In Sunshine Or In Shadow

by Charlotte Bingham

Brougham is the stateliest of stately homes, but for Lady Artemis Deverill it proves a lonely, loveless place. Eleanor Milligan, born in downtown Boston, knows only poverty and a continuing battle against bullying brothers and a sadistic father.From the moment Artemis and Ellie meet on a liner sailing to Ireland, they are destined to become friends. And when Eleanor's Cousin Rose asks not only Eleanor but also Artemis to stay on at Strand House, County Cork, it marks the start of what is for both of them an idyllic time.But with the arrival of the devastatingly handsome artist, Hugo Tanner, it seems as though nothing will be quite the same. For in the sunlit pre-war summer, all three become emotionally entwined, with startling consequences that threaten to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Genres: Fiction

576 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

The Honourable Charlotte Mary Thérèse Bingham was born on 29 June 1942 in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England, UK. Her father, John Bingham, the 7th Baron Clanmorris, wrote detective stories and was a secret member of MI5. Her mother, Madeleine Bingham, née Madeleine Mary Ebel, was a playwright. Charlotte first attended a school in London, but from the age of seven to 16, she went to the Priory of Our Lady's Good Counsel school in Haywards Heath. After she left school, she went to stay in Paris with some French aristocrats with the intention of learning French. She had written since she was 10 years old and her first piece of work was a thriller called Death's Ticket. She wrote her humorous autobiography, called Coronet Among the Weeds, when she was 19, and not long before her twentieth birthday a literary agent discovered her celebrating at the Ritz. He was a friend of her parents and he took off the finished manuscript of her autobiography. In 1963, this was published by Heinemanns and was a best seller.

In 1966, Charlotte Bingham's first novel, called Lucinda, was published. This was later adapted into a TV screenplay. In 1972, Coronet Among the Grass, her second autobiography, was published. This talked about the first ten years of her marriage to fellow writer Terence Brady. They couple, who have two children, later adapted Coronet Among the Grass and Coronet Among the Weeds, into the TV sitcom No, Honestly. She and her husband, Terence Brady, wrote three early episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs together, Board Wages, I Dies from Love and Out of the Everywhere. They later wrote an accompanying book called Rose's Story. They also wrote the episodes of Take Three Girls featuring Victoria (Liza Goddard). In the 1970s Brady and Bingham wrote episodes for the TV series Play for Today, Three Comedies of Marriage, Yes, Honestly and Robin's Nest. During the 1980s and 1990s they continued to write for the occasional TV series, and in 1993 adapted Jilly Cooper's novel Riders for the small screen. Since the 1980s she has become a romance novelist. In 1996 she won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Outlander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another offering starting between the wars an throughout WW2. The two main characters sound like an unlikely pairing in this offering from Charlotte, but it's one of those quirky ones that just wants to be read. No spoilers but you will just love the things Artemis gets up to - image this, a car can reverse without the driver getting out to push !!! I think she is one of the best characters Charlotte has ever created - possibly mad, bad and dangerous to know - but don't ever pity her. The American/Irish girl keeps the pace going, I love their first encounter on the ship ! A must read and again another highly recommended.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written story about friendship and love , with a bit of added drama thrown in too . The characters were wonderful particularly Artemis who I found humourous and outgoing whereas Ellie was more homely/down to earth, together they were the perfect friends .
The friends travel around a lot in the book between England, Ireland and the USA, each place is well described .
This is the first book i have read by this author I will now be searching for more by her .

[susan palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

Outstanding read couldn't have enjoyed it more brought happiness to this old heart of mine thank you for leaving me in happiness

[Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first romantic genre book that I actually liked liked for its romanticism. Although, its fairy tale ending was really too good to be true.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artemis is an English girl from an upper-class family, whose mother dies in a riding accident when she is small. Ellie is an American girl, whose father wishes she had never been born.

The book follows them growing up, in very different circumstances, until they meet on a ship; thereafter their lives are deeply entwined.

Well written, quite a page-turner, and a satisfying ending. Recommended.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randomly chosen from my piles and it is book 58 of 2011 - aim 133 books in 2011.