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Redferne Lane
Ezra had it all when he died. A good job. A nice house. His loving wife, Grace.
Grace doesn’t even realise she’s struggling to keep herself together. Until Torin turns up in Redferne Lane. It’s been nearly two years since Grace has seen Torin. Since Ezra’s funeral. Now Torin is back in her life, emotions from the past are resurfacing and Grace begins to realise elements of her life are going wrong. She’s not sure she can take control.
But Grace isn’t the only one with problems in Redferne Lane. Josie has a husband and young family to contend with. Ada is facing the difficulties of old age. Jerome thinks he’s found the perfect girl. Eliza just wants to grow up. And Torin isn’t sure he should have what he wants. They all begin to turn to Grace for answers. Can Grace look beyond her own difficulties and help those around her, even while she’s trying to save herself?
Grace doesn’t even realise she’s struggling to keep herself together. Until Torin turns up in Redferne Lane. It’s been nearly two years since Grace has seen Torin. Since Ezra’s funeral. Now Torin is back in her life, emotions from the past are resurfacing and Grace begins to realise elements of her life are going wrong. She’s not sure she can take control.
But Grace isn’t the only one with problems in Redferne Lane. Josie has a husband and young family to contend with. Ada is facing the difficulties of old age. Jerome thinks he’s found the perfect girl. Eliza just wants to grow up. And Torin isn’t sure he should have what he wants. They all begin to turn to Grace for answers. Can Grace look beyond her own difficulties and help those around her, even while she’s trying to save herself?
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2018
18 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Scholefield
1 book3 followersSarah Scholefield initially trained as molecular biologist gaining a BSc (Hons) in Biology from The University of the West of England. After realising she wasn’t cut out for life in a laboratory she worked in numerous schools across the West Country.
She has always enjoyed making up stories in her head and finally began to write them down. In 2014 she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. Redferne Lane is her first novel.
She lives in Somerset with her husband and children.
She has always enjoyed making up stories in her head and finally began to write them down. In 2014 she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. Redferne Lane is her first novel.
She lives in Somerset with her husband and children.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 15, 2020
Living on an idyllic lane in Somerset, Grace Redferne’s life is anything but idyllic. A young widow, Grace lost her husband Ezra when he was only thirty years old. His fatal bicycle accident was two years ago now, and Grace is NOT coping with her loss.
She is deeply despondent and is increasingly reliant on a cocktail of booze and prescription medication to get her through her days. She is only barely hanging on to her job after showing up late and hungover more often than not.
Then, Torin, Ezra’s older brother comes to stay at Redferne House which is just up the lane. Grace and Torin have history. It was he who she fell in love with first – though her husband Ezra remained unaware of this. While still in university Grace met and fell in love with Torin. He felt he was too old for her, and left the country for work. Meanwhile, she met Ezra. Ezra subconsciously reminds her of Torin, but she comes to love him for himself. They marry and only then does she realize that she has indeed married Torin’s younger brother.
Meanwhile, on Redferne Lane, it is not only Grace who is struggling. At the big house, Redferne House, live Noah and Josie Redferne. They have two young boys and are expecting another baby. Noah, Ezra’s other brother, is an architect and is not as faithful as he should be to his growing family. Also living at Redferne House is Eliza, Noah’s teenage daughter by a former partner.
Down the lane lives the elderly Ada. She once worked at Redferne House as the housekeeper. Now she lives alone and is becoming increasingly fragile. Strangely, Ada is Grace’s only real friend. Grace does Ada’s shopping and visits her regularly.
The next cottage is inhabited by Sam and her teenage son, Jerome. Sam is the present day ‘cleaner’ for Redferne House.
Grace’s downward spiral of behavior is tempered by her involvement with the others who live in the lane. She feels desperately despondent at the loss of her young husband Ezra. She also feels guilty that she first had feelings for her husband’s brother, Torin. She has come to despise herself and her role in the family dynamic. She dislikes her present job. She drinks and smokes to excess. Sometimes her drinking is combined with her anti-anxiety medication, to ill effect. She sometimes suffers from blackouts and memory loss. Both her personal appearance and the state of her house reflect her apathy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The book is written in a clever way. Grace and her present life moving forward – and a second narrative featuring Grace when she was married to Ezra moving back in time.
