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The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle
Elizabeth Pringle has lived on the beautiful island of Arran for over 90 years; the retired teacher and spinster is a familiar and yet solitary figure tending her garden and riding her bicycle around the island. When she dies she leaves her beloved house, "Holmlea" to a woman she merely saw pushing a pram down the road over thirty years ago. That young mother, Anna, had put a letter through Elizabeth's door asking to buy the house, but Elizabeth never pursued her. But time passed and Anna is now in a home with dementia and it falls to her daughter Martha, the baby in the pram, to come and take up their inheritance.
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
February 2, 2019
3.5 stars
I loved the decriptions of Arran and the story was all right. I didn't think the romance in it was very well described. In the last few pages a secret came to light which made the story less sweet that I thought it to be orginally.
I loved the decriptions of Arran and the story was all right. I didn't think the romance in it was very well described. In the last few pages a secret came to light which made the story less sweet that I thought it to be orginally.
April 12, 2014
Disappointed with this book. Kirsty Wark may be a fine journalist but not such a great novelist - maybe I could settle for a good storyteller. All rather cliched and whilst not exactly happy ever after - things were all a bit neat and everything nicely paired off for any comparison with real life.
Felt rather patronised as a reader, not being allowed to piece things together for ourselves by having story "clues" repeated to make sure we got the point.
Felt rather patronised as a reader, not being allowed to piece things together for ourselves by having story "clues" repeated to make sure we got the point.
January 14, 2022
What a wonderful read, my first Bookclub read of 2022 and it was brilliant.
A sweeping story with two main characters who never really meet but whose lives are connected.
The discriptons of Arran are wonderful and the attention to detail perfect, I could have almost been there myself.
Well written, entertaining and a proper story. I loved it!
A sweeping story with two main characters who never really meet but whose lives are connected.
The discriptons of Arran are wonderful and the attention to detail perfect, I could have almost been there myself.
Well written, entertaining and a proper story. I loved it!
March 24, 2016
This is a story centred on the lives of two women – Elizabeth Pringle and Martha Morrison. Elizabeth has lived all her life on the Isle of Arran and knowing that she is dying and has no living relatives, leaves her house, Holmlea in Lamlash, to Anna Morrison, a woman she had seen years before, pushing her daughter’s pram down the road outside. Anna Morrison, had fallen in love with the house and written to Elizabeth asking her to get in touch if she ever thought of selling it. But Anna is now suffering from dementia and it is her daughter, Martha who goes to Arran to see the house on her mother’s behalf.
What follows is a dual narrative moving between Elizabeth’s account in her own words of her life up to the present day and Martha’s current situation, told in the third person, as she meets the people Elizabeth knew, in particular, Saul, a Buddhist, Niall, a young man who is passionate about gardening, and Catriona his sister who runs a hotel on the island. It’s a deceptive book in that it appears that not much happens and it is gentle and leisurely paced, but it is actually packed with events, some of them dramatic and devastating in their effect on the characters’ lives. And it has a vivid sense of place and of Arran’s history, which I loved.
I much preferred Elizabeth’s story beginning when she was just four and her father went off to fight in the First World War; her relationship with her mother; her life as a teacher and her love life. I found the ending of her life very moving. Martha’s story seems rather pat, everything falls into place a bit too easily – especially her relationship with her mother and sister and the instant friendships she makes on the island.
It’s a book about family, relationships, especially mother/daughter/sister relationships, about happiness, love and heartbreak, old age, memories and the contrast between life in the early part of the twentieth century and the present. It’s strong on description, which is important to me as I like to visualise the locations – and I had no difficulty at all with that in this book.
All in all, I was captivated by this story.
What follows is a dual narrative moving between Elizabeth’s account in her own words of her life up to the present day and Martha’s current situation, told in the third person, as she meets the people Elizabeth knew, in particular, Saul, a Buddhist, Niall, a young man who is passionate about gardening, and Catriona his sister who runs a hotel on the island. It’s a deceptive book in that it appears that not much happens and it is gentle and leisurely paced, but it is actually packed with events, some of them dramatic and devastating in their effect on the characters’ lives. And it has a vivid sense of place and of Arran’s history, which I loved.
I much preferred Elizabeth’s story beginning when she was just four and her father went off to fight in the First World War; her relationship with her mother; her life as a teacher and her love life. I found the ending of her life very moving. Martha’s story seems rather pat, everything falls into place a bit too easily – especially her relationship with her mother and sister and the instant friendships she makes on the island.
It’s a book about family, relationships, especially mother/daughter/sister relationships, about happiness, love and heartbreak, old age, memories and the contrast between life in the early part of the twentieth century and the present. It’s strong on description, which is important to me as I like to visualise the locations – and I had no difficulty at all with that in this book.
All in all, I was captivated by this story.
