The Past Tense of Love

by Elizabeth Cadell

Kerry, a calm and attractive young Englishwoman, is sent by her volatile boss to France to deliver a book to none other than the mother who had abandoned her years ago. Although a grande amoureuse in her day, she's now just a sick old lady about to lose her home and she had appealed for help to four of her previous lovers.

And what do you do if you're Pierre Leclair, too tall, too thin, with a large Adam's apple, stumbling feet and eyes that look sad even when you're happy? What do you do if you're madly in love with a brisk, efficient ever-so-accomplished English beauty? What do you do? You pursue her!

Genres: Romance, Fiction

221 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1969

About the author

Violet Elizabeth Vandyke was born on 10 November 1903 in Calcutta, British Raj, daughter of British parents, Elizabeth Lynch and Frederick Reginald Vandyke, a colonial officer. During the Great War she studied music in London, but refused a musical career and returned to India where she married in 1928 Henry Dunlop Raymond Mallock Cadell, and they had a son and daughter. After she was widowed ten years later, she returned to England.

Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.

She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kerry's mother and dad leave a lot to be desired, so I found it difficult to really enjoy this one. Kerry and Dale have been raised by maiden aunts, all but one whose married name they carry since they were abandoned by their unwed parents when they were little girls. Not a promising start to any book. Pierre is also not much of a hero. He is amusing but not exactly a heartthrob. In fact my favorite character is Jumbo, the kid with the heart of a lion. And I would have liked a resolution to Madeleine's future rather than the vague way it was left in the book.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like romance novels, but I like Elizabeth Cadell's book. I've been trying to figure out why, and the only answer I can come up with, is that her heroines are so self-possessed. They are self-assured young women, despite whatever handicaps life has dealth them (usually a lack of money)who can hold their own in their society (usually London in the 70s, with excursions into France, Portugal or some other more exotic locale). They have nothing to do with the self-doubt that Bridget Jones and her successors have made de rigueur in light fiction for women. And so it is with Kerry Crommer, the heroine of "The Past Tense of Love". Kerry is sent to France by her insufferably tycoon of a boss, to deliver a package to a mysterious lady. To her surprise, Madame Daumier is her own mother, whom she hadn't seen since her toddler years, when she and her younger sister were left to the care of their elderly and rather eccentric aunts. Kerry realizes that her mother is a well preserved but rather stupid beauty with a past of serial monogamy with talented men. It appears that these men come flocking to France when Madame Daumier sends out a plea for money so she can realize her one ambition : to buy a home of her own. Soon Kerry is caught up in the complications that arise from this situation.

This book is not Elizabeth Cadell's finest: the situation is too bizarre, and the hero is altogether not entirely the stuff of young girls' dreams. Hence the two stars.

bottom line : enjoyable light fiction

[Saralyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. I like Elizabeth Cadell's storytelling for some reason I can't put my finger on. Wouldn't recommend all her books, but I did really enjoy this one.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerry and her sister Dale had an unusual upbringing, left by their mother at an early age to be raised by their four aunts, who are very self contained people, absorbed in their own hobbies and interests, not interacting much with the outside world, or even each other. Now Dale is married, and Kerry is working as the highly efficient secretary of a demanding tycoon. Suddenly she is given a strange assignment by her boss - to take a book to a lady living in Brittany. When Kerry arrives at the lady’s house she has a big shock - it is her mother, Madeline, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a small child. It seems that her employer was, years before, a close friend of her mother’s, who has asked him for financial aid. And it seems that Kerry’s boss is not the only man Madeline appealed to for money. Soon the son of another of her old flames arrives. Pierre is not particularly attractive, but he is a brilliant artist and musician, and clearly attracted by Kerry. Kerry doesn’t know what to think about her mother, Pierre, or the various men whom her mother has been involved with.
This is a very enjoyable quirky romance with an interesting hero and heroine and some good supporting characters, and a few surprises. One unusual thing about it is that both hero and heroine have two parents living - this is very rare for an Elizabeth Cadell novel as usually her heroes and heroines are orphans or at least are minus one parent. Also it has the kind of ending that leaves you wondering what might happen next, which is always fun.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Cadell I hadn't read! Always pleased to find these. Kerry is sent to France to deliver a book for her boss, and is astonished when she meets the person it is for. Along the way, she meets a confused Danish professor, a gangling artist who is full of himself, and an American family. Can't describe the plot without spoilers, so I'll just say it's another good one!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cadell's composed heroine Kerry Cromer is sent by her aggressive boss to deliver a book to a lady in France. When Kerry arrives, she finds that the situation is stranger than she could have conceived--she's been unwittingly sent right to the heart of the mystery of her own family. She also realizes that she will never marry her persistent suitor, despite him having every quality she wants in a man, but finds another man--without any of these qualities--who somehow engages her interest.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly charming. I'm so happy to have discovered Elizabeth Cadell recently. I love how unconventional her characters are: the hero who's slightly comical and too skinny, the famously successful paramour who's empty-headed and a bit of a bore, and the independent heroine who prefers excellence in sports to romance. It all made for a delightful story that I devoured in a day and a half. Well done.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this before but did not remember it until about 50 pp in....

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the story line was interesting, I didn't really learn to know the main character, Kerry Cromer, in much depth. The blurb is rather deceptive, as the story isn't built around Pierre's attempts to woo her. Pierre is an odd sort, an artist full of his own genius.

The opening chapters are preamble, then the story became more plot-driven: the main issue being Kerry's mother and all her past loves. Kerry and her sister, born of one of these liaisons, were abandoned to the care of her aunts at ages 2+ 4 and never know their mother, though she sends money for their education. They've no clue who their father is.

Sent by her overbearing boss to an address in France to hand a book over to some woman, Kerry is shocked to come face to face with her mother--and discover her boss was one of mother's lovers. Then several other past lovers--plus Pierre, son of the last one--show up for a visit and surprise them both.

The mother seems rather airy, a non-presence. A wistful dreamer who's drifted from man to man; her maxim: "love 'em and leave 'em, then forget about them." Yet she's appealed to them for financial help and now here they are. Kerry has to cope with these arrivals and ambivalent feelings toward her estranged mother. Rather unsatisfying ending, IMO.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kerry Cromer works in London as a highly-paid personal assistant to very difficult executives. When her current boss, Lord Hazing, breaks his ankle, he sends her post-haste to France to personally deliver a book to a Madame something. Her current boyfriend, Nigel Frame, wants her to meet him after her work trip and take their relationship to the next level. When Kerry arrives at the given address, she is ushered in to meet--her mother, whom she recognizes only because she is the image of her sister Dale. Kerry and Dale were raised by their aunts, and haven't seen their mother in their memory, and have no idea who their father is. Kerry stays with her mother, and gradually meets two other of her mother's former lovers, and the son of a third. This episode of a few days turns out to be life changing in more ways than one.

This is one of my favorite Elizabeth Cadell books. EC specializes in light romances, with deft character sketches and a great deal of humor. This one is a perennial reread, and I impulsively read it again. It's still a favorite.

[Jannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Cadell has this massive charm as a writer her stories are very vsry readable the elements of the story are often very wildly random, divergent and bizarre. every book with slice of life romances with a mystery of some sort. The characters jump off the page feel very authentic even though you forget then almost immediately after book ends.
This one is a bit more memorable with Kerey randomly sent by her tyrant boss to her long lost mother who as a female sith 4 different lovers in her past all appearing in turn in the book strike a very different chord the as a supposed femme fatale in Nantes, France while the backdrop js filled with further absurdities such as ferocious young Americans and not so handsome yet magnetic Frenchmen and fellow pajnters and compoaers and fheir haphazard lives.
It was very very fun
I JUST WISH that her endings were not so damn abrupt gah

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I wouldn’t like it.

But as it turned out, as with every other Elizabeth Cadell novel, I did like it. A very distant mother. An unknown father. Some vague aunts. A pleasant sister and a very skinny French painter, along with a somewhat brash American family, all get sorted by the end of the book

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't like most of the plot in this one--the heroine's mother is pretty appalling. I did like Pierre, though. He is so unlike most of the heroes in Cadell's novels, but he is sympathetic and rather sweet. He pulls this book into 3-star territory, but just barely.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather an unusual plot for Cadell. Others have written about the plot. I'm not certain if I liked several of the characters. Quite a different plot.

[Ann W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[Debbie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute romance.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cadell never disappoints! Kerry Cromer, an executive assistant, delivers a message for her obnoxious demanding boss to his former paramour. Her life then turns upside-down. It will never be the same. I just wish there were a sequel.

[Ymt01 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual hero, nice french setting

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerry and Dale Mostyn have been raised by their Mostyn aunts, their mother having left them with their aunts when they were infants. The aunts lead contented self contained lives, absorbed with their own hobbies, and having no interest in the outside word. Dale, placid and contented like her aunts, has married and lives nearby. Kerry,more restless and adventurous, has moved to London and has a successful career as secretary to a high powered businessman, Lord Hazing. Suddenly Lord Hazing gives her an unusual commission,to take a book with a mysterious message to a lady living in France. When Kerry arrives, she is surprised to find that the lady in question is her mother - not seen by her for many years. There are various questions Kerry would like answered - like who her father is for instance, but her mother is not prepared to say until she has contacted him. Meanwhile there is the complication of various former lovers of Kerry’s mother turning up, and the artist Pierre Leclair, son of one of those former lovers, who is taking a great interest in Kerry. This is a highly entertaining story with some interesting characters and many enjoyable plot twists.

[Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting one. I'm still digesting it.

I must say, I found Pierre more appealing than most reviewers seem to -- he's not dashing and wildly handsome and fabulously wealthy etc., he's a flawed human being, and I like that -- but I don't consider this to really be a romance novel. The blurb makes it seem like one, but the romance between Kerry and Pierre isn't really the main plot. It's mostly about Kerry meeting her mother, trying to figure her out and come to terms with her mother's past.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not one of the better of Mrs Cadell's book.