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Bardwell's Folly: A Love Story
Dori Bardwell's father was the white Southern author of THE novel about slavery, a man who settled his large family up north in a replica of a plantation house and never spoke of his past. A tragic accident pulled Dori from college to care for her only remaining brother, but now the money is running out, her ex-boyfriend appears intent on revenge, a media baron has designs on her father's last, unfinished manuscript, and her own thoughtless blackface joke is about to go viral and turn her life upside down.
With a new, media-savvy African American friend, Dori embarks on a voyage into her family's secret history that might just lead her right back to where she started.
If you like humorous, heartfelt book club fiction with a strong romantic thread, a love of literature, and a sharp eye for race and class in America, you’ll love BARDWELL’S FOLLY. Pre-order today and enjoy special pre-publication pricing.
"Dori is a fabulous, sympathetic character, caught up in a rollicking, funny, original, beautifully-written journey." -- Lucia Nevai, author of SALVATION
"Once again, Sandra Hutchison expertly weaves enticing characters with captivating imagery, creating a story so engrossing it's impossible to put down and even harder to forget." -- S.M. Freedman, author of THE FAITHFUL and IMPACT WINTER
Includes discussion questions.
With a new, media-savvy African American friend, Dori embarks on a voyage into her family's secret history that might just lead her right back to where she started.
If you like humorous, heartfelt book club fiction with a strong romantic thread, a love of literature, and a sharp eye for race and class in America, you’ll love BARDWELL’S FOLLY. Pre-order today and enjoy special pre-publication pricing.
"Dori is a fabulous, sympathetic character, caught up in a rollicking, funny, original, beautifully-written journey." -- Lucia Nevai, author of SALVATION
"Once again, Sandra Hutchison expertly weaves enticing characters with captivating imagery, creating a story so engrossing it's impossible to put down and even harder to forget." -- S.M. Freedman, author of THE FAITHFUL and IMPACT WINTER
Includes discussion questions.
339 pages, Paperback
Published November 29, 2016
64 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Hutchison
11 books85 followersBorn and raised in the Tampa Bay area, Sandra Hutchison survived her parents' move to the small town of Greenfield, Massachusetts and eventually stopped sulking about it, though it's possible she's still working it out in her fiction. She currently lives in upstate New York.
A former adjunct professor, high school English teacher, acquisitions editor, marketing manager, creative director, and freelance copywriter, Sandra founded Sheer Hubris Press in 2013 to put all those skills to work at the same time.
If you're trying to reach her, you must defeat your auto-correct and insist on HutchISon (not HutchINson!) to search or email her at sandrahutchison at sheerhubris.com.
Although commenting on Amazon reviews is apparently unseemly, she welcomes your honest feedback, and she will happily respond to most messages sent via email, here at Goodreads, or via Facebook or Twitter.
A former adjunct professor, high school English teacher, acquisitions editor, marketing manager, creative director, and freelance copywriter, Sandra founded Sheer Hubris Press in 2013 to put all those skills to work at the same time.
If you're trying to reach her, you must defeat your auto-correct and insist on HutchISon (not HutchINson!) to search or email her at sandrahutchison at sheerhubris.com.
Although commenting on Amazon reviews is apparently unseemly, she welcomes your honest feedback, and she will happily respond to most messages sent via email, here at Goodreads, or via Facebook or Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 4, 2017
What a very pleasant read this was.
This authors work is always a delight to read.
It's like putting on a pair of comfy slippers, grab your throw, hot chocolate and laze on the sofa and read. That's how much I lover her books.
So pleasant to read and you don't have to work hard.
Dori and her brother live in a house that replicates their Fathers house, a southern plantation house, this is in Massachusetts.
It's known historically as Bardwell House.
There's a lot of controversy, family secrets and even a death surrounding all of this which makes for a great family plot.
Racism is touched on too concerning a racist joke.
There is some romance in this, enough to keep the romantics happy in they're seats.
This is a full bodied saga that I enjoyed from start to finish.
This authors work is always a delight to read.
It's like putting on a pair of comfy slippers, grab your throw, hot chocolate and laze on the sofa and read. That's how much I lover her books.
So pleasant to read and you don't have to work hard.
Dori and her brother live in a house that replicates their Fathers house, a southern plantation house, this is in Massachusetts.
It's known historically as Bardwell House.
There's a lot of controversy, family secrets and even a death surrounding all of this which makes for a great family plot.
Racism is touched on too concerning a racist joke.
There is some romance in this, enough to keep the romantics happy in they're seats.
This is a full bodied saga that I enjoyed from start to finish.
April 20, 2018
After the tragic deaths of their parents and siblings, Eudora (Dori) Bardwell was forced to leave college to care for her brother, Salinger, in the family’s home. Their father, Nathaniel, author of a famous novel about slavery, had left the plantation-style house to a trust, but now that trust is in financial crisis. Two new trustees are elected to try to sort things out: a wealthy media magnate who is way too interested in the manuscript Nathaniel left unfinished, and Dori’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Gagnon, whose very public marriage proposal Dori turned down eight years ago. Dori is also holding down two jobs, is in danger of losing her home, and her best friend seems intent on killing herself. Dori is managing this balancing act, but just barely.
But then Dori becomes the town pariah when her thoughtless quip about donning blackface for a fundraiser is leaked to the press. Being a clueless white girl, Dori doesn’t understand what the big deal is. Her new friend, tech-savvy Maya, wants to help Dori become more racially sensitive and to change the false narrative now building through Twitter that Dori is a racist. The two take a journey to the South not only to get Dori out of their small Massachusetts town until the furor subsides, but also in hopes of discovering truths about Dori’s family’s past that just might help her rebuild her life.
Hutchison handles the race and class issues thoughtfully and deftly while also providing readers with a lovely yet believable love story. Another page-turner from Sandra Hutchison, Bardwell’s Folly is a love story and so much more!
But then Dori becomes the town pariah when her thoughtless quip about donning blackface for a fundraiser is leaked to the press. Being a clueless white girl, Dori doesn’t understand what the big deal is. Her new friend, tech-savvy Maya, wants to help Dori become more racially sensitive and to change the false narrative now building through Twitter that Dori is a racist. The two take a journey to the South not only to get Dori out of their small Massachusetts town until the furor subsides, but also in hopes of discovering truths about Dori’s family’s past that just might help her rebuild her life.
Hutchison handles the race and class issues thoughtfully and deftly while also providing readers with a lovely yet believable love story. Another page-turner from Sandra Hutchison, Bardwell’s Folly is a love story and so much more!
December 3, 2016
This was a most interesting and surprising read. Dori Bardwell is just about coping with her father's literary legacy and his big old house she can't afford to keep up much longer, an old boyfriend and a new friend, her exhausting job, her stoner brother, and annoying ladies at teatime. But it all becomes too much when she's plunged into the middle of a social media controversy over an ill-considered racist joke. She escapes into the pull of a past she's always avoided, and goes in search of answers about her family and her father's unfinished manuscript. But she can't run from everything - and everyone - that haunts her present.
The cover promised a love story and yes, there is a love story here - an unvarnished one that the heroine herself describes as "grounded", just sweet enough to satisfy. But the heart of the book is the heroine's past: family secrets, unfinished manuscripts, grandmothers, old houses, death. The writing is atmospheric. The New England setting jumped off the page and blew a little chill down my neck.
As I read this book, I realized that in spite of its contemporary political conscience, wry humor, the heroine's friendship with a driven and energetic character, and a flirtation with modern technology, Bardwell's Folly is a Gothic novel. I LOVE Gothic novels. This one was a particularly unexpected pleasure. I was introduced to Sandra Hutchison's work through a writers' group several years ago and she never fails to deliver.
The cover promised a love story and yes, there is a love story here - an unvarnished one that the heroine herself describes as "grounded", just sweet enough to satisfy. But the heart of the book is the heroine's past: family secrets, unfinished manuscripts, grandmothers, old houses, death. The writing is atmospheric. The New England setting jumped off the page and blew a little chill down my neck.