November 11, 2015
I loved this book. Well done Kirsty Wark on your debut novel. Arran is a place I have always wanted to visit and the descriptions make it even more enticing. A gentle read, with likeable characters. Spread over two different eras and the connection of a house, 'Holmlea', which Elizabeth Pringle leaves to a stranger, Anna Morrison, in her will. A story of memories and heartbreak. Martha now has to find out why this house has been left to her mother, Anna. Each chapter is quite short, with Elizabeth writing hers like a diary, of her life and first love on her beloved island. Martha travels between Arran and Glasgow/Edinburgh, with her mother suffering from dementia she takes on the unleashing of the mystery of the legacy on her mothers behalf. She falls in love with the house and its secrets.
There was slight twist to the tale towards the end, but it was dealt with in a delicate manner and brought a tear to my eye.
So glad I bought this book to dip in to....recommended.
There was slight twist to the tale towards the end, but it was dealt with in a delicate manner and brought a tear to my eye.
So glad I bought this book to dip in to....recommended.
April 11, 2015
Ok so I didn't even read it all. This was not a good book. I could have persevered if it had had a decent airport fiction plot, but I really didn't care where it was going. The characters were as flat as tracing paper and where the story and characters lacked, the writing MORE than made up for it with its overuse of adjectives and description. Unsubtle and bland.
September 23, 2014
Beautiful slice of life story about the connections amongst mostly women (there are men, but it's certainly not their story, they are just a part of the women's stories) across 3 generations. Mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. It's about memory, how it can hurt, restore, and how it gives identity. It's a beautiful and moving story.
That said, I was not too convinced about two issues. The first is the sensational discovery by the end, unpredictable, unannounced, and, however touching, it felt oddly out of place. Its being a painful memory does still not make it fit properly as a last chapter in Elizabeth's memoir, when all is done, said and recounted in detail.
And what about Anna Morrison? Am I the only one thinking her story's thread is left dangling as a rather secondary story when from the beginning it looked to be a poignant counterpoint to Elizabeth's vivid memory? I somehow thought it should have been more about HER story. Maybe it's the consequence of spending time finding couples for Elizabeth's last two friends? Given Anna's predicament, I suppose no definite closing scene might have been too satisfactory, but still I feel the story owed her a bit more?
Just my thoughts on the subject, though!
That said, I was not too convinced about two issues. The first is the sensational discovery by the end, unpredictable, unannounced, and, however touching, it felt oddly out of place. Its being a painful memory does still not make it fit properly as a last chapter in Elizabeth's memoir, when all is done, said and recounted in detail.
And what about Anna Morrison? Am I the only one thinking her story's thread is left dangling as a rather secondary story when from the beginning it looked to be a poignant counterpoint to Elizabeth's vivid memory? I somehow thought it should have been more about HER story. Maybe it's the consequence of spending time finding couples for Elizabeth's last two friends? Given Anna's predicament, I suppose no definite closing scene might have been too satisfactory, but still I feel the story owed her a bit more?
Just my thoughts on the subject, though!
December 14, 2016
Couldn't tolerate the repetitive crappy description: "Martha did this, then she did that, then she walked across the room, then she gasped, then she looked away, then she did a sad face..." Gave it til chapter 2.
June 2, 2021
The story is told from two points of view: Elizabeth's a first-person narrative of her life, and Martha's present, third-person reaction to events. Personally, I think the author tried to tackle too much. Elizabeth's story & the distress of Anna's dementia were quite well done and would have been enough to tackle; the modern romance definitely isn't her strong point. The island is described very well, Elizabeth's love of gardening, and the two unusual friendships that come to her late in life. Her story is quite interesting, and her first-person narrative is engaging. Martha's chapters, on the other hand, seem filled with meaningless squabbles & insecurities, mundane details, melodrama, and second-guessing of other characters. I could also have done without the Mills & Boon-quality sex scenes, which add nothing to the story, particularly in Martha's chapters. The relationship with Martha's sister didn't ring true to me, but some of the interactions with her mother, who's slipping into dementia, are well done and quite touching.
This was selection by my book club, and I'm not sure I would have bothered finishing it otherwise.
This was selection by my book club, and I'm not sure I would have bothered finishing it otherwise.
April 16, 2014
I’m always a little wary of books written by people in the public eye – Kirsty Wark is far more familiar as a broadcaster – but having heard the author talking about the book in a number of radio interviews I was intrigued by the story and wanted to try it. My expectations weren’t particularly high at the start – I was rather expecting it to be a little dry and scholarly – but within a few pages I was swept up by the excellent writing and the beautiful story.
The book is set in two time frames, and the stories alternate. Elizabeth Pringle’s story – told through her journal – begins at the time of the First World War, when she moves with her mother from their farm to a house called Holmlea in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. We follow Elizabeth’s life, her relationship with her mother and their friend the Duchess of Montrose, her passion for gardening – and relationships built, lost and continuing. In later life she becomes a solitary figure, with two firm friends – Niall, an architect who shares her passion for gardening, and Saul, a Buddhist monk on Holy Isle. Just before her death, she writes a letter to a stranger – a young girl she had watched pushing her baby in a pram over 30 years ago, and who had asked her to let her know if she ever planned to leave her home.
Anna, the young girl then pushing the pram, now has dementia and it falls to Martha – then the baby – to take up the legacy and discover Elizabeth’s secrets, resolving some of her own family issues along the way.