There are many things I loved about this novel. The setting for one. The family for another. The Redfernes and the other inhabitants of Redferne Lane were very real characters that you come to care for whilst reading this book. I liked how every age group was included, from the very young to the very old. The love story was believable and well rendered. The depiction of the effects of grief on a person was well written.
There were also a few negatives. Grace’s over indulgence on pharmaceuticals and alcohol was a bit repetitive at times. I lost track of how many times she was hungover or had vomited in front of other people due to her excesses.
Also, I found many small errors in this novel that somewhat marred my reading experience. Words were omitted from sentences making me stop and read them again to gain clarity. For example: “Where are going when you leave Redferne Lane?“; “Are you going move here?” I know this is not the author’s fault, but it impacted my reading experience nonetheless. Other readers might not notice these things, but I have always been a stickler for detail and the overall ‘flow’ of a book.
I’m not a great fan of romance fiction, however I think “Redferne Lane” is not exactly romance. I would classify it as literary women’s fiction with an integral love story. I very much enjoyed this debut novel and will gladly read any future books by this talented novelist. Recommended.
I was provided with a complimentary digital copy of this novel directly from Thistle Publishing. This in no way influenced my rating or review of this book.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.
She is deeply despondent and is increasingly reliant on a cocktail of booze and prescription medication to get her through her days. She is only barely hanging on to her job after showing up late and hungover more often than not.
Then, Torin, Ezra’s older brother comes to stay at Redferne House which is just up the lane. Grace and Torin have history. It was he who she fell in love with first – though her husband Ezra remained unaware of this. While still in university Grace met and fell in love with Torin. He felt he was too old for her, and left the country for work. Meanwhile, she met Ezra. Ezra subconsciously reminds her of Torin, but she comes to love him for himself. They marry and only then does she realize that she has indeed married Torin’s younger brother.
Meanwhile, on Redferne Lane, it is not only Grace who is struggling. At the big house, Redferne House, live Noah and Josie Redferne. They have two young boys and are expecting another baby. Noah, Ezra’s other brother, is an architect and is not as faithful as he should be to his growing family. Also living at Redferne House is Eliza, Noah’s teenage daughter by a former partner.
Down the lane lives the elderly Ada. She once worked at Redferne House as the housekeeper. Now she lives alone and is becoming increasingly fragile. Strangely, Ada is Grace’s only real friend. Grace does Ada’s shopping and visits her regularly.
The next cottage is inhabited by Sam and her teenage son, Jerome. Sam is the present day ‘cleaner’ for Redferne House.
Grace’s downward spiral of behavior is tempered by her involvement with the others who live in the lane. She feels desperately despondent at the loss of her young husband Ezra. She also feels guilty that she first had feelings for her husband’s brother, Torin. She has come to despise herself and her role in the family dynamic. She dislikes her present job. She drinks and smokes to excess. Sometimes her drinking is combined with her anti-anxiety medication, to ill effect. She sometimes suffers from blackouts and memory loss. Both her personal appearance and the state of her house reflect her apathy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The book is written in a clever way. Grace and her present life moving forward – and a second narrative featuring Grace when she was married to Ezra moving back in time.
There are many things I loved about this novel. The setting for one. The family for another. The Redfernes and the other inhabitants of Redferne Lane were very real characters that you come to care for whilst reading this book. I liked how every age group was included, from the very young to the very old. The love story was believable and well rendered. The depiction of the effects of grief on a person was well written.
There were also a few negatives. Grace’s over indulgence on pharmaceuticals and alcohol was a bit repetitive at times. I lost track of how many times she was hungover or had vomited in front of other people due to her excesses.
Also, I found many small errors in this novel that somewhat marred my reading experience. Words were omitted from sentences making me stop and read them again to gain clarity. For example: “Where are going when you leave Redferne Lane?“; “Are you going move here?” I know this is not the author’s fault, but it impacted my reading experience nonetheless. Other readers might not notice these things, but I have always been a stickler for detail and the overall ‘flow’ of a book.
