The Peacock Emporium - Softcover

Moyes, Jojo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340830077 ISBN 13: 9780340830079

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2004

Synopsis

In the Sixties, Athene Forster is the most glamorous girl of her generation. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she is also beautiful, spoilt and out of control. When she agrees to marry dashing young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme her parents breathe a sigh of relief. But within two years rumours have begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman.

Thirty five years on, Suzanna Peacock is struggling with her glamorous mother's legacy. At odds with her father and his second wife, struggling in a stalled marriage, she returns to the place of her birth to find that the ghost of her mother, in differing ways, still haunts them all.

The only place she finds comfort is in her shop, The Peacock Emporium, a coffee shop-cum-curio store, decorated in her own image, which provides a haven for other misfits in the town. There she makes perhaps the first real friends of her life, including Alejandro, a male midwife, escaping his own ghosts in Argentina.

But the spectre of Athene and the shop itself combine to set in place a chain of tragic events, forcing Suzanna to confront the feelings she has disguised for so long - and her family, in their varying ways, finally to deal with the events of the past. And Suzanna discovers the key to her history, and her happiness, may have been in front of her all along.

About this title

Review:

If you liked Chocolat by Joanne Harris, you'll love Foreign Fruit by Jojo Moyes . . . blissful, romantic reading (Company on FOREIGN FRUIT)

'Moyes again proves herself a worthy successor to Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher with her second novel.' - Publishers Weekly on FOREIGN FRUIT

The characters are strong, believable and endearing - and will evoke recognition and sympathy from all ages . . . An enjoyable read - and a promising debut novel (Sunday Express on SHELTERING RAIN)

Wonderful full-blooded traditional storytelling, but with a fresh slant (Sarah Harrison on SHELTERING RAIN)

'Even if the sun isn't shining, this book will make you feel like it is . . .' - Good Housekeeping on FOREIGN FRUIT

Believable characters, faithfully described scenery, horses and hounds, mud and mould, this is good, old-fashioned storytelling at its best. Destined to be a bestseller, the book has a beautifully designed cover and, once opened, it is almost impossible to stop reading (North Shore Times, Australia on SHELTERING RAIN)

From the Publisher:

If you want a delicious novel that will completely transport you to a different world, and allow you to forget your own worries for a little while, The Peacock Emporium is the book for you.

Jojo Moyes has just won the RNA Award for the Best Novel of 2003 with Foreign Fruit, and this new novel confirms her to be one of the new stars on the fiction stage. She is a wonderful writer, with characters who are so real they leap off the page, and a real gift for making you care about the worlds she creates. If you enjoy writers like Joanne Harris, Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde Pilcher, you'll love Jojo Moyes.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0340830077
• ISBN 13: 9780340830079
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448