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12th out of 146 books
—
105 voters
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind (Miss Julia #1)
by
Ann B. Ross
Miss Julia, a recently bereaved and newly wealthy widow, is only slightly bemused when one Hazel Marie Puckett appears at her door with a youngster in tow and unceremoniously announces that the child is the bastard son of Miss Julia's late husband. Suddenly, this longtime church member and pillar of her small Southern community finds herself in the center of an unseemly sc...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
August 22nd 2000
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 1990)
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Enjoyable, light fiction, set in NC, I liked Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. However I loved Miss Julia!
When Miss Julia's husband dies unexpectedly, Miss Julia's sterile--on multiple levels--marriage ends and life as she never imagined begins. Having lived the stereotypically dependent, Southern church woman's life to this point in her 60s, Miss Julia is slowly transformed into a strong, sassy, Southern woman by dramatic and sometimes comical circumstances outside her control. And, throughout the bo...more
When Miss Julia's husband dies unexpectedly, Miss Julia's sterile--on multiple levels--marriage ends and life as she never imagined begins. Having lived the stereotypically dependent, Southern church woman's life to this point in her 60s, Miss Julia is slowly transformed into a strong, sassy, Southern woman by dramatic and sometimes comical circumstances outside her control. And, throughout the bo...more
I'm sorry. I really wanted to like Miss Julia, but I found her a bit annoying. I think it was more that I was annoyed by the whole avoidance of truths as being the way to find solutions. Julia did show some pluck, finally, at the end, and why she couldn't see how darling Sam was, I'll never understand.
There's more in this series and I have them, but I am not sure I'll read them right away, or at all, though I will register them to be given out at the 2007 Convention. I have been saving, hoardin...more
There's more in this series and I have them, but I am not sure I'll read them right away, or at all, though I will register them to be given out at the 2007 Convention. I have been saving, hoardin...more
OMG. How could I not know about this book till years later? I guess it worked out okay, because by the time I found it there were almost a dozen more, so I got to savor them all without having to wait.
NYT romance author Shirley Jump says, "Figure out your character's worst nightmare and put them inside it, and there's your story. Ross must feel the same way, otherwise how could she have the genius to start a book that starts with a knock on the door. But not just any door--it belongs to Miss Jul...more
NYT romance author Shirley Jump says, "Figure out your character's worst nightmare and put them inside it, and there's your story. Ross must feel the same way, otherwise how could she have the genius to start a book that starts with a knock on the door. But not just any door--it belongs to Miss Jul...more
What a fun book! Miss Julia is a 70-something woman, recently (suddenly) widowed. She has been the traditional good wife, uninvolved in finances, respectable, conforming to her husband's wishes. Now she discovers the joys of living alone, the delight of making her own decisions, the pleasures of a hefty bank-account (which she'd not known about). She is just enjoying the exhilaration of her new life when she is blasted with the news that her husband had been having an affair, that he had a young...more
In #1 of this series, we meet Miss Julia Springer and the main characters of the forthcoming stories. She is a prim, proper, conservative, Southern Lady of North Carolina, a recent widow. We see her change in amusing ways when she learns that her late husband, a boring, miserly yet wealthy, punishing husband was a hypocrite, as he fathered a child with a long-time mistress, one Hazel Marie. This young woman brings her son, Wesley Lloyd Jr., to Julia and leaves him. Miss Julia is taken by complet...more
This first book of the Miss Julia series, set in a small modern-day Southern town, introduces a delightful spunky protagonist. In her sixties and unexpectedly widowed, she is eager to take charge of her own life for the first time and manage her own affairs. She isn't sad her husband is gone, because she is now wealthy and free to be herself. Without warning, her husband's illegitimate son is abandoned by his mother at Julia's house. Julia had no idea her husband was seeing another woman, and sh...more
This southern style comedy with a 60+ heroine, "Miss Julia" was a delight to read. At first I wasn't so sure...Do I want to be inside the head of this biddy?....But soon enough she had me laughing and there were enough twists and action, especially from the middle on to hold my interest. Miss Julia is newly widowed and adjusting well enough to her new situation when the door bell rings and there before her are her husbands mistress (who she had no idea existed) and her son (Miss Julia's husband...more
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Julia Springer’s life has been turned upside down – she’s a recent widow who has been left a sizeable estate, thanks to the financial planning by her late husband. However, when a young boy is dropped off on her doorstep and she is told, “This here is Wesley Lloyd Jr…I got to leave him with you,” by one Hazel Marie Pucket, the boy’s mother, Miss Julia has no idea how topsy turvy it will all end up.