I’m not a great fan of romance fiction, however I think “Redferne Lane” is not exactly romance. I would classify it as literary women’s fiction with an integral love story. I very much enjoyed this debut novel and will gladly read any future books by this talented novelist. Recommended.
I was provided with a complimentary digital copy of this novel directly from Thistle Publishing. This in no way influenced my rating or review of this book.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.
February 24, 2018
I love this book!
What a way to start my Saturday morning! The story follows the life of Grace after her husband's death, Ezra. She'd like to waste away and drown in the memories they had, but when his elder brother, Torin, comes knocking on her doorstep, two years after his funeral...it all comes tumbling down and suddenly she cannot stop her heart from reeling with emotions she'd buried years ago.
The take on characters with a Scottish accent was great. Torin's wit, reluctance to step in and sweep Gracie off her feet, the struggles Noah and Josie face- all made this one great story to read.
You know they say "every family has drama," well, this one was quite a good read, because it involved an elderly neighbor who happened to be the voice of reason and calm.
So, this book's classified as romance and women's fiction- but it does make for a good laid back weekend read! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. It was a pleasure being immersed in Gracie's world and being with the Redferne's as grieved for Ezra.
What a way to start my Saturday morning! The story follows the life of Grace after her husband's death, Ezra. She'd like to waste away and drown in the memories they had, but when his elder brother, Torin, comes knocking on her doorstep, two years after his funeral...it all comes tumbling down and suddenly she cannot stop her heart from reeling with emotions she'd buried years ago.
The take on characters with a Scottish accent was great. Torin's wit, reluctance to step in and sweep Gracie off her feet, the struggles Noah and Josie face- all made this one great story to read.
You know they say "every family has drama," well, this one was quite a good read, because it involved an elderly neighbor who happened to be the voice of reason and calm.
So, this book's classified as romance and women's fiction- but it does make for a good laid back weekend read! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. It was a pleasure being immersed in Gracie's world and being with the Redferne's as grieved for Ezra.
April 6, 2018
Redferne Lane tells the story of young widow Grace who is grieving the loss of her husband Ezra. She is not coping well at all and has all but cut herself off from everyone, turning up late for work if at all and making all kinds of errors. She gets by on an ill advised cocktail of pills, cigarettes and alcohol. The reappearance of Ezra's brother, Torin, brings back all kinds of uncomfortable memories for her. However, he may just be the person who manages to force her to live again. As Grace starts to get involved with the other residents of Redferne Lane, she realises she's not the only one with problems to face.
The structure of the book is really rather clever. The story is told in two timelines with that of the present moving forward in time, while that in the past moves backwards in time. Yet somehow they come together, with the past of course explaining the present.
Grace is a fascinating character. You really get to understand her and get a feel for her grief and guilt. She is her own worst enemy, which she comes to realise to throughout the book. Through finally being forced to get involved with the lives of her neighbours, some of whom are family through her marriage to Ezra, she begins to slowly heal from her past pain and to look forward to a different kind of future. There's plenty of drama throughout the book with a budding romance between truculent teens Eliza and Jerome, tending to her her elderly neighbour Ada who despite her failing physical health is certainly still one feisty character and helping out with her sister in law who has two young sons and is about to have her third child. Torin is a very significant part of the story in both the past and the present and is a very well drawn character. Like Grace, he is not without his faults and the two have a lot to come to terms with regarding Ezra and their shared past.
I enjoyed reading Redferne Lane which I found really compelling. The author made her characters and their lives seem vividly real to me. I will be looking out for more from this author in the future.
The structure of the book is really rather clever. The story is told in two timelines with that of the present moving forward in time, while that in the past moves backwards in time. Yet somehow they come together, with the past of course explaining the present.
