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Scarlet Feather
  

Scarlet Feather (Hardcover)

by Maeve Binchy (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)

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1 new from CDN$ 89.08 4 used from CDN$ 20.95

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Product Details


Product Description

From Amazon.com

"Whatever made us think that a catering business had anything to do with producing food?" asks the exasperated heroine of Maeve Binchy's Scarlet Feather. Cathy Scarlet and her partner Tom Feather had wanted to open their own catering firm ever since they attended college together. When the perfect location finally becomes available at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, they jump straight into renovations, ignoring the owner's mysterious eagerness to sell. But as they soon learn, chasing a dream demands far more than just cream puffs and canapés. In the months that follow, Tom and Cathy weather the ups and downs of founding a small business, soothe many a client's fragile ego, plan and pull off a fairy-tale wedding, minister to two of the most appealingly waifish children this side of Dickens, and generally work themselves to the bone--all the while producing some of the most exquisite food Dublin has ever seen.

Binchy is a master spinner of tales, the kind of storyteller who captures the rich tapestry of relationships at work in even the most ordinary of lives. Tom and Cathy come surrounded by a cast of characters as skillfully drawn as themselves: Neil, Cathy's activist-lawyer-husband, who's so busy worrying about the world's problems that he sometimes forgets to worry about his own; beautiful Marcella, Tom's girlfriend, who wants to be a top model more than anything else; and most endearingly of all, Maud and Simon, Neil's neglected 8-year-old cousins, who prove equally talented at wreaking havoc and asking awkward questions. Stir in a full complement of clients, family, friends, and enemies, and you have the makings of a bestseller that's very busy and very Binchy. Tom and Cathy's work, after all, is not so different from that of the novelist herself. Like writers, they stage-manage some of the most important events in people's lives, from weddings and funerals to romances and reunions. Before the year is out, Tom, Cathy, Neil, and Marcella will find themselves changed forever--and Binchy fans will have fallen in love with yet another of her fully realized worlds. --Chloe Byrne



From Publishers Weekly

Bestselling author Binchy (Tara Road, etc.) again explores the depths of family relationships in an 11th warm, involving drama. Set in contemporary Ireland over a period of one year, the smartly paced tale focuses on Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather, cooking school chums who achieve their dream of opening a posh catering business, Scarlet Feather, in Dublin. Professionally, they're off to a good start; personally, their lives are falling apart. Cathy, whose out-of-work father plays the races while her mother toils as a housemaid, faces the consequences of having married Neil Mitchell, prized son of an upper-class family who employed Cathy's mother for years. Neil, a lawyer who champions worthy causes, is unconcerned about the tension between his wife and his snooty mother, and Cathy and Neil find themselves leading busy, separate lives. Tom has a live-in girlfriend whom he would love to marry, but Marcella, a manicurist in a classy store, yearns to succeed as a model before making any commitments. A charming cast of secondary characters includes Neil's cousins, Simon and Maud, two abandoned, nine-year-old twins who, in a surprising turn of events, come to live with Cathy's parents. The children's deadpan, exceedingly serious outlook on life is both heartbreaking and hilarious. One of Binchy's strengths is her subtle depiction of gradual changes in Irish society. By making her principal characters entrepreneurs, she reflects the ways Ireland's growing economic prosperity has altered social mores. Whether her readers are aware of such details, they help this wonderfully engaging book ring true. (Mar. 5).Forecast: Binchy's gift for creating a wide range of characters whose foibles and challenges make them lovable and real, coupled with her theme that genuine love can transform lives, add up to another crowd-pleaser. With major ad/promo, plus an author tour, this one is a lock for the charts.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


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Customer Reviews

124 Reviews
5 star:
 (48)
4 star:
 (31)
3 star:
 (14)
2 star:
 (15)
1 star:
 (16)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (124 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Scarlett Feather, Sep 19 2009
By Sandi Norman (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Scarlet Feather (Paperback)
I absolutely loved this book. I love the way Maeve Binchy weaves a story and I found myself not wanting to put the book down because I couldn't wait to find out what was going on with everyone. I felt that I was part of the story and I always know when I read one of Maeve Binchys' storys I feel like I am with old friends.
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4.0 out of 5 stars not paying attention., Aug 14 2002
This review is from: Scarlet feather (Paperback)
grizelda84 from Omro, WI USA wrote
"Things that had been talked about so much throughout the book just went away without a wrap up. For example, what was the tragedy that befell the first couple who had a business in the premises that eventually became Scarlet Feather? Other mysteries were revealed, so why not that one? I felt left hanging a bit."

Obviously you weren't reading closely enough - their son hanged himself in the premises. It was only talked about briefly because it wasn't really relevant to the Cathy/Tom catering plot.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A book of struggles, Jul 31 2002
By sskwert "sskwert" (Portland area) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Scarlet Feather (Audio Cassette)
The title, "Scarlet Feather", makes you want to read this book just to find out how the title originated. What a surprise to find out it is the combination of two main characters' last names. (The fly leaf even reveals that much.)

"Scarlet Feather" is a book of struggles. For starters, struggles exist between wives and husbands, between children and parents, between in-laws, between siblings and between those in various long-term and short-term relationships.

As the story unfolds, the ever-present struggle to succeed reveals strengths and weaknesses of the interesting collection of characters. For starters, two struggle to succeed in the catering business while one struggles to succeed being an attorney representing the underprivileged and another struggles with becoming a model.

Maeve Binchy has written several books, however, the only other one I have read is "Tara Road". Between the two, "Scarlet Feather" is the one I liked best.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars It ended too soon
I was so into this book that my husband was getting annoyed! The characters were so human, so well fleshed out, and the dialogue was so natural. Read more
Published on May 30 2002 by Julie Grove

5.0 out of 5 stars Scarlet Feather
I really loved this story. I've read all of Ms. Binchy's novels and I found this one to be extra endearing through the characters of Maud, Simon, Lizzie and Muttie. Read more
Published on May 28 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Wonderfully Written Story About People You Care For
Maeve Binchy has really outdone herself with this fantastic book. Although it is a little hard to get into, it is well worth the wait to finish it. Read more
Published on May 21 2002 by Ellen b

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
This is nothing like some of the other works by this author. I found it more like the terrible writing produced by Danielle Steele. In the future I will review Ms. Read more
Published on May 13 2002 by Petra D'Alton

4.0 out of 5 stars Always worthwhile!
By this time, I have read most of Ms.Binchey's books, and I have yet to be disappointed with any of them. Read more
Published on May 5 2002 by clare hynes-pope

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book by my favorite author
I love Maeve Binchy. I'm sorry that this will be her last book. I had read the reviews prior to reading this one and didn't expect it to be as great as the others. Read more
Published on April 21 2002 by MsPeaPod

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable
I stayed up until 11:30 to finish this book because I was so engrossed. I felt this was better written than Tara Road the people in it were so whiny and didn't seem to take... Read more
Published on April 15 2002 by Jane A. Bush

3.0 out of 5 stars I found it hard to get into
This is the first Maeve Binchy novel I have read. I was desperate for something to read and her name is always mentioned so I thought I would give it a try (I'm a big fan of... Read more
Published on April 15 2002 by Deanna Hockey

2.0 out of 5 stars It's no Tara Road
I really enjoyed Tara Road and I thought I would give more of Maeve Binchy's works a try. This was not one of her best pieces. No 8 year old children speak like that. Read more
Published on April 6 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!
I loved this book! Never mind that it was 14 cassettes and took 2 weeks to finish - I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time! Read more
Published on April 4 2002 by Amisha B. Mehta

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