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7th out of 284 books
—
220 voters
Penmarric
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....more
Paperback, 704 pages
Published
July 12th 1984
by Fawcett
(first published January 1st 1971)
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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 of Penmar and the great house that sits upon it, Penmarric. After twelve years and almost losing hope, fate takes a turn as the wastrel son of the current owner dies and a very young Mark is named heir to all of it. Mark marries Janna, who is ten years older, and has a bit of a surprise in store for him from a past rela...more
First read this in 1972, then again in the mid-80s, by which time Howatch had also written CASHELMARA, THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT, SINS OF THE FATHERS and THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
I've just un-boxed my copy and set it on my TBR pile - I think a re-read will be fun. I remember it as a very engrossing story, though when I first read it I had no idea who the characters were inspired by, though Howatch begins each chapter with quotes from historical works - her game here and in others was to take historical...more
I've just un-boxed my copy and set it on my TBR pile - I think a re-read will be fun. I remember it as a very engrossing story, though when I first read it I had no idea who the characters were inspired by, though Howatch begins each chapter with quotes from historical works - her game here and in others was to take historical...more
This is one of my very favorite books which I own and have read 7 times but I didn't have the author in my list of favorite authors! How surprising. I have read other books by Susan Howatch but remember nothing about them. However, I do love to read Penmarric over and over again!
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The feeling for the Cornish countryside is good, but there was not one character I liked. I found the males mostly unlikeable, some of them weak, immature and above all sexist. (Yes, I know this is an historic novel, but it still annoyed me.) Most of the males were like tomcats on heat. It's a very male-centric book. The females I found mostly bland and boring. Female characters with some spirit came to bad ends. I can only conclude from that that the author likes her females to be blander (and...more
Own.
I enjoyed reading this a lot. The writing is really excellent and draws the reader through the story. The motivations of the characters, the relationships between the characters, the voices of the characters are all so well done. Her characters, too, do not remain static but mature, grow, and change and their voices reflect this. Sympathies with one character narrator become antipathies with the next. Howatch teaches us how to consider the perspective of those we love ... and those we hate....more
I enjoyed reading this a lot. The writing is really excellent and draws the reader through the story. The motivations of the characters, the relationships between the characters, the voices of the characters are all so well done. Her characters, too, do not remain static but mature, grow, and change and their voices reflect this. Sympathies with one character narrator become antipathies with the next. Howatch teaches us how to consider the perspective of those we love ... and those we hate....more
I love family sagas and Susan Howatch has written some amazing books about feuding families, intrigue, greed and complicated love and I discovered her writing when I first read this book years ago.
An enthralling story that spans 3 generations of the Casttallack and how their obsession with owning Penmarric, a mansion situated in the stark and beautiful area of Cornwall, causes the family to be divided for ever.
The characters are great and liked the way the story is told through the different me...more
An enthralling story that spans 3 generations of the Casttallack and how their obsession with owning Penmarric, a mansion situated in the stark and beautiful area of Cornwall, causes the family to be divided for ever.
The characters are great and liked the way the story is told through the different me...more
I'm very tempted to give Penmarric 4 stars instead of three, but something is just holding me back. I really like how Susan Howatch writes, but I couldn't get into this book as much as I got into Wheel of Fortune. I think the thing I really didn't like about the book was how she seemed to take all of the unsubstantiated gossip about the Plantagenets, and used that to make her story. But I may be a little biased though because I felt like every character she made to be just a jerk represented the...more
Penmarric was Susan Howatch's first book, written when she was twenty-six. It is different in style than her later books, particularly the Starbridge series focusing on Anglican priests. Penmarric shows her working on her craft of creating complex characters (which she does well), but we don’t see the depth of plot she cultivated as she continued to write. The characters of Penmarric are deeply flawed individuals, but she writes great growth and change in them.
The book follows a family through t...more
The book follows a family through t...more
Wow! I have not read a book in quite this genre for a while. I'd read this one decades ago, but remembered practically nothing about it.
The writer succeeds in writing a long family saga into a book, giving enough detail to keep the story interesting but not too much to make for a really long book or a series of books. Well done! Even though there's the element of over-dramatisation here and there, and though at times the story unfolds pretty quickly.
Good summertime reading!
The writer succeeds in writing a long family saga into a book, giving enough detail to keep the story interesting but not too much to make for a really long book or a series of books. Well done! Even though there's the element of over-dramatisation here and there, and though at times the story unfolds pretty quickly.
Good summertime reading!
This was a re-read for me. I know I read it probably 25 yrs ago, but of course, remembered nothing when I picked it up at a beach house for something to read. After enjoying the Downton Abbey television series, this family saga fell right in step with that one, through the change of the 20th century and WWI. I liked the way the book was put together with each character doing a segment from their own perspective. Very good read!
I loved this book when it first came out years ago. I picked it up the other day at the library - wondering if it would hold up over the years. I'm at about page 80 and I am really enjoying it.
10/10/10 I just finished it and it's still a good a read as when it first came out. I would recommend it to anyone interested in books spanning different generations. It is set at the end of the 19th century in Britain, mainly along the coast of Cornwall and extends to about 1945
10/10/10 I just finished it and it's still a good a read as when it first came out. I would recommend it to anyone interested in books spanning different generations. It is set at the end of the 19th century in Britain, mainly along the coast of Cornwall and extends to about 1945
First read this wonderful book in 1974. Ran out of books to read this week, so looked on the shelf and found this one...great choice. I did not realize during the first reading that the story parallels Henry II and his family. This time around..I saw it immediately.
Odd book. Maybe it's supposed to be a bodice-ripper or an epic, or an epic bodice-ripper. But I found it tiresome, the characters less than likable and the historical settings more an attempt for Susan Howatch to appear erudite than useful for the plot. I did like the Plantagenet foreshadowing for each chapter, however.
I like family saga's and at the time I read it -- many years ago -- I enjoyed it beginning to end. That is my criteria for a 5 star. Howatch is a good author, but after two family saga's she went off in a different direction and it was not one I followed.
I know I read this ages ago and I'd like to read it again. The parallels with Henry II and his sons was entertaining as I recall, although it didn't necessarily make for the most likeable characters.
Read a very long time ago when I loved epics and couldn't wait to read sequels. Not sure I have the patience to read this type of novel now. I avoid television like this, so why would I read about it???
Drama-filled family stuff. It was entertaining for sure...but kinda depressing! I wish she had added just a few more wholesome, redeeming characters to get me through all the realistic, selfish characters. :) Each chapter was from a different character's perspective, and that was intriguing. It also reminded me of an Isabel Allende book I've read...similar family saga issues.
Read in 1973, I can't imagine if it is good or not, but enjoyed it at the time and passed it along to some classmates, who might notice this on the list and smile.
Fantastic family epic saga. None of the characters are likable. They are all selfish, egocentric and deeply flawed. Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to see what would happen on each page. I loved how the characters stories ran parallel to the lives of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitane and their children.This took a while to read but it was worth it!
This rates high on my list, like Penmarick. Beautiful story line, amazing visuals. I loved this book. Would love to see it available on Nook format.
This is a re-read for me. I have trouble remembering the intracies of this kind of three-generation story so I enjoy it the second time around.
Loved this book. A story of generations from early 1900's to second world war. Set around the tin mines of Cornwall. Very hard to put down.
Better-than-average historical fiction told from the perspective of each of the main characters. I love being spoon-fed my history!
It's been so many years since I read this I couldn't begin to do a review, but I do remember loving it and reading more Howatch.
I love this book - I read it when I was very young and eventually bought my own copy to treasure, have reread it a few times
Recently I enjoyed reading Cashelmara by Susan Howatch. Penmarric is similar in that it follows a family through several generations with a different key player narrating each section. The way Susan Howatch parallels the lives of her characters with the lives of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Richard and King John adds an interesting element that may prompt readers to learn more about those historical figures. Like in Cashelmara, the plot centers around a grand family estate (Penmarric) wh...more
Detailed, romantic, with the extraodinary ability to pull the reader into the story and away from reality. *sigh*
Her books Penmarric, Wheel of Fortune and Cashelmara are all fantastic reads. Very detailed and interesting characters
The longest book I had read at this point in my life. I loved it and I cannot even remember why anymore.
I read this book in rebellion against a reading class for which the only work to get an 'A' was to read X number of pages. I think all of Susan Howatch's works are bricks. This was an easy way to get my quarter's 'A'. I don't know if Mrs. Eddington believed that I actually read it [I did, honest!], but I was able to answer all of her questions, so I got credit. I don't remember anything about it except that it was a long, historical family saga. I do remember thinking in junior high that I would...more
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Susan Howatch (b. 1940) is a British novelist who has penned bestselling mysteries, family sagas, and other novels. Howatch was born in Surrey, England. She began writing as a teen and published her first book when she moved to the United States in 1964. Howatch found global success first with her five sagas and then with her novels about the Church of England in the twentieth century. She has now...more
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