Miss Julia was a delightful, whimsical novel, full of over...more
Julia Springer’s life has been turned upside down – she’s a recent widow who has been left a sizeable estate, thanks to the financial planning by her late husband. However, when a young boy is dropped off on her doorstep and she is told, “This here is Wesley Lloyd Jr…I got to leave him with you,” by one Hazel Marie Pucket, the boy’s mother, Miss Julia has no idea how topsy turvy it will all end up.
Miss Julia was a delightful, whimsical novel, full of over...more
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I loved this book (it's the second time I've read it) It is so light hearted, taking situations that can/do happen in life and letting us experience through them the feelings, frustrations, worries you name it without having to actually go through it. The reason it appeals is that we have all been in situations that we think we have under control and come to find out that nothing is within our control.
Miss Julia is fighting so many areas at once that trying to keep it all straight in her head ,...more
Miss Julia is fighting so many areas at once that trying to keep it all straight in her head ,...more
I saw the latest book in the library and of course came here for the lowdown. I realized it was a series and I like to start at the beginning of a run so I reserved it.
To my surprise, it has ties to western North Carolina where I worked for 11 years. I lived in Asheville and wonder if I ever interviewed the author when she was still at UNC-Asheville teaching or just met her around the region. And I'm very familiar with Hendersonville which stands as the inspiration I'm sure for Abbotsville. The...more
To my surprise, it has ties to western North Carolina where I worked for 11 years. I lived in Asheville and wonder if I ever interviewed the author when she was still at UNC-Asheville teaching or just met her around the region. And I'm very familiar with Hendersonville which stands as the inspiration I'm sure for Abbotsville. The...more
This book was promoted aggressively at the library, so I bit. Read the first sentence, and realized I had read it before! (Hey, is the spell check on in this text box?) It will be interesting to find my first review of this book.
This second reading, I only knew what was going to happen just before it did, because of my first reading. The book is somewhat dated, it is about a 60 or so year old woman, who never did anything on her own, she didn't know how to write a check for instance. She had be...more
This second reading, I only knew what was going to happen just before it did, because of my first reading. The book is somewhat dated, it is about a 60 or so year old woman, who never did anything on her own, she didn't know how to write a check for instance. She had be...more
Found this (and the 2nd in the series) for 50 cents at the used bookstore so I figured 'Why not?!' Now I know why they were so cheap.
Miss Julia is presented as spunky, determined, having a backbone of steel, etc. All I saw was a slightly whiny and easily fooled martyr that had her head in the sand too long. I know total trust & obedience to one's husband is very common among that generation (I know a ton of ladies that way) but I think the author swung back & forth between that & th...more
Miss Julia is presented as spunky, determined, having a backbone of steel, etc. All I saw was a slightly whiny and easily fooled martyr that had her head in the sand too long. I know total trust & obedience to one's husband is very common among that generation (I know a ton of ladies that way) but I think the author swung back & forth between that & th...more
A quaint story that introduces the colorful characters in a quintessential southern town named Abbotsville. Miss Julia is the recently bereaved widow of one of the pillars of the community, Wesley Lloyd Springer, and has had a series of recent shocks. She finds her husband dead of a heart attack in their driveway, discovers that he had more money than would be expected from the stingy weekly allowance he doled out to her, and just as she gets used to the largesse, she discovers that he has left...more
It's funny and heartwarming, this story about a Southern lady who's just found out that her recently deceased husband has a 9-year old boy. As the story progresses, I grow in fondness of Miss Julia, who is the epitome of a lady with a mind of her own. I'm hooked by the charming, lovable characters - from the loyal Lillian (Miss Julia's helper and right-hand woman), to Deputy Bates (Miss Julia's very own alarm system), to Binkie (Miss Julia's smart lawyer, trying to prove herself in a town where...more
Miss Julia is introduced to us as a sensible, no-nonsense, upright member of the community, so I'm not buying that she would swoon over the forced charms of a most unattractive man she just met moments before. Nor do i believe she would have feared that she may, indeed, be afflicted with nymphomania, as asserted by her pastor. Those antics would have been more fitting of Little Lloyd's mother.