There were so many things I loved about this book. The setting is quite wonderful, drawn in great detail by someone who clearly loves the Isle of Arran and knows it well. Descriptions feature heavily in this book – I loved the detail about Holmlea, and the way in which everything in it revealed a little more about Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth’s story is quite engrossing – through her life, we share her passions and friendships, and finally share her one big secret that shaped her life. The modern story is also strong – we see Martha picking up Elizabeth’s friendships with Niall and Saul, and the difficulties of her fraught relationship with her sister Susie and the handling of her mother’s dementia were beautifully handled. I really like the way in which the book focuses on the issues in women’s lives, their universality, but the way in which the changing times have affected how they are handled.
I’ve read other reviews of this book, implying that the author’s transition from journalism to story-telling might not have been entirely successful: I really don’t agree, I enjoyed the writing and thought it was an excellent flowing story, quite captivating, and perfectly paced. Another review recommended it to anyone who liked Maggie O’Farrell – high praise indeed, and the comparison really works for me. Yes, I really liked it that much – do give it a try.
The book is set in two time frames, and the stories alternate. Elizabeth Pringle’s story – told through her journal – begins at the time of the First World War, when she moves with her mother from their farm to a house called Holmlea in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. We follow Elizabeth’s life, her relationship with her mother and their friend the Duchess of Montrose, her passion for gardening – and relationships built, lost and continuing. In later life she becomes a solitary figure, with two firm friends – Niall, an architect who shares her passion for gardening, and Saul, a Buddhist monk on Holy Isle. Just before her death, she writes a letter to a stranger – a young girl she had watched pushing her baby in a pram over 30 years ago, and who had asked her to let her know if she ever planned to leave her home.
Anna, the young girl then pushing the pram, now has dementia and it falls to Martha – then the baby – to take up the legacy and discover Elizabeth’s secrets, resolving some of her own family issues along the way.
There were so many things I loved about this book. The setting is quite wonderful, drawn in great detail by someone who clearly loves the Isle of Arran and knows it well. Descriptions feature heavily in this book – I loved the detail about Holmlea, and the way in which everything in it revealed a little more about Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth’s story is quite engrossing – through her life, we share her passions and friendships, and finally share her one big secret that shaped her life. The modern story is also strong – we see Martha picking up Elizabeth’s friendships with Niall and Saul, and the difficulties of her fraught relationship with her sister Susie and the handling of her mother’s dementia were beautifully handled. I really like the way in which the book focuses on the issues in women’s lives, their universality, but the way in which the changing times have affected how they are handled.
I’ve read other reviews of this book, implying that the author’s transition from journalism to story-telling might not have been entirely successful: I really don’t agree, I enjoyed the writing and thought it was an excellent flowing story, quite captivating, and perfectly paced. Another review recommended it to anyone who liked Maggie O’Farrell – high praise indeed, and the comparison really works for me. Yes, I really liked it that much – do give it a try.
May 11, 2014
I’ll answer the most popular question first; Can Kirsty Wark write? The answer is yes, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle is well-written, has unusual but believable characters that include a passionate gardener, a Buddhist monk and a Duchess. The pace of this book, while leisurely, doesn’t feel as if it has been deliberately slowed down with unnecessary details.
Undoubtedly aimed at a female audience, the tale told is unusual where spinster Elizabeth Pringle leaves her home, Holmlea in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, to a woman who asked her to contact her if she were ever to sell it. The letter was written some thirty years previously and Anna, the writer, is now suffering from dementia so her daughter Martha accepts the legacy on her behalf.
Elizabeth’s story begins at the start of World War I where the Isle of Arran had the judgement of the media for only sending one man to the front although they did load 80 horses to help with the war effort. This isn’t just the story about Elizabeth though, we also learn about her mother Izzy and her best friend the Duchess of Montrose.
This is a story told alternatively by Elizabeth, in the form of a memoir, and through Martha’s eyes in the present. I have to admit I preferred Elizabeth’s story of a long-life tinged with regrets and sadness to Martha’s contemporary struggle which contained the ubiquitous bad relationship, fraught relationship with her younger sister as well as her mother’s pressing illness. For me, Martha’s life sorted itself out a little too neatly for my liking with a string of instant friendships to help smooth the path for Martha to spend her time re-furbishing her new home and discover the truth about Elizabeth’s life.
The setting of the Isle of Arran was an inspired choice and I could easily picture this beautiful setting, more so when accompanied by descriptions of the sometimes harsh weather and sometimes small town claustrophobic feel.
An easy light read which has an almost soothing feel to it this books looks at the lives of ‘ordinary’ women and their ‘ordinary’ lives in a memorable setting.
I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine in return for my honest review.
Undoubtedly aimed at a female audience, the tale told is unusual where spinster Elizabeth Pringle leaves her home, Holmlea in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, to a woman who asked her to contact her if she were ever to sell it. The letter was written some thirty years previously and Anna, the writer, is now suffering from dementia so her daughter Martha accepts the legacy on her behalf.
Elizabeth’s story begins at the start of World War I where the Isle of Arran had the judgement of the media for only sending one man to the front although they did load 80 horses to help with the war effort. This isn’t just the story about Elizabeth though, we also learn about her mother Izzy and her best friend the Duchess of Montrose.
