Penmarric: Amazon.ca: Susan Howatch: Books

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Cashelmara

by Susan Howatch

4.6 out of 5 stars (12) CDN$ 9.99

Berkeley Square

DVD ~ Martin Hutchings

4.6 out of 5 stars (42) CDN$ 29.99

› Explore similar items

Product Description

Set against the starkly beautiful landscape of Cornwall, PENMARRIC is the totally enthralling saga of a family divided against itself. At the center of the novel is the great mansion called Penmarric. It is to Penmarric that Mark Castallack, a proud, strange, and sensitive man, brings his bride Janna--the first act in a tempestuous drama that was to span three generations.... --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars worth many re-reads, Dec 2 2001

By	mermaid (United Kingdon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penmarric (Mass Market Paperback)

Penmarric was the third Howatch novel I read, and the one that got me hooked on her. The first was "Sins of the Fathers", which I liked very much and so, a few years later, I read its prequel, the Rich are Different, which I also enjoyed. But it was only after coming across Penmarric - completely by accident - that I woke up and took notice. Since reading this book I have gone on to read every single one of her following novels - thirteen in all, in succession!
From the first page I was engrossed in the characters. The story begins with Mark, a rather dour man, who falls in love with Janna, a woman several years his senior. These are the two central figures of the novel, which later moves on to the next generation. Howatch proves herself to be a master storyteller with the ability to get under the skin of her characters in such a way that the reader can identify with them completely - a very rare talent. Her multi-character first-person structure enables us to see the unfolding story through the eyes of five characters in turn, and it is quite amazing how a character whom one has disliked when he or she was seen through the eyes of previous narrator suddenly takes on completely new dimensions when he/she comes on central stage. I know of no writer who does this as well as Howatch.
The story is set in Cornwall and begins in 1890 and goes on to span the intervening years till WWII. It is a rich and multifaceted novel, well worth reading many times to discover all its layers, and a great novel for a group discussion. (...)

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Character Study, Nov 29 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Penmarric (Mass Market Paperback)

Both Pennmaric and The Wheel of Fortune are unique in the way Ms. Howatch creates a novel to mirror history. In this case King Henry (Mark), Queen Eleanor (Janna), Richard (Philip) and John Lackland (Jan-Yves) to name just the major characters. However, this technique does not distract from the great story-telling. I truly recommend this book and all of Ms. Howatch's writings.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb! Started me on a lifetime of Anglophilia, Nov 24 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Penmarric (Mass Market Paperback)

I also read this first when I was a young teenager and was deeply moved and involved. I went on to read her other novels thru the mid-80s, until she changed styles and settings dramatically. This year, after 5 other trips to England, I finally traveled to the actual places in Cornwall that she fictionalized in her brilliant and engaging writing. I purchased a new copy of Penmarric at a small bookshop in St Ives, and took a very sentimental tour of the Cornish landscape - windswept cemeteries, old churchyards and sprawling mansions that I first visited as a child through her eyes. It was haunting, thrilling and quite sentimental to finally be there on my 40th birthday. This book is superb, enjoy it!

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 8 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A big fat family saga with a very unusual twist
Penmarric begins as Mark Castallack and his mother Maud, cheated out of their inheritance by a scheming relative, wage a years long court battle to regain possession of the lands... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Misfit

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Epic.
Wow! What an engrossing novel to read! This was the first Susan Howatch novel I've read, but it certainly won't be the last. Read more

Published on Mar 5 2002 by LostBoy76

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT READ!!!
I first read this book in the early 70's when I was just twelve or thirteen. I was deeply affected by the story. Read more

Published on May 8 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars A true hit!
This is a great book, hard to put down and in fact I have read it TWICE!

Published on Mar 18 1998