Heritage of Folly

by Catherine Marchant

The Batleys and the Cadwells owned neighbouring farms, and between them raged a violent and bitter feud. Into this stormy atmosphere came Linda Metcalfe, a young agricultural student, who innocently became involved in the tension between the two households on the day of her arrival.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[tination]

Das Buch: Linda reist für ein einjähriges Praktikum auf den Landsitz Batley an. Dort soll sie sich in der Landwirtschaft verdingen. Doch kaum ist sie da, erfährt sie von dem Zwist zwischen den Batleys mit den Catwells, einem benachbarten Hof. Und so ist es kaum verwunderlich, dass sie schon bald zwischen den Familien steht. Zudem fühlt sie sich ja auch noch zu Mr. Batley hingezogen.

Fazit: Nun, man sollte vor dem Lesen in das Impressum schauen. Dort steht, dass das Buch wohl schon 1961 geschrieben worden ist. Und das ist nun mal eine andere Zeit gewesen. Im Grunde passiert nichts in diesem Buch. Es ist eine seichte Story um eine Romanze, die sich aber zu keinem Zeitpunkt tiefgründig wird. Die Liebe bleibt an der Wasseroberfläche. Und wie schon die Hauptcharaktere schon mehrmals sagen (und das zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten): Wir reden später darüber. Doch dann ist das Buch schon zu Ende und die beiden haben immer noch nicht über ihre Liebe geredet und bleiben trotzdem gewiss zusammen. Naja. Man muss einfach auf die Entstehungszeit dieses Romans verweisen.

Weit spannender ist der Zwist zwischen den Familien. Doch auch hier schwimmt man eher nur an der Wasseroberfläche. So richtig verstanden habe ich es nun nicht, warum die beiden seit langer Zeit im Zwist liegen. Klar, es gibt ein paar Andeutungen. Aber so richtig erschließt es sich nicht. Doch das spannende ist hier wirklich, was gerade passiert. Seit Linda aufgetaucht ist. Denn seitdem passieren komische Dinge auf dem Hof. Linda geht diesen Dingen auf die Spur und kommt dann doch recht schnell auf die Lösung.

Zusammenfassend kann man sagen, dass es weitaus bessere Bücher gibt. Wer Romantik und viel Liebe hier erwartet, wird herb enttäuscht werden.

[Shirley Dawson]

You know you are going to get a good read when you pick up a Catherine Cookson book and this one doesn't disappoint. A little different to her other work but with the same inimitable style and solid story telling. Recommended to those who are fans of the great lady.

[Tom Calvard]

An engaging little drama based around a longstanding feud between two families and their farmland. Told from the perspective of a young agricultural student on a work experience placement, there is drama, romance, and an array of interesting characters.

I'm also interested in how Catherine Cookson is often not considered 'literary' because of the formulaic, melodramatic tenor of her prodigious body of work. Yet her novels also have, in my view, an undeniable power - established through their straightforward social realism. Gender, class, and a sense of place are all conveyed through everyday people going through (mostly) everyday situations.

She makes you want to read on. It's vivid, full of human touches and emotions, and she also manages to work the plot up to climaxes with suspense, tragedy, violence, love, and resolution.

In places, the language and dialogue can become slightly repetitive, twee and simplistic, but the family feud and the webs of relationships between the characters are sketched in ways that drew me in and made me appreciate her skill as a writer, once again. I look forward to returning to another of her many books before too long!

[Susan]

This book was a 5 star read for me--- until the last 25%....where it took a tumble. I wasn't at all fond of how this ended, but because of how well I was entertained for the first 3/4 , I've decided on 4 stars.
No worries, I'll continue to read as many Catherine Cookson books I can find, and there are a lot of them!

[Lynn Smith]

4.5*
Heritage of Folly is another favourite of her romances.
Again set in Cookson's beloved North East in the 1960s.
Synopsis:
The Batleys and the Cadwells owned neighbouring farms on the beautiful, wild Northumbrian coast. But there all similarity ended, and enmity began. For between the two families raged a violent and bitter feud - a feud so powerful that the very name of Cadwell made Ralph Batley seethe with uncontrollable fury.
Into this stormy atmosphere came Linda Metcalfe, a young agricultural student, who innocently became involved in the tension between the two households on the day of her arrival. Employed by Ralph Batley, Linda soon found herself in a very difficult situation. For not only had she unwittingly become a part of the feud, but she began to feel a strange admiration for Ralph, who made it painfully clear that he had no use for her either on the farm or in his life. But then the past erupted into the present, forcing Ralph to change his attitude to Linda and resolving the whole Batley/Cadwell heritage of folly...

Another Cookson written under her pseudonym Catherine Marchant which I again ordered through the School Library Book Club. I enjoyed it very much.

[Bettie]

Opening: it was after the bus had left Morpeth and had passed through Ulgham and Widdrington that the lanscape changed.




5* Tilly Trotter
TR The Dwelling Place
TR The Glass Virgin
3* The Mallen Streak
3* The Fifteen Streets
TR The Girl
TR The Rag Nymph
3* Katie Mulholland
3* The Cinder Path
2* The Mallen Girl
3* The Mallen Litter
4* Feathers in the Fire
3* Colour Blind
3* The Silent Lady
3* The Branded Man
3* Pure as the Lily
4* The Maltese Angel
TR The Fen Tiger
TR Heritage of folly

[Barbra]

Back Cover Blurb:
The Batleys and the Cadwells owned neighbouring farms, and between them raged a violent and bitter feud. Into this stormy atmosphere came Linda Metcalfe, a young agricultural student, who innocently became involved in the tension between the two households on the day of her arrival.

[Lili]

I read all of Catherine Cookson's books some years ago and enjoyed them immensley. I recently re-read all of them and find that on a second look I found them all so very predictable, and was rather disappointed. However I'm sure that it is my tastes that have changed not the calibre of her story telling.

[Yang Shu-yuan]

Die junge Linda Metcalfe verliebt sich in ihren Arbeitgeber Ralph Batley. Dadurch wird sie in die jahrzehntelange Fehde zwischen den Familien Batley und Cadwell hineingezogen. Ralph verhält sich lange abweisend ihr gegenüber, doch eines Tages überschlagen sich die Ereignisse

[Gail G]

Reading this author for the first time in years was like finding an old friend. She can paint an emotional scene. The families were feuding and bad luck followed bad luck due to people's poor decisions. I had never read this book or seen it and borrowed it from open library.

[Samantha Parker]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11507461

[Maggie]

A short but excellent read,doesn't let go for a minute. Linda Metcalfe an agricultural college student comes to do her placement with a family in the north country. She lands in with a family with a deep and bitter feud against the neighbouring farm. Linda makes things worse by taking the wrong road and ending up at the Cadwell farm on her arrival rather than the Batley farm. It is pretty much one thing after another from then on between the two families and Linda stuck in the middle.