This is a story told alternatively by Elizabeth, in the form of a memoir, and through Martha’s eyes in the present. I have to admit I preferred Elizabeth’s story of a long-life tinged with regrets and sadness to Martha’s contemporary struggle which contained the ubiquitous bad relationship, fraught relationship with her younger sister as well as her mother’s pressing illness. For me, Martha’s life sorted itself out a little too neatly for my liking with a string of instant friendships to help smooth the path for Martha to spend her time re-furbishing her new home and discover the truth about Elizabeth’s life.
The setting of the Isle of Arran was an inspired choice and I could easily picture this beautiful setting, more so when accompanied by descriptions of the sometimes harsh weather and sometimes small town claustrophobic feel.
An easy light read which has an almost soothing feel to it this books looks at the lives of ‘ordinary’ women and their ‘ordinary’ lives in a memorable setting.
I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine in return for my honest review.
October 26, 2014
This was an utterly charming novel, a gentle and engaging read, told over two alternating timelines, that of Elizabeth through her journal and that of Martha as she takes up the legacy and works through the issues in her own life.
Beautifully drawn when it comes to sense of place, the author manages to bring the Isle of Arran – a place I have never visited – to life in wonderful detail giving an evocative backdrop to Elizabeth’s story. Elizabeth herself is fascinating as we follow events from the first World War onwards, watching her develop friendships and live out her life, leading to the secret that defined her. I was totally engrossed in the tale throughout and I especially liked the similarites drawn between the issues both Elizabeth and Martha face and the changing outlook of modern times.
Martha is also enchanting – Taking up some of Elizabeth’s friendships, dealing with the difficult relationship she has with her sister, whilst also coping with her mother’s dementia (this part I think was one of the best, watching Martha see her mother fade is touching and poignant) Kirsty Wark manages to capture the emotional resonance of the two women perfectly, keeping you immersed in their story for the entirety of the read.
The story flows beautifully, there is some wonderful writing here, two strong and intriguing female characters, a story that spans changing times and attitudes and descriptive prose that will immediately make you want to visit Arran, I read this over the course of one day and was very sad to leave Martha and Elizabeth and for that matter ALL the characters behind me. Ms Wark is well known as a journalist and broadcaster and this, her first foray into novel writing, for me was pitch perfect and I can’t wait to see what she brings us next.
Recommended for fans of family drama that packs real emotional punch.
Beautifully drawn when it comes to sense of place, the author manages to bring the Isle of Arran – a place I have never visited – to life in wonderful detail giving an evocative backdrop to Elizabeth’s story. Elizabeth herself is fascinating as we follow events from the first World War onwards, watching her develop friendships and live out her life, leading to the secret that defined her. I was totally engrossed in the tale throughout and I especially liked the similarites drawn between the issues both Elizabeth and Martha face and the changing outlook of modern times.
Martha is also enchanting – Taking up some of Elizabeth’s friendships, dealing with the difficult relationship she has with her sister, whilst also coping with her mother’s dementia (this part I think was one of the best, watching Martha see her mother fade is touching and poignant) Kirsty Wark manages to capture the emotional resonance of the two women perfectly, keeping you immersed in their story for the entirety of the read.
The story flows beautifully, there is some wonderful writing here, two strong and intriguing female characters, a story that spans changing times and attitudes and descriptive prose that will immediately make you want to visit Arran, I read this over the course of one day and was very sad to leave Martha and Elizabeth and for that matter ALL the characters behind me. Ms Wark is well known as a journalist and broadcaster and this, her first foray into novel writing, for me was pitch perfect and I can’t wait to see what she brings us next.
Recommended for fans of family drama that packs real emotional punch.
February 19, 2016
Hmm...
This book was enjoyable enough, though it was divided between two stories - Elizabeth's memoirs and the story of Martha, who inherits her house under mysterious circumstances when she dies. I don't know whether it has to do with first person vs third person narration but Elizabeth's story is a lot more engaging than Martha's - you get a sense of her character of a very dignified woman who's learned to live with some very sad stuff. Martha's parts are OK, but she's a very generic "good woman" and her story is very chick-lit-y, you feel the writer is laboriously telling you about a really good story she imagined rather than actually writing creatively.
This book was enjoyable enough, though it was divided between two stories - Elizabeth's memoirs and the story of Martha, who inherits her house under mysterious circumstances when she dies. I don't know whether it has to do with first person vs third person narration but Elizabeth's story is a lot more engaging than Martha's - you get a sense of her character of a very dignified woman who's learned to live with some very sad stuff. Martha's parts are OK, but she's a very generic "good woman" and her story is very chick-lit-y, you feel the writer is laboriously telling you about a really good story she imagined rather than actually writing creatively.
January 25, 2016
It's good and very readable but I couldn't for the life of me see the attraction that Elizabeth held for Saul and Niall, she was a very lovely lady but I just didn't feel that the charisma she would have needed to attract these two men was conveyed and the revelation at the end of the book was just way too far fetched tor me, I just couldn't see how it could have happened, but I won't give any more away as its a book club read and some of you may have not finished it yet!
January 6, 2017
Pleasant story, very predictable. wonderful descriptions of isle of Arran. Neither I nor any of the reading group could understand how this book came to be on our list!
July 8, 2025
Elizabeth Pringle has lived all her life on the Scottish Island of Arran. When Elizabeth dies she wishes to leave her house to the young woman who walked past her house pushing a baby in a pram. Martha is that baby so on her mothers behalf she goes over to Arran.
This is a dual timeline story which I do normally enjoy. I found this book just ok.
The story is told from the pov of Elizabeth and her time on Arran. In the present is Martha and what happens when she goes to Arran and finds out all about Elizabeth. For me I found Elizabeth's story the most interesting.
This story had its moments but for me they were few and far between. Normally with these type of books especially the ones by Kate Morton they can be filled with family secrets waiting to be found. This story did have a surprise secret at the end but it seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no leading up to it or clues, not that I could see anyway.
What I did enjoy was the descriptions of the tapestries and the connections to fairies. Also the fact that the story takes place on a Scottish Island although I always think of The Wicker Man.
This is the first book I've read by Kirsty Wark who I know more as a journalist. I think I would be inclined not to read anymore in the near future as I didn't enjoy this book enough.
This is a dual timeline story which I do normally enjoy. I found this book just ok.
The story is told from the pov of Elizabeth and her time on Arran. In the present is Martha and what happens when she goes to Arran and finds out all about Elizabeth. For me I found Elizabeth's story the most interesting.
This story had its moments but for me they were few and far between. Normally with these type of books especially the ones by Kate Morton they can be filled with family secrets waiting to be found. This story did have a surprise secret at the end but it seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no leading up to it or clues, not that I could see anyway.
What I did enjoy was the descriptions of the tapestries and the connections to fairies. Also the fact that the story takes place on a Scottish Island although I always think of The Wicker Man.
This is the first book I've read by Kirsty Wark who I know more as a journalist. I think I would be inclined not to read anymore in the near future as I didn't enjoy this book enough.
March 2, 2023
The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle is a captivating novel that centres around a house on the Scottish island of Arran.
The legacy of the title is both the house where Elizabeth Pringle lived all her life, and the story of that life. In alternating chapters we learn the history of this elderly ex-schoolteacher, as she is encouraged to unburden herself and write it all down, thanks to an unexpected late friendship with a Buddhist named Saul.
The remaining chapters follow Martha, a young woman dealing with the aftermath of a toxic relationship. She's also trying to manage her mother's dementia care - a task made harder by her difficult relationship with her sister.
Their stories converge on Arran where Martha meets Saul and Elizabeth's other friend Niall, a horticulturist, and together they uncover Elizabeth's secrets. Kirsty Wark breathes life into these different characters with a delicate tenderness, effortlessly drawing you into their lives, their loves and their tragedies, and into the Scottish landscape she so clearly adores.
The legacy of the title is both the house where Elizabeth Pringle lived all her life, and the story of that life. In alternating chapters we learn the history of this elderly ex-schoolteacher, as she is encouraged to unburden herself and write it all down, thanks to an unexpected late friendship with a Buddhist named Saul.
The remaining chapters follow Martha, a young woman dealing with the aftermath of a toxic relationship. She's also trying to manage her mother's dementia care - a task made harder by her difficult relationship with her sister.
Their stories converge on Arran where Martha meets Saul and Elizabeth's other friend Niall, a horticulturist, and together they uncover Elizabeth's secrets. Kirsty Wark breathes life into these different characters with a delicate tenderness, effortlessly drawing you into their lives, their loves and their tragedies, and into the Scottish landscape she so clearly adores.
February 7, 2025
Dit boek las ik met onze leesclub en hoewel de cover en achterflap mij enorm aanspraken bleef ik wat op mijn honger zitten.
Pas op, er zitten heel mooie stukken bij maar dan ook verhaallijnen die mij weinig boeiden.
De verhaallijn van Elisabeth vond ik bijvoorbeeld veel interessanter dan die van Martha.
Het einde vond ik dan weer verrassend en had ik niet zien aankomen.
Ik heb er ook heeeel lang over gedaan (een kleine maand) om dit boek uit te lezen terwijl het niet zo super dik was wat niet mijn gewoonte is.
De beschrijvingen van het eiland Arran lieten me dan weer wegdromen van dit Schotse eiland wat fantastisch mooi moet zijn.
Een speciaal boek maar ik kan niet zeggen of dat goed of slecht bedoeld is.
Pas op, er zitten heel mooie stukken bij maar dan ook verhaallijnen die mij weinig boeiden.
De verhaallijn van Elisabeth vond ik bijvoorbeeld veel interessanter dan die van Martha.
Het einde vond ik dan weer verrassend en had ik niet zien aankomen.
Ik heb er ook heeeel lang over gedaan (een kleine maand) om dit boek uit te lezen terwijl het niet zo super dik was wat niet mijn gewoonte is.
De beschrijvingen van het eiland Arran lieten me dan weer wegdromen van dit Schotse eiland wat fantastisch mooi moet zijn.
