- Hardcover: 189 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow & Co; First American Edition edition (September 1991)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0688110355
- ISBN-13: 978-0688110352
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Stewart's ability to evoke a setting is richly apparent in her latest tale (after Thornyhold ), which takes place on Moila, a remote Hebridean island. Cambridge professor and writer Rose Fenemore seeks quiet and inspiration in a rented cottage that she expects to share with her brother, a doctor and amateur bird photographer. An unforeseen delay in his arrival gives her a week of solitude, during which time she is profoundly affected by the starkly beautiful landscape and abundant, almost fearless wildlife. Her peace of mind is shattered one rain-swept evening, however, by two unexpected visitors. Ewen Mackay, charming and persuasive, says he had been the former tenant of her cottage, and was unaware the place had been let. When, later in the same night, another man arrives, drenched and agitated, he tells Rose and Ewen he is simply seeking shelter from the storm. The visitors are jumpy, evasive and mutually antagonistic, and Rose's suspicions are aroused. The mystery of their relationship and real purpose, never menacing, is quickly solved, and takes second place to Stewart's vivid rendering of Moila's lochs, glens and wild birds, especially the graceful stormy petrels who nest there. A subplot about an irresponsible land developer seems an excessive afterthought. While devoid of real suspense, the tale is nonetheless laced with charm and good humor.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
By the English author of Thornyhold (1988), etc., more atmospheric romance, but here in a slight, mere wisp of a novel set in Scotland's Western Islands. The scenery, however, is grand. Rose Fenemore is a tutor of English at one of the Cambridge colleges; she also writes poetry and now needs an ``ivory tower'' retreat. Brother Crispin promises to join her for a holiday on the Scottish island of Moila but is delayed. Alone in her cottage, Rose is at first terrified, then angry and puzzled, by the night arrivals--separately--of two men. Both are strangers to her. Ewen Mackay, who lets himself in with a key, claims that the cottage was his childhood home and hints that he was the love-child of the now- deceased Colonel Hamilton, owner of the nearby ``Big House.'' But the man who calls himself John Parsons turns out to be the Hamilton heir. There are curious break-ins at the Hamilton house, and odd movements of Ewen's boat, the Stormy Petrel. As Rose puzzles, and enjoys the scenic wonders of the island, others arrive--including two of her students; Crispin; a Mr. Bagshaw (ex-con and developer!); and, at the finale, two policemen. Before the crowd thins, the island is saved from development, and a romantic interest is hinted. But all this is a mere puff beside the cries of birds, boom of sea, and ancient artifacts. For Stewart's many followers, a pleasant armchair holiday in a wild and lovely landscape. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for Fall) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Only Okay,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Stormy Petrel (Mass Market Paperback)
This is definatly not Mary Stewart at her best. I found this book very lacksidasical and totaly unintresting. Tell me what is romantic about this book? I won't get a awnser because there isn't. I was very disapointed in this book. After having read Moonspiners and the Ivy tree. Currently I am reading the Merlin Trilogy which is absolutly fantastic.The Stormy Petrel is nonromance all the way. The only romance in the whole book is when she had s smile on her face thinking of her next fall semester term.If you think that thats romance you must not know excitment. If you must read this book though read it for the nature stuff she talks about.
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Romantic Suspense" Novel Without Romance or Suspense,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Stormy Petrel (Mass Market Paperback)
Mary Stewart, one of the finest romantic suspense novelists of all time, has written a novel without any romance or suspense. This whisper of a book contains the lovely scenic descriptions of her earlier novels but the "mystery" amounts to a break-in at an empty house and the "romance" amounts to a semester together at Cambridge in the fall. The heroine is an emotionless school-marm who is so stern and prim that she is bascially an 80-year-old masquerading as a "dish." After enjoying such great mysteries as The Moon-Spinners and This Rough Magic, I thought for sure that something was going to happen. But the only excitement was the occasional sighting of a petrel (a very shy bird). Whoa! It is clear that Miss Stewart, in her dotage, lost all interest in love and danger, and was captivated only by nature and wildlife. This is not a bad thing but she should have stopped writing ficton and become an author of travel books.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not up to her great books before the "Arthur" trilogy.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Stormy Petrel (Mass Market Paperback)
I was delighted to discover new novels by Mary Stewart, who had long delighted me with her beautifully done mystery/romance novels. However, many of her books from the 1980s and '90s, while having the same wonderful flavor and verbiage, are weak on plot. I knew who the love interest would be far too long in advance, for example. And the "big mystery" turned out to be much ado about nothing. Might want to check it out of the library before purchasing a copy. Stewart's Thornyhold, however, was much better -- more like her old writings.
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