Grace is a fascinating character. You really get to understand her and get a feel for her grief and guilt. She is her own worst enemy, which she comes to realise to throughout the book. Through finally being forced to get involved with the lives of her neighbours, some of whom are family through her marriage to Ezra, she begins to slowly heal from her past pain and to look forward to a different kind of future. There's plenty of drama throughout the book with a budding romance between truculent teens Eliza and Jerome, tending to her her elderly neighbour Ada who despite her failing physical health is certainly still one feisty character and helping out with her sister in law who has two young sons and is about to have her third child. Torin is a very significant part of the story in both the past and the present and is a very well drawn character. Like Grace, he is not without his faults and the two have a lot to come to terms with regarding Ezra and their shared past.
I enjoyed reading Redferne Lane which I found really compelling. The author made her characters and their lives seem vividly real to me. I will be looking out for more from this author in the future.
March 25, 2018
Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. Redferne Lane, Sarah Scholefield’s debut novel, traces Grace’s tumultuous relationship with the Redferne family. Following Ezra Redferne’s untimely death, just months after their wedding, Grace drinks and pops pills to blunt her volatile emotions. Hardly living up to her name, Grace struggles to keep her house clean, get to work on time and follow Ezra’s oldest brother, Torin’s, solicitous advice about self-care. Depicting Grace’s reluctant recovery under the care of her small community, Redferne Lane is a tenderhearted and very real story of loss and renewal.
Grace isn’t the only one with troubles. Leaving her own Redferne cottage one morning, Grace witnesses Ada, an elderly resident of another Redferne cottage out riding her bike, collide with both Jerome, son of Redferne mansion cleaner, and Eliza, teenage daughter of Noah, the mansion’s owner. Grace and Jerome vie to nurse feisty Ada back to health and Eliza and Jerome begin a clandestine romance. Noah’s wife is pregnant with her third bouncing boy while uncle Torin comes to live with the growing family. Torin checks in on Grace but isn’t sure how close to get, given their history and her downward spiral. The chapters toggle back and forth between past and present, mirroring the way history creeps into current states of affairs.
Through key revelatory interactions with Ada, Jerome, Eliza and Torin, Grace makes peace with Ezra’s passing and starts to move forward. She is subtly drawn, revealed through others’ affections for her as well as her own clumsy, artsy charm. Through Redferne birthday and holiday parties, family dinners and informal cigarette breaks and after work drinks, the Redferne characters come to earthy and colorful life. The novel is full of compassion and tough love, written in straight forward, yet fleshy language. A redemptive read.
Grace isn’t the only one with troubles. Leaving her own Redferne cottage one morning, Grace witnesses Ada, an elderly resident of another Redferne cottage out riding her bike, collide with both Jerome, son of Redferne mansion cleaner, and Eliza, teenage daughter of Noah, the mansion’s owner. Grace and Jerome vie to nurse feisty Ada back to health and Eliza and Jerome begin a clandestine romance. Noah’s wife is pregnant with her third bouncing boy while uncle Torin comes to live with the growing family. Torin checks in on Grace but isn’t sure how close to get, given their history and her downward spiral. The chapters toggle back and forth between past and present, mirroring the way history creeps into current states of affairs.
Through key revelatory interactions with Ada, Jerome, Eliza and Torin, Grace makes peace with Ezra’s passing and starts to move forward. She is subtly drawn, revealed through others’ affections for her as well as her own clumsy, artsy charm. Through Redferne birthday and holiday parties, family dinners and informal cigarette breaks and after work drinks, the Redferne characters come to earthy and colorful life. The novel is full of compassion and tough love, written in straight forward, yet fleshy language. A redemptive read.
August 1, 2018
I don't often read romance novels - but Redferne Lane was a book i found to be gentle, warm and really enjoyable. From a writer's perspective I found the structure and use of time really interesting, with half the story moving forward chronologically interspersed with chapters that go back in time, illuminating the backstory of the protagonist's relationship with Ezra and his brother Torin. Great for a weekend read!
April 16, 2018
It took me awhile to get into this book but when I did, I was hard-pressed to put it down. This is the story of a young woman mourning her dead husband and at the same time dealing with her romantic feelings for her brother in law. There are two reasons for my not giving this book five stars. The first is that there was an awful lot of really heavy drinking, which got old fast. The second is that the story went back and forth in time with every single chapter and I do not care for that style of storytelling. But the book was well written and very enjoyable. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews