing on the doorknobs and others sing from the abyss. The sun has been in retreat since June, and the heat inside glows brighter in proportion to its absence. We make up for the lost light in the spark that burns inside us.” If Winter is a time you love for its memories and traditions, if you love writing that takes your breath away with lyrical leaps across time and space, Winter Solstice is an unforgettable book you’ll cherish.

'This book is the literary equivalent of a warm, soft blanket, a log fire and a cup of strong, sweet tea on a snowy winter night. With the Scotland setting, it is utterly irresistible' Reader review An endearing and poignant novel about loss and the healing power of love by the beloved Rosamunde Pilcher Elfrida Phipps loves her new life in her pretty Hampshire village. She has a tiny cottage, her faithful dog Horace and the friendship of the neighbouring Blundells - particularly Oscar - to ensure that her days are filled with companionship as well as independence. But an unforeseen tragedy upsets Elfrida's tranquillity: Oscar's wife and daughter are killed in a terrible car crash, and he finds himself homeless when his stepchildren claim their dead mother's inheritance. Oscar and Elfrida take refuge in a rambling house in Scotland, which becomes a magnet for various waifs and strays who converge upon it, including an unhappy teenage girl. It could be a recipe for disaster. But somehow the Christmas season weaves its magic and the winter solstice brings love and solace. READERS ADORE WINTER SOLSTICE : 'The author's finely drawn characters are charming and her settings beguiling ' Reader review ' A sweet love story in a gorgeous and evocative winter setting ' Reader review 'I love her books because the characters jump off the page and straight into my heart . I love her books because she creates such a vivid sense of place that I can close my eyes and see it ' Reader review ' A truly beautifully heart-warming story of love and loss . . .' Reader review PRAISE FOR ROSAMUNDE PILCHER: ' Enchanting . . . bound to delight her many thousands of fans' Daily Express 'Rosamunde Pilcher's warm spell is charming and utterly convincing ' Daily Mail ' A beautiful, haunting story . . . that will tug at your heartstrings ' Prima

'This book is the literary equivalent of a warm, soft blanket, a log fire and a cup of strong, sweet tea on a snowy winter night. With the Scotland setting, it is utterly irresistible' Reader review An endearing and poignant novel about loss and the healing power of love by the beloved Rosamunde Pilcher Elfrida Phipps loves her new life in her pretty Hampshire village. She has a tiny cottage, her faithful dog Horace and the friendship of the neighbouring Blundells - particularly Oscar - to ensure that her days are filled with companionship as well as independence. But an unforeseen tragedy upsets Elfrida's tranquillity: Oscar's wife and daughter are killed in a terrible car crash, and he finds himself homeless when his stepchildren claim their dead mother's inheritance. Oscar and Elfrida take refuge in a rambling house in Scotland, which becomes a magnet for various waifs and strays who converge upon it, including an unhappy teenage girl. It could be a recipe for disaster. But somehow the Christmas season weaves its magic and the winter solstice brings love and solace. READERS ADORE WINTER SOLSTICE : 'The author's finely drawn characters are charming and her settings beguiling ' Reader review ' A sweet love story in a gorgeous and evocative winter setting ' Reader review 'I love her books because the characters jump off the page and straight into my heart . I love her books because she creates such a vivid sense of place that I can close my eyes and see it ' Reader review ' A truly beautifully heart-warming story of love and loss . . .' Reader review PRAISE FOR ROSAMUNDE PILCHER: ' Enchanting . . . bound to delight her many thousands of fans' Daily Express 'Rosamunde Pilcher's warm spell is charming and utterly convincing ' Daily Mail ' A beautiful, haunting story . . . that will tug at your heartstrings ' Prima

A celebration and meditation on the season for drinking hot chocolate, spotting a wreath on a neighbor's door, experiencing the change in light of shorter days. All aspects of Winter, from the meteorological to the mythological, are captured in this masterful essay, told in wise and luminous prose that pushes back the dark. Winter begins with the shortest day of the year before nightfall. As in her companion volume, Summer Solstice, the author meditates on both the dark and the light and what this season means in our lives. "Winter tells us," Nina MacLaughlin says, "more than petaled spring, or hot-grassed summer, or fall with its yellow leaves, that we are mortal. In the frankness of its cold, in the mystery of its deep-blue dark, the place in us that knows of death is tickled, focused, stoked. The angels sing on the doorknobs and others sing from the abyss. The sun has been in retreat since June, and the heat inside glows brighter in proportion to its absence. We make up for the lost light in the spark that burns inside us." If Winter is a time you love for its memories and traditions, if you love writing that takes your breath away with lyrical leaps across time and space, Winter Solstice is an unforgettable book you'll cherish.

In Winter Solstice Rosamunde Pilcher brings her readers into the lives of five very different people.... Elfrida Phipps, once of London's stage, moved to the English village of Dibton in hopes of making a new life for herself. Gradually she settled into the comfortable familiarity of village life -- shopkeepers knowing her tastes, neighbors calling her by name -- still she finds herself lonely. Oscar Blundell gave up his life as a musician in order to marry Gloria. They have a beautiful daughter, Francesca, and it is only because of their little girl that Oscar views his sacrificed career as worthwhile. Carrie returns from Australia at the end of an ill-fated affair with a married man to find her mother and aunt sharing a home and squabbling endlessly. With Christmas approaching, Carrie agrees to look after her aunt's awkward and quiet teenage daughter, Lucy, so that her mother might enjoy a romantic fling in America. Sam Howard is trying to pull his life back together after his wife has left him for another. He is without home and without roots, all he has is his job. Business takes him to northern Scotland, where he falls in love with the lush, craggy landscape and set his sights on a house. It is the strange rippling effects of a tragedy that will bring these five characters together in a large, neglected estate house near the Scottish fishing town of Creagan. It is in this house, on the shortest day of the year, that the lives of five people will come together and be forever changed. Rosamunde Pilcher's long-awaited return to the page will warm the hearts of readers both old and new. Winter Solstice is a novel of love, loyalty and rebirth.

In Winter Solstice Rosamunde Pilcher brings her readers into the lives of five very different people.... Elfrida Phipps, once of London's stage, moved to the English village of Dibton in hopes of making a new life for herself. Gradually she settled into the comfortable familiarity of village life -- shopkeepers knowing her tastes, neighbors calling her by name -- still she finds herself lonely. Oscar Blundell gave up his life as a musician in order to marry Gloria. They have a beautiful daughter, Francesca, and it is only because of their little girl that Oscar views his sacrificed career as worthwhile. Carrie returns from Australia at the end of an ill-fated affair with a married man to find her mother and aunt sharing a home and squabbling endlessly. With Christmas approaching, Carrie agrees to look after her aunt's awkward and quiet teenage daughter, Lucy, so that her mother might enjoy a romantic fling in America. Sam Howard is trying to pull his life back together after his wife has left him for another. He is without home and without roots, all he has is his job. Business takes him to northern Scotland, where he falls in love with the lush, craggy landscape and set his sights on a house. It is the strange rippling effects of a tragedy that will bring these five characters together in a large, neglected estate house near the Scottish fishing town of Creagan. It is in this house, on the shortest day of the year, that the lives of five people will come together and be forever changed. Rosamunde Pilcher's long-awaited return to the page will warm the hearts of readers both old and new. Winter Solstice is a novel of love, loyalty and rebirth.