As I read this book, I realized that in spite of its contemporary political conscience, wry humor, the heroine's friendship with a driven and energetic character, and a flirtation with modern technology, Bardwell's Folly is a Gothic novel. I LOVE Gothic novels. This one was a particularly unexpected pleasure. I was introduced to Sandra Hutchison's work through a writers' group several years ago and she never fails to deliver.
August 3, 2018
I was excited to read this because I enjoyed The Ribs and Thigh Bones of Desire. The main character’s name, Dori, was adorable and I thought the Robert Putney-Lewis guy would be a good villain because of his detestable name. I was a little disappointed that he wasn’t really that bad (his dad was), but generally happy with how he turned out. I love this author’s style of making us privy to what the character is thinking, despite how inappropriate it probably is. It makes me stop and be grateful that there are not thought bubbles that appear over my head, telling people what I’m thinking. I wished Dori would have been a little more forceful in the things that were happening to her and decisions made about her life (everyone telling her to write a book and making it seem sooooooo easy), but the love story part of the book wasn’t all that unexpected and ended up seeming like a good match. Maya Davis is the official black friend we all need.
November 29, 2016
An engaging romantic tale with some surprising and rewarding twists
This is the second novel of Sandra Hutchison’s I have read (The Ribs and Thigh Bones of Desire was the first) and she has a crafty way of leading you by the hand to unexpected destinations. Bardwell’s Folly starts out in a comfortable place, with all the characters and trappings of a cozy pastoral romantic comedy, then expands gradually into something else: a journey of self discovery that involves elements of racial strife and class tensions, as well as the perils of social media and public shaming.
None of the latter elements would resonate so effectively with the reader, however, without the presence of two of the author’s most likable main characters. Dori Bardwell is a twenty-something woman in a small New England town, naïve and headstrong in equal measure, who lives a life with an almost fairytale dimension. Orphaned when most of her family is killed in a plane crash, she lives in a house that is really a museum, a replica of an antebellum mansion maintained by a board of trustees in tribute to Dori’s father, an award-winning author of pre-Civil War southern fiction. Her life is one of genteel poverty and restlessness. Joe Gagnon is her opposite number in every way, a handsome, level-headed landscaper with little patience for drama.
But drama is what he gets with Dori, as the two rekindle a long dormant romance. On the one hand, her father’s literary reputation and her own precarious financial situation are at stake as an unscrupulous publisher seeks control over both her father’s estate and an unfinished novel. On the other hand, a foolish and insensitive racial remark turns the white-hot glare of media attention upon her, putting her in danger and forcing her to go into hiding. In her travels, Dori will find out who her real friends are and discover some uncomfortable truths about her father’s legacy.
Will Dori find her way home? Will love triumph in the end? No spoilers here, except to note that Hutchison’s stories are always surprising and rewarding. Sandra Hutchison is the best sort of writer, an adept spinner of a good romantic tale and a principled thinker drawn to considering larger themes. I look forward to her next book.
This is the second novel of Sandra Hutchison’s I have read (The Ribs and Thigh Bones of Desire was the first) and she has a crafty way of leading you by the hand to unexpected destinations. Bardwell’s Folly starts out in a comfortable place, with all the characters and trappings of a cozy pastoral romantic comedy, then expands gradually into something else: a journey of self discovery that involves elements of racial strife and class tensions, as well as the perils of social media and public shaming.
None of the latter elements would resonate so effectively with the reader, however, without the presence of two of the author’s most likable main characters. Dori Bardwell is a twenty-something woman in a small New England town, naïve and headstrong in equal measure, who lives a life with an almost fairytale dimension. Orphaned when most of her family is killed in a plane crash, she lives in a house that is really a museum, a replica of an antebellum mansion maintained by a board of trustees in tribute to Dori’s father, an award-winning author of pre-Civil War southern fiction. Her life is one of genteel poverty and restlessness. Joe Gagnon is her opposite number in every way, a handsome, level-headed landscaper with little patience for drama.
