Facing The Music

by Mary Nickson

'There wouldn't be any trouble if only you had a wife,' Lady Boynton had said. To mild-mannered Gervaise this was a new idea and the longer he thought about it, the more delightful it seemed...But Flavia Cameron was not what Lady Boynton had in mind. Impossibly young, with a musical talent that could have been heard in concert halls around the world, the headmaster's new wife was beautiful and sparkling and she swept the Upper Fourth off their feet.Until Ben Forbes arrived, with a father who sees Flavia not as a prodigy, a daughter or a wife, but, for the first time, as herself. It is a discovery that will throw her life, and the lives of those around her, into turmoil.

Genres: Fiction, Romance

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Under her former name: Mary Sheepshanks, Nickson also published several novels, including Off Balance, the prequel to Secrets and Shadows, and several works of poetry.

Reviews

[A]

It was a waste of time.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much to enjoy about this book except the speed of reading.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant flute player becomes ill, and goes to work, temporarily, in a boys' school. It's primarily a character-based book, and although there are one or two caricatures, the main characters are sympathetically drawn and believable.

The book was nicely paced and enjoyable although the first time I read this, I thought one of the characters got rather a raw deal. On re-reading seventeen years later, I had more sympathy for others of the cast, although the last chapter is quite poignant.

Definitely recommended to anyone who likes women's fiction.

Four and a half stars would be fairer.

Full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A talented musician marries the wrong man on the rebound, and tries to make a life for herself as his dutiful wife at the boarding school where he works.

[Tash · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not for me. I might give it a second try... but not too soon though.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plot and character development are romance novel~quality. Writing is full of "her eyes blazed" and "she knew that he felt...." A mediocre novel.