Although that scenario just didn't fit for me, I found the story as a whole to be totally entertaining w...more
Although that scenario just didn't fit for me, I found the story as a whole to be totally entertaining w...more
Okay, so I didn't exactly FINISH, and here's why:
This book is written as a first person narrator with a down-home-sy voice that (at first) makes Miss Julia very likable and trustworthy. However, as the narrative continues, there are a couple of things here and there that just don't seem plausible. Twice that I remember, I rolled my eyes but kept reading, suspending my disbelief (or, at least, trying to). THEN somewhere around page 190, Miss Julia does something that is so completely out of chara...more
This book is written as a first person narrator with a down-home-sy voice that (at first) makes Miss Julia very likable and trustworthy. However, as the narrative continues, there are a couple of things here and there that just don't seem plausible. Twice that I remember, I rolled my eyes but kept reading, suspending my disbelief (or, at least, trying to). THEN somewhere around page 190, Miss Julia does something that is so completely out of chara...more
This book is a fairly quick read with elements of mystery, chick lit, comedy, and suspense. It was nice to read something from the perspective of an older lady addressing life changes, and the character growth was appreciable.
In my mind, though, too much of the plot could have been easily resolved if the characters had JUST GONE TO THE POLICE! (I never did quite figure out why they didn't.) Add to that the fact that the "bad guys" never got punished, and I found the story rather unsatisfying. P...more
In my mind, though, too much of the plot could have been easily resolved if the characters had JUST GONE TO THE POLICE! (I never did quite figure out why they didn't.) Add to that the fact that the "bad guys" never got punished, and I found the story rather unsatisfying. P...more
This was a fun read about an older but wealthy Southern widow who suddenly finds herself saddled with the unattractive 9 year old son of her husband's girlfriend. Ross draws her various characters with enough clarity that they are all interesting, and some appropriately despicable. The occasional mild profanity didn't seem offensive because it was just part of the Southern dialog and not used by the characters as profanity per se.
Especially surprising and entertaining was Miss Julia's novice an...more
Especially surprising and entertaining was Miss Julia's novice an...more
This was so fun and charming to read. Actually, I listened to it on tape. I enjoyed the character of Miss Julia so much. I thought the plot was interesting and enjoyable. I especially liked how the tables are turned on our perceptions of people.
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind is a clever novel about a middle-aged Southern woman whose husband recently died leaving her with a very large estate. Her world is turned upset down when her husband's mistress appears at her doorstep, with a child in hand and...more
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind is a clever novel about a middle-aged Southern woman whose husband recently died leaving her with a very large estate. Her world is turned upset down when her husband's mistress appears at her doorstep, with a child in hand and...more
Just what I needed this week. After several crises at work, this fun little book cheered me up immensely. A wife who has been kept on a stingy budget by her bank-owning husband finds, upon his death, that she's worth millions. AND that her church-going husband had a second family, which everybody in town (but her) knew about.
Miss Julia, the viewpoint character is a charming, small-town Presbyterian. It's a delight to watch her find herself, and her gumption, through dealing with the mess her la...more
Miss Julia, the viewpoint character is a charming, small-town Presbyterian. It's a delight to watch her find herself, and her gumption, through dealing with the mess her la...more
A charming, light hearted and witty read. Miss Julia is a breath of fresh air, a true Southern gentlewoman with a streak of feistiness. The characters are warm and engaging (except those who aren't meant to be!)and I shall be delighted to read more of Miss Julia's adventures.
In this first book we are introduced to newly widowed Miss Julia, a true Southern, god-fearing, churchgoing woman whose husband took care of her in life and death..so she thinks until Miss Puckett turns up on her doorstep wi...more
In this first book we are introduced to newly widowed Miss Julia, a true Southern, god-fearing, churchgoing woman whose husband took care of her in life and death..so she thinks until Miss Puckett turns up on her doorstep wi...more
An interesting story... I'm glad it's a part of the series because I enjoyed meeting several of the characters and look forward to continuing the acquaintance. Old southern ladies have interesting views of the world not shared by people from other parts of the world, and it was interesting to watch this one learn how to live (somewhat) independently for the first time in her life.
Some of the written dialect was a bit hard to understand... perhaps my fault for being an Iowan, and it may get easie...more
Some of the written dialect was a bit hard to understand... perhaps my fault for being an Iowan, and it may get easie...more
Really enjoyable...just for fun...silly...light....funny...quick read...if there are more(someone told me it's a series) I would read them for something light!
This book was hilarious--every situation Miss Julia, finds herself in just gets worse and worse, and funnier and funnier. First, she's widowed, then she learns she's wealthy, thanks to her late husband's assets. Her pastor, who was great friends with the late husband, tries to convince her to donate her money to his own cause, and when she refuses, he sets out to prove she's incapable of handling her own affairs. During all this, Miss Julia discovers her late husband had an illegitimate child. T...more
Miss Julia, a proper Southern lady, is just getting over the shock of her banker husband's death, who left her very wealthy, when a woman shows up on her doorstep with a little boy. The woman says that the little boy belongs to Miss Julia's husband and now that they've been evicted she must go to North Carolina to become a beautician to support them. And with that, Miss Julia is saddled with a spindly 9 year-old boy. Then the boy's mother disappears. Although Miss Julia is rather naive, she has...more
Poor Miss Julia. Having just buried her controlling husband who died of a heart attack and learning just how much he was worth, she starts planning how to start spending some of her inheritance when the doorbell rings and she finds herself facing ....her husband's mistress and 9 year old son.
If that wasn't bad enough, the mistress leaves her son with Julia and flees. Everything just spirals out of control at that point. Julia has to fight a greedy pastor, a conniving doctor, a break in, kidnapp...more
If that wasn't bad enough, the mistress leaves her son with Julia and flees. Everything just spirals out of control at that point. Julia has to fight a greedy pastor, a conniving doctor, a break in, kidnapp...more
Very southern lit. Old South meets New South.
Miss Julia is an older woman (60s? which doesn't seem that old anymore!), recently widowed who ends up with a bit of trouble on her hands in the form of her dead husband's "secret family:" his 9-yr-old son & his mistress. Hilarity ensues.
The characters are funny southern caricatures. Lots of importance on "how everything looks" to other people. What would the pastor think? what would the townsfolk think? Everyone who should, gets his comeuppance...more
Miss Julia is an older woman (60s? which doesn't seem that old anymore!), recently widowed who ends up with a bit of trouble on her hands in the form of her dead husband's "secret family:" his 9-yr-old son & his mistress. Hilarity ensues.
The characters are funny southern caricatures. Lots of importance on "how everything looks" to other people. What would the pastor think? what would the townsfolk think? Everyone who should, gets his comeuppance...more
Miss Julia was a character who hadn't changed in decades. She was a recent widow on the other side of sixty as the story opens. Like most of us she lives her life day to day going through the same routine with the same results. Her ordinary life turns upside down when she finds out not only did her husband have a mistress, he also had a son. This child was suddenly thrust upon her, causing her whole life to change and with it Miss Julia.
This book offers a great example for writers on how events...more
This book offers a great example for writers on how events...more
I saw this book at Second Story Bookstore in Dupont Circle last week. I decided to try it since the reviews were so positive on Amazon and it was published by Penguin. It started out strong and I loved the voice of widow Julia Springer. Unfortunately the plot was too big for the author and it became a bit far-fetched and zany toward the end. However, it is in the same genre as the Spellman series and Stephanie Plum, so if you are looking for a really light read give it a try.
Quick synopsis: Mis...more
Quick synopsis: Mis...more
I started this series after a friend recommendation and I was pleasantly surprised. Miss Julia is a captivating Southern woman whose stance on what is proper rarely wavers even when she is not following her own rules on society. She is witty, delightful and adept at solving her own problems although not without a bit of a mess to straighten out. In this first novel, Julia discovers that her deceased husband had a love child when Little Lloyd is dropped on her doorstep by her husband's mistress....more
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Ann B. Ross, who taught literature at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, is the author of Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, one of the most popular Southern debut novels in years, Miss Julia Takes Over, Miss Julia Throws a Wedding, and Miss Julia Hits the Road. She lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
More about Ann B. Ross...
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“Be kind to everyone - you don't know what cross they're bearing and how sweet that kind word might ring.”
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“I don't believe in speaking ill of the dead, even when it's the truth.”
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