But drama is what he gets with Dori, as the two rekindle a long dormant romance. On the one hand, her father’s literary reputation and her own precarious financial situation are at stake as an unscrupulous publisher seeks control over both her father’s estate and an unfinished novel. On the other hand, a foolish and insensitive racial remark turns the white-hot glare of media attention upon her, putting her in danger and forcing her to go into hiding. In her travels, Dori will find out who her real friends are and discover some uncomfortable truths about her father’s legacy.
Will Dori find her way home? Will love triumph in the end? No spoilers here, except to note that Hutchison’s stories are always surprising and rewarding. Sandra Hutchison is the best sort of writer, an adept spinner of a good romantic tale and a principled thinker drawn to considering larger themes. I look forward to her next book.
February 13, 2017
Eudora (Dori) Bardwell is one of two children left in the Bardwell family after a tragic accident killed her entire family. Her father was a Pulitzer Prize winning author who wrote one of the best known books on anti-slavery. He died with somewhat grandiose ideas as to his legacy which left his two surviving children in virtual poverty. Dori is working two jobs to make ends meet. The family home has been left to create a memorial focused on her fathers writing and she is left to the mercy of the Board who run the legacy, a group of people not quite committed to making her life easier. Then comes out a really bad joke that Dori makes in referring to Blackface and all hell breaks loose. It appears that Dori's parents falsified their past and as a way of avoiding the media madness that breaks about her gaff, Dori decides to go on a field trip to Georgia with her officially designated black friend Maya. What she discovers changes everything.
This book, originally sold as a romance novel quickly turns into something more meaningful when it begins to tackle the subject of race relations in the USA and gives a white girl a hint of what African descent people deal with as an everyday occurrence. The romance in the story isn't all sugar and spice and all things nice, but it is still a lovely romance to watch blossom. There are real questions tackled about what a real relationship looks like in this modern age. The characters are strongly written and feel realistic. The effects on society that websites like Twitter are explored briefly. There is also a point made about domestic violence.
This book is more than a silly romance to be consumed and forgotten the next day. The topics covered will have an effect on the thinking reader.
A satisfying read.
This book, originally sold as a romance novel quickly turns into something more meaningful when it begins to tackle the subject of race relations in the USA and gives a white girl a hint of what African descent people deal with as an everyday occurrence. The romance in the story isn't all sugar and spice and all things nice, but it is still a lovely romance to watch blossom. There are real questions tackled about what a real relationship looks like in this modern age. The characters are strongly written and feel realistic. The effects on society that websites like Twitter are explored briefly. There is also a point made about domestic violence.
This book is more than a silly romance to be consumed and forgotten the next day. The topics covered will have an effect on the thinking reader.
A satisfying read.
January 18, 2017
Bardwell's Folly is hard to nail down. Is it literary fiction or women's fiction? Is it humorous and satirical or serious? Should a reader come away being entertained by the story as told, or is there some hidden meaning or point to be gleaned by looking a little deeper?
The answers to all of these questions are obviously a big resounding yes. Or no. Whatever you want the answer to be to any of those questions including “all of the above,” it fits the bill. I was amused by Dori, but still took what was happening to her throughout the book seriously enough to care. I think there are lessons or at least points to consider about family and literary celebrity, but more than enough to be entertaining if you want to avoid the deep thoughts. There should be something here for anyone who wants a good read, regardless of how you define that.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
The answers to all of these questions are obviously a big resounding yes. Or no. Whatever you want the answer to be to any of those questions including “all of the above,” it fits the bill. I was amused by Dori, but still took what was happening to her throughout the book seriously enough to care. I think there are lessons or at least points to consider about family and literary celebrity, but more than enough to be entertaining if you want to avoid the deep thoughts. There should be something here for anyone who wants a good read, regardless of how you define that.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
February 19, 2017
Unexpected
When I see the romance genre heading I expect a bit of fluff and a quick read with plots that carry over again and again. Not so, this. Funny, thought provoking, intelligent and time well spent with characters who felt very real.
When I see the romance genre heading I expect a bit of fluff and a quick read with plots that carry over again and again. Not so, this. Funny, thought provoking, intelligent and time well spent with characters who felt very real.
August 4, 2017
Two -- Two -- Two Books In One!