Een speciaal boek maar ik kan niet zeggen of dat goed of slecht bedoeld is.
May 19, 2020
A bit of a slow start but the writing made the memoir of Elizabeth Pringle intriguing.
December 30, 2020
The titular legacy here (though its nature makes the reader suspect it may have a double meaning) is of a house in Arran – an island of which we are provided a map between the title page and the story proper – in response to a written request Elizabeth Pringle received from Anna Morrison, a summer visitor to the island in her daughters’ youth, that if she ever wished to sell, Anna would be interested in buying. Years later Pringle remembered this and almost on her death bed and with no close relatives to consider made the bequest. By this time Anna is developing dementia and it falls to her daughter Martha to accept the offer on her behalf and occupy the house. Chapters dealing with Martha’s experiences are interspersed with extracts from a journal Pringle made shortly before her death at the behest of a US citizen, Saul, now a Buddhist on the off- (Arran’s) shore Holy Isle, wherein her life story is unfolded.
Martha is troubled by the bequest, not least due to the presence of a Cadell ink-and-watercolour painting on one of the walls. (Cadell was one of the Scottish Colourists and his work is valuable.) The solicitor assures her Pringle was in her right mind and surely wished the painting to be included. She forms a friendship with Catriona, proprietrix of a hotel where she stays while setting the house to rights. Catriona’s brother Niall was Pringle’s gardener and very attractive. Martha’s problems with her mother’s ongoing dementia are exacerbated by the absence of her younger sister, Sue, working in Copenhagen, with whom her relationship is strained.
Pringle had on the surface an uneventful life, marred by the death of her father and subsequent loss of the farm he worked, which necessitated the move of her mother and herself to the house she would leave in her will. Her fiancé Robert had ambitions, and, given a chance of running a sheep station in Australia took it, but Martha was too attached to Arran and distressed by the recent death of her mother to go with him. She enjoyed walking in the Arran hills and during the Second World War helped with the parties searching for the many aircraft downed in fog or other unfortunate circumstances. Her only other liaison apart from Robert was with a US airman in his brief spell on the island. It is Pringle’s recollections which form the most interesting strand of the book even if Martha’s difficulties with her mother and sister are well enough handled. An entry in Pringle’s journal tells us one of her “favourite books was Sunset Song….. I would like to have met someone like Chris Guthrie…. If I had a heroine, it was her.” However, neither of the lead female characters here approaches Chris Guthrie’s stature. The journal also comments on the repressions endemic in a Scots upbringing before recent times. “It had always been a mystery to me why ministers would encourage children to believe they were sinners.”
The modern sections are more heavy going. There is something about the prose that is plodding, leaden, adjective-laden, with too much description of interiors. Despite Wark’s knowledge of Arran the occasional forays into its landscape do not fully spring to the mind’s eye and her handling of Martha’s romantic attachment to Niall verges on the Mills and Boon. The central event of the tale, Martha’s main discovery about Pringle’s life, is not adequately foreshadowed. We are told Martha feels apprehension about opening the door into the eaves which had been wallpapered over but have been given no prior reason for her to feel any such thing. Wark has written a second novel: I’m not in any great hurry to read it.
Martha is troubled by the bequest, not least due to the presence of a Cadell ink-and-watercolour painting on one of the walls. (Cadell was one of the Scottish Colourists and his work is valuable.) The solicitor assures her Pringle was in her right mind and surely wished the painting to be included. She forms a friendship with Catriona, proprietrix of a hotel where she stays while setting the house to rights. Catriona’s brother Niall was Pringle’s gardener and very attractive. Martha’s problems with her mother’s ongoing dementia are exacerbated by the absence of her younger sister, Sue, working in Copenhagen, with whom her relationship is strained.
Pringle had on the surface an uneventful life, marred by the death of her father and subsequent loss of the farm he worked, which necessitated the move of her mother and herself to the house she would leave in her will. Her fiancé Robert had ambitions, and, given a chance of running a sheep station in Australia took it, but Martha was too attached to Arran and distressed by the recent death of her mother to go with him. She enjoyed walking in the Arran hills and during the Second World War helped with the parties searching for the many aircraft downed in fog or other unfortunate circumstances. Her only other liaison apart from Robert was with a US airman in his brief spell on the island. It is Pringle’s recollections which form the most interesting strand of the book even if Martha’s difficulties with her mother and sister are well enough handled. An entry in Pringle’s journal tells us one of her “favourite books was Sunset Song….. I would like to have met someone like Chris Guthrie…. If I had a heroine, it was her.” However, neither of the lead female characters here approaches Chris Guthrie’s stature. The journal also comments on the repressions endemic in a Scots upbringing before recent times. “It had always been a mystery to me why ministers would encourage children to believe they were sinners.”
The modern sections are more heavy going. There is something about the prose that is plodding, leaden, adjective-laden, with too much description of interiors. Despite Wark’s knowledge of Arran the occasional forays into its landscape do not fully spring to the mind’s eye and her handling of Martha’s romantic attachment to Niall verges on the Mills and Boon. The central event of the tale, Martha’s main discovery about Pringle’s life, is not adequately foreshadowed. We are told Martha feels apprehension about opening the door into the eaves which had been wallpapered over but have been given no prior reason for her to feel any such thing. Wark has written a second novel: I’m not in any great hurry to read it.
October 7, 2020
I found this book an easy read but with some big ‘BUTs’. Kirsty Wark’s style is clear, straight forward and flows well but lacks lyricism or literary originality. She does, however, give a good description of Arran and its island setting.
The interwoven story lines unfold through alternative chapters, the now dead Elizabeth Pringle’s chapters being in the 1st person, in the form of a diary. This allows the plot to cover both the first and second world wars from a child’s, and later a young woman’s viewpoint. Wark avoids falling into the trap of giving a wider adult perspective on the horrors of war. In an attempt to give a period voice to Elizabeth with early 20thC attitudes I felt that a degree of spontaneity and authenticity was lost. Elizabeth’s refusal to countenance moving to Australia did not have enough rationale underpinning it to endear me to her plight.
There were a lot of inconsistencies in plot and behaviour, e.g. Elizabeth comes across as a sheltered Edwardian girl but then describes some rather explicit sexual encounters which seem out of character (although they were of course necessary to the plot). It also seemed rather unbelievable that, on a small island, she didn’t bump into her fiancé’s family for many years.
Martha’s sister’s behaviour is at first almost exaggeratedly bickering, juvenile and selfish but equally Martha’s decision not to include Susie in the news about the house on Arran is unforgivable. For her own convenience Martha allows an unknown woman to take care of her mother. Surprisingly Susie accepts this and, at the flick of a switch, becomes conveniently supportive and compliant. This is both unconvincing and overly ‘neat’. These behaviours make it difficult to feel very involved with the characters, perhaps also affected by being in the 3rd person in contrast to Elizabeth’s story.
Anna’s cognitive decline and Elizabeth’s sharp memory for detail provide an interesting contrast in the ageing process but do not come into focus as a major part of the story.
I finished the book feeling I had enjoyed a pleasant trip to Arran with a group of somewhat selfish people I wouldn’t bother to put on my Christmas card list.
The interwoven story lines unfold through alternative chapters, the now dead Elizabeth Pringle’s chapters being in the 1st person, in the form of a diary. This allows the plot to cover both the first and second world wars from a child’s, and later a young woman’s viewpoint. Wark avoids falling into the trap of giving a wider adult perspective on the horrors of war. In an attempt to give a period voice to Elizabeth with early 20thC attitudes I felt that a degree of spontaneity and authenticity was lost. Elizabeth’s refusal to countenance moving to Australia did not have enough rationale underpinning it to endear me to her plight.
There were a lot of inconsistencies in plot and behaviour, e.g. Elizabeth comes across as a sheltered Edwardian girl but then describes some rather explicit sexual encounters which seem out of character (although they were of course necessary to the plot). It also seemed rather unbelievable that, on a small island, she didn’t bump into her fiancé’s family for many years.
Martha’s sister’s behaviour is at first almost exaggeratedly bickering, juvenile and selfish but equally Martha’s decision not to include Susie in the news about the house on Arran is unforgivable. For her own convenience Martha allows an unknown woman to take care of her mother. Surprisingly Susie accepts this and, at the flick of a switch, becomes conveniently supportive and compliant. This is both unconvincing and overly ‘neat’. These behaviours make it difficult to feel very involved with the characters, perhaps also affected by being in the 3rd person in contrast to Elizabeth’s story.
Anna’s cognitive decline and Elizabeth’s sharp memory for detail provide an interesting contrast in the ageing process but do not come into focus as a major part of the story.
I finished the book feeling I had enjoyed a pleasant trip to Arran with a group of somewhat selfish people I wouldn’t bother to put on my Christmas card list.
June 6, 2020
Enjoyed the different voices in the book. Also enjoyed the context of life on Arran, though it felt as though the events on Arran had had a narrative constructed round them. The stories of searching for crashed allied planes and the large numbers of dead, dying because of poor visibility were horrific. Some of the descriptions were mundane, two adjectives where one well chosen one would do, ‘rusty, old gate’ feel a little careless, whereas the descriptions of flowers are lovely.
The privilege of the lives of the main characters is a little galling: for Martha to leave her job and pay for a major renovation of a cottage without a blink; Niall building his rectangular wood and glass house on the mountain side; characters buying Cadell and Aitchison paintings, or presents of designer ware from galleries, popping on ferries back and forth, hiring nurses, all with no reference to how this lifestyle is funded. I think in real life I’d feel irritated by them, they might have the same problems as the rest of us but money certainly helps to solve them.
It was interesting to read a Kirsty Wark book, and there were places where descriptions of family life felt as if they were remembered events but I’m not desperate to read the next one.
The privilege of the lives of the main characters is a little galling: for Martha to leave her job and pay for a major renovation of a cottage without a blink; Niall building his rectangular wood and glass house on the mountain side; characters buying Cadell and Aitchison paintings, or presents of designer ware from galleries, popping on ferries back and forth, hiring nurses, all with no reference to how this lifestyle is funded. I think in real life I’d feel irritated by them, they might have the same problems as the rest of us but money certainly helps to solve them.
