House of Orphans - Softcover

Dunmore, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141029986 ISBN 13: 9780141029986

Publisher: Penguin, 2007

Synopsis

Finland in the 1900s: revolution is wafting in on the cold winds from Russia, but in the provincial backwoods, life for the widowed country doctor Thomas Esklund continues, quiet, settled and sedate. Then he hires a new young housekeeper from the local orphanage.

Eeva – assured, unpredictable and independent, utterly mysterious and unlike any servant Thomas has ever met, ruffles the feathers of his nosy neighbours. Their question is – could Thomas just possibly be falling in love with her? But Eeva yearns for an escape from service and a return to her childhood home in Helsinki – and with Thomas's help she will make that break and return to her first love as well as the happy dangers of life with her politicised comrades. Until a crisis forces her to rethink her plans and call for Thomas's help again.....

House of Orphans is a spellbinding story of love and loneliness, of the differences between change and revolution, and of the terrorism that lurks everywhere in times of change, even in our private midst.

About this title

Review:

Outstanding, a sheer pleasure to read. Dunmore is a remarkable storyteller * Daily Mail * Part love story, part tragedy . . . Dunmore on dazzling form. Everyone should read her work * Independent on Sunday * Every character is richly drawn and makes for compelling reading ... top-quality fiction * Daily Express * Richly ambitious . . . there isn't a dull page. A remarkable achievement * Scotsman * Extraordinary . . . combines a luminous delicacy of observation with raw emotional power to haunting effect * Sunday Telegraph * Vivid and exciting . . . Dunmore creates a beautiful sense of stillness . . . she conveys a passion for Finland's icy landscape * Observer * Beautifully written . . . a story about us all * Evening Standard *

From the Back Cover:

`An extraordinary novel' Guardian

`A marvellous richness of texture ... to be in the hands such an accomplished write is a great pleasure' Spectator

`Vivid and exciting ... Dunmore creates a beautiful sense of stillness ... she conveys a passion for Finland's icy landscape' Observer

`Eeva is a glittering character' The Times

`A portrait of a country at war is brilliantly achieved ... a spellbinding tale' Red

`Extraordinary ... combines a luminous delicacy of observation with raw emotional power to haunting effect' Sunday Telegraph

`Beautifully written ... a story about us all' Evening Standard

`Part love story, part tragedy ... Dunmore on dazzling form. Everyone should read her work' Independent on Sunday

'Outstanding, a sheer pleasure to read. Dunmore is a remarkable storyteller' Daily Mail

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0141029986
• ISBN 13: 9780141029986
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336