This is the story of Dori, a red-headed, underemployed, fledgling spinster living in a rapidly dilapidating mansion in the Berkshires willed to her by her Pulitzer Prize-winning father who also left her no money. One day, Dori runs into her high school sweetheart, Joe, who she hasn’t talked with in a decade due to a very public argument that ended their relationship. He’s still a hottie; even hotter since they dated because now he’s a volunteer firefighter who owns his own landscaping company. In fact, he’s become so successful that’s he’s being brought onto the advisory board that manages Dori’s father’s estate (a.k.a. Dori’s home). Unfortunately, he’s already seeing a younger, sexier woman. But it’s pretty clear there are still a lot of sparks between Dori and Joe. Like much of Hutcheson’s writing, this romance novel manages to avoid schmaltz by including large doses of reality-based scenarios, i.e. no “throbbing members” and some reasonable reservations by Dori about the wisdom of reuniting with Joe. Overall, this is a good, solid story.
This is ALSO the story of Dori, a white, underemployed, racially clueless solitary woman living in a mansion in the Berkshires willed to her by her father who won a Pulitzer for writing a Great American Novel about plantation slavery. Dori starts off likable enough; she’s always thought of herself as liberal, but she’s been blind to continuing racial injustice, wrapped in her small, white, rural Massachusetts life. She becomes woke to contemporary U.S. race relations through both witnessing discrimination at her work place, and via her new black friend, Maya, who brings her up to date on current events. Then, through a news report, Dori finds herself cast as a racist across social media, which allows her to grow and transform through the book. I also really like Maya, an educated and opinionated foil to Dori, whose education is limited and whose opinions are kept to herself. Overall, this is a good, solid story.
Alas! The two stories didn’t mesh well together for me. Or perhaps each of these stories deserve their own book. Or this book deserved to be 800 pages long. Ultimately, there was too much going on. Hutcheson’s deft literary style had me invested equally in both story lines, but woven loosely together in one book they felt sparse and unfocused. I was left wanting more.
I’d give this 3.75 stars if Goodreads allowed for such nuance, but Hutcheson’s rich writing makes me kick it up to 4 because this book doesn’t deserve only 3 stars.
This is the story of Dori, a red-headed, underemployed, fledgling spinster living in a rapidly dilapidating mansion in the Berkshires willed to her by her Pulitzer Prize-winning father who also left her no money. One day, Dori runs into her high school sweetheart, Joe, who she hasn’t talked with in a decade due to a very public argument that ended their relationship. He’s still a hottie; even hotter since they dated because now he’s a volunteer firefighter who owns his own landscaping company. In fact, he’s become so successful that’s he’s being brought onto the advisory board that manages Dori’s father’s estate (a.k.a. Dori’s home). Unfortunately, he’s already seeing a younger, sexier woman. But it’s pretty clear there are still a lot of sparks between Dori and Joe. Like much of Hutcheson’s writing, this romance novel manages to avoid schmaltz by including large doses of reality-based scenarios, i.e. no “throbbing members” and some reasonable reservations by Dori about the wisdom of reuniting with Joe. Overall, this is a good, solid story.
This is ALSO the story of Dori, a white, underemployed, racially clueless solitary woman living in a mansion in the Berkshires willed to her by her father who won a Pulitzer for writing a Great American Novel about plantation slavery. Dori starts off likable enough; she’s always thought of herself as liberal, but she’s been blind to continuing racial injustice, wrapped in her small, white, rural Massachusetts life. She becomes woke to contemporary U.S. race relations through both witnessing discrimination at her work place, and via her new black friend, Maya, who brings her up to date on current events. Then, through a news report, Dori finds herself cast as a racist across social media, which allows her to grow and transform through the book. I also really like Maya, an educated and opinionated foil to Dori, whose education is limited and whose opinions are kept to herself. Overall, this is a good, solid story.
Alas! The two stories didn’t mesh well together for me. Or perhaps each of these stories deserve their own book. Or this book deserved to be 800 pages long. Ultimately, there was too much going on. Hutcheson’s deft literary style had me invested equally in both story lines, but woven loosely together in one book they felt sparse and unfocused. I was left wanting more.
I’d give this 3.75 stars if Goodreads allowed for such nuance, but Hutcheson’s rich writing makes me kick it up to 4 because this book doesn’t deserve only 3 stars.
December 18, 2018
I liked it.
However, I wasn’t ready for the rather abrupt ending. I think there should be a follow up book when Dori really does get a degree and after she and Joe have one or two kids. I loved that she had an African-American friend. I’d love to read more about that friendship. I really feel there should be more to the story.
However, I wasn’t ready for the rather abrupt ending. I think there should be a follow up book when Dori really does get a degree and after she and Joe have one or two kids. I loved that she had an African-American friend. I’d love to read more about that friendship. I really feel there should be more to the story.
August 15, 2019
Bardwell's Folly
When I started reading, I wondered where is this going? I thoroughly hated "the board" and the control over the surviving two children. I appreciated the brother just slugging the board. The significant portion of the book is the trip to meet Dori's grandparents. Maya brought so much social relevance into the plot. Definitely recommend this book.
When I started reading, I wondered where is this going? I thoroughly hated "the board" and the control over the surviving two children. I appreciated the brother just slugging the board. The significant portion of the book is the trip to meet Dori's grandparents. Maya brought so much social relevance into the plot. Definitely recommend this book.
March 12, 2017
What could have been view as just another romance goes much deeper with family secrets and race relations...the characters move through the story with humor and grace. There is an immediate connection with the characters who are rich and multidimensional. This author is new to me, but having enjoyed this story so much...I couldn't put it down once I started reading...I know I'll be seeking out more of her books.
This book was provided by the Publisher and Netgalley, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.
This book was provided by the Publisher and Netgalley, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.
May 19, 2017
This is a thought provoking story of a young woman's emotional journey, a story of loss and consequences. It is well worth the read.
January 9, 2017
Sandra Hutchison has done it again! Like The Awful Mess: A Love Story and The Ribs and Thigh Bones of Desire before it, Bardwell's Folly appears on first glance to be a typical book about women and human interactions in modern day life. But a few pages down the road, you really want to know more about each character. You're pulled in, and surprised by events and people's reactions to them. All three of her novels are the kind of books you keep trying to read while making dinner and after it's bedtime. In the burgeoning new self-publishing world, there are plenty of stinkers, and some amazingly memorable gems. This book is one of the gems.
February 12, 2017
Barwell's Folly was a book that really highlighted and explored the life of an author who was tragically killed along with his wife and some of his children. Dori Bardwell and her brother are the only family that was not killed. Her father was a white author who wrote a book about slavery. He even had a replica plantation house built. Dori resides in the home but it is maintained through a foundation that her father set up. Dori struggles with the feelings she has about her father. He was an alcoholic and a difficult man who did not speak about his past. Her mother also did not speak of her past. When a wealthy publisher gets involved with Dori and the foundation, he begins to make claims that he was collaborating with Dori's father when he was killed. Dori suspects he is not telling the truth and that he has a hidden motive. When he hires an intern to come and organize all of her father's things, Dori knows she must protect the manuscript her father was working on when he was killed. Things get complicated when the media discovers Dori has made a statement that has been called racial. She is unprepared for the backlash she receives.
Joe Gagnon is the ex boyfriend Dori has tried to avoid. When he becomes the new landscaper for the plantation, she comes to realize he might be the friend she needs to help her find her way. Joe repeatedly works to protect Dori's best interest. By doing so, old feelings are rekindled and their relationship is given a second chance. Dori begins to explore the past her father and mother tried to escape from. In doing so, Dori comes to realize what is important and she comes to an acceptance of her father and sees the value of his work.
I found the book to just be okay. I was not a big fan of the profanity in the book that seemed unnecessary to me. I did enjoy watching Dori and Joe develop but the rest of the story I struggled to really stay engaged in.
Joe Gagnon is the ex boyfriend Dori has tried to avoid. When he becomes the new landscaper for the plantation, she comes to realize he might be the friend she needs to help her find her way. Joe repeatedly works to protect Dori's best interest. By doing so, old feelings are rekindled and their relationship is given a second chance. Dori begins to explore the past her father and mother tried to escape from. In doing so, Dori comes to realize what is important and she comes to an acceptance of her father and sees the value of his work.