It was interesting to read a Kirsty Wark book, and there were places where descriptions of family life felt as if they were remembered events but I’m not desperate to read the next one.
February 18, 2018
This is an updated fairytale for grown up ladies... it might have been the island, the stern old lady, the aloof boy, the beautiful house, the garden, the secret room, a whisper of fairies, and the little girl who is gifted with an adventure.
Instead it's the grown up girl who comes into a house, a boy, a mystery. Her problems and her happinesses are mundane - but it's a fairytale nonetheless. Her story and the story of the woman whose house it is are told side by side; rarely, for a book like this, I found both equally engaging.
I did get a little annoyed with how guarded and snappish the men seemed to me in this; what's wrong with a little polite deflection when someone asks a question you don't like? I didn't actually require a secret in the secret room; it didn't add to the story. For me it may even have detracted slightly. But it WAS a fairytale, whether there were fairies or not, and I enjoyed inhabiting it for a time.
I read this in an afternoon. I can't even pick a shelf for it, because I'm unsure of what it is, exactly. A story. Nothing profound, but worth reading for what it is.
Instead it's the grown up girl who comes into a house, a boy, a mystery. Her problems and her happinesses are mundane - but it's a fairytale nonetheless. Her story and the story of the woman whose house it is are told side by side; rarely, for a book like this, I found both equally engaging.
I did get a little annoyed with how guarded and snappish the men seemed to me in this; what's wrong with a little polite deflection when someone asks a question you don't like? I didn't actually require a secret in the secret room; it didn't add to the story. For me it may even have detracted slightly. But it WAS a fairytale, whether there were fairies or not, and I enjoyed inhabiting it for a time.
I read this in an afternoon. I can't even pick a shelf for it, because I'm unsure of what it is, exactly. A story. Nothing profound, but worth reading for what it is.
March 3, 2018
Set on the Isle of Arran, with gorgeous descriptions of the island, its way of life and its historical events. This is a lovely story about a woman who discovers her ailing mother has been left a house on the island by an old woman she never met. It's about what happens when the relationship with your parents shifts so that you are the one parenting, about how to let go of a painful past, and about the importance of place in a persons identity. The plot is mostly predictable, and the ends tied up happily, but somehow that didn't put me off so much this time. But warning: you WILL want to visit Arran as soon as you finish reading...
October 15, 2021
Everything is perfect in this sickly-sweet romance. A perfect house on a perfect island left to Anna by a stranger. Anna's daughter Martha finds romance on Arran as does Catriona--perfectly paired partners. Flat, nauseating characters and cliched purple prose. Dementia is the only cloud on the horizon and even that is dealt with by finding a perfect carer and two daughters who have all the time and money in the world to spend enjoying the last memories with their mother.
There is no climax or conflict in this insipid story, no characters to be invested in, and only pedestrian prose to wade through.
There is no climax or conflict in this insipid story, no characters to be invested in, and only pedestrian prose to wade through.
June 3, 2025
Elizabeth Pringle lived her whole life on the tiny island of Arran. When she dies she bequeaths her house to Anna Morrison, a visitor to the island who had admired her house. Anna has dementia and her daughter, Martha has power of attorney so accepts the house on her behalf and goes to visit it. A beautiful story told in alternate chapters with Martha discovering a new life and Elizabeth explaining her old life in a memoir. A story of unexpected joy and also sorrow, life is rarely what we expect it to be.
August 28, 2018
I loved this book .It is well written and wraps around you as you read .
I know Arran quite well as my sister lives in Lamlash so perhaps that gave it more appeal .
However I think the story line weaves the present and the past together so seamlessly .
I was never caught wondering where the story was.
It tells of how life was and is and all its connections .
Both sad and uplifting in both the past and the present .
I know Arran quite well as my sister lives in Lamlash so perhaps that gave it more appeal .
However I think the story line weaves the present and the past together so seamlessly .
I was never caught wondering where the story was.
It tells of how life was and is and all its connections .
Both sad and uplifting in both the past and the present .
March 21, 2015
Kirsty Wark's debut novel explores the themes of love and lost opportunities. It is told from the perspective of 2 female characters at different and intersecting points in time, and recounts the family challenges which each faces in their lives.
It is a poignant and moving story, well told, which quickly draws in the reader and sweeps them along.
It is a poignant and moving story, well told, which quickly draws in the reader and sweeps them along.
April 26, 2020
I enjoyed this story of two women living at different times, but whose lives intertwine. Lovely descriptions of Scottish island Arran where most of the book is set and of the house that brings Martha and Elizabeth together.
Kirsty Wark writes a part romance, part family history with quality and verve.
Kirsty Wark writes a part romance, part family history with quality and verve.
February 28, 2021
Kirsty Wark is a fine journalist, but not a novelist. The characters in this first novel are rather flat or even unconvincing, the descriptions of Arran are over-written, and a couple of times there are shades of cliched purple prose from women's magazines. Maybe she should stick to her real vocation.
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