I found the book to just be okay. I was not a big fan of the profanity in the book that seemed unnecessary to me. I did enjoy watching Dori and Joe develop but the rest of the story I struggled to really stay engaged in.
December 16, 2016
I’ve read Sandra Hutchison’s first two novels (The Ribs and Thigh Bones of Desire and The Awful Mess) and loved them both. Now there is a third novel for me to love and tell all my reader friends to grab a copy.
In this story, Eudora “Dori” Bardwell and her stoner brother, Salinger, are living in a small town in upper Massachusetts. The house is a replica of a southern plantation home her father, Bedford Bardwell, built as a living legacy to himself and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Tea and Slavery, which was considered the most important work of fiction about slavery since Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
The house, known as Bardwell House, is a historical landmark in town, and the townspeople are very, very fond of it. A board of trustees runs the house, but thanks to her father’s will, Dori and Salinger are allowed to live there. Unfortunately they aren’t allowed to make any changes, so the summer heat is stifling. In other words, no air conditioning.
The air conditioning is only one symbol of how out-of-touch Dori is with the modern world. She doesn’t have an answering machine, a computer, or a mobile phone. Now 26, Dori had to leave college when her father flew his plane with her mother and four other siblings into the ocean (aka John Kennedy, Jr.) years earlier. She barely makes ends meet working at as a nursing home aide and a part-time grocery clerk. She may live in what seems like a mansion, but the cupboards are bare. Many nights she goes to bed hungry.
When the trustees decide to hire a service to keep up the lawn, to keep up appearances, Dori comes face-to-face with her high school sweetheart, a man whose marriage proposal she refused in front of the whole high school. Sparks fly.
Thanks to an insensitive racial joke, which blew up on social media, Dori’s family in once again in the spotlight. For years, there had been rumors of an unfinished manuscript that her father left behind. When a reporter comes snooping around, interest in finding the manuscript becomes important to the board and leads Dori’s to uncover deep family secrets.
A mixture of romance, intrigue, family secrets, past lives, and a house that is as much a character as Tara was in Gone With the Wind, create a spell-binding read that you won’t want to put down. I give Bardwell’s Folly 6 out of 5 stars.
In this story, Eudora “Dori” Bardwell and her stoner brother, Salinger, are living in a small town in upper Massachusetts. The house is a replica of a southern plantation home her father, Bedford Bardwell, built as a living legacy to himself and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Tea and Slavery, which was considered the most important work of fiction about slavery since Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
The house, known as Bardwell House, is a historical landmark in town, and the townspeople are very, very fond of it. A board of trustees runs the house, but thanks to her father’s will, Dori and Salinger are allowed to live there. Unfortunately they aren’t allowed to make any changes, so the summer heat is stifling. In other words, no air conditioning.
The air conditioning is only one symbol of how out-of-touch Dori is with the modern world. She doesn’t have an answering machine, a computer, or a mobile phone. Now 26, Dori had to leave college when her father flew his plane with her mother and four other siblings into the ocean (aka John Kennedy, Jr.) years earlier. She barely makes ends meet working at as a nursing home aide and a part-time grocery clerk. She may live in what seems like a mansion, but the cupboards are bare. Many nights she goes to bed hungry.
When the trustees decide to hire a service to keep up the lawn, to keep up appearances, Dori comes face-to-face with her high school sweetheart, a man whose marriage proposal she refused in front of the whole high school. Sparks fly.
Thanks to an insensitive racial joke, which blew up on social media, Dori’s family in once again in the spotlight. For years, there had been rumors of an unfinished manuscript that her father left behind. When a reporter comes snooping around, interest in finding the manuscript becomes important to the board and leads Dori’s to uncover deep family secrets.
A mixture of romance, intrigue, family secrets, past lives, and a house that is as much a character as Tara was in Gone With the Wind, create a spell-binding read that you won’t want to put down. I give Bardwell’s Folly 6 out of 5 stars.
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