Springtime in Burracombe

Burracombe Village #4

by Lilian Harry

The village of Burracombe is looking forward to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, but 1953 is to prove a year of heartbreak as well as celebration. While Stella Simmons begins to plan her wedding to Felix Copley, her sister Maddy is only just coming to terms with the loss of her own fiancé; Val and Luke Ferris are wondering if they will ever become parents, and Hilary Napier's chances of marriage seem to slip away, after coming tantalizingly close. The Tozer family also face anxiety. As grandmother Minnie fights for her life, Tom and Joanna's premature twins battle with their own crisis and Jackie, working and living in Plymouth, is determined to live her own life. Meanwhile, the life of the village goes on, with all its ups and downs, its feuds and scandals. Bossy Joyce Warren tries to organize everything and everyone, Miss Kemp and Stella plan another school event, Jacob Prout strives to keep Burracombe looking its best for the festivities, and, in the midst of it all, romance comes from a quite unexpected direction.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Romance, Historical

286 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2009

About the author

aka Donna Baker, Nicola West

Donna Thomson was born in Gosport, near Portsmouth Harbour, England, UK. Growing up during the terrifying years of the Blitz in a two-up, two-down terraced house, the youngest of four, she aspired to be a writer from an early age.

As a young woman she worked in the Civil Service and moved to Devon to be near her sailor husband. They had a son and a daughter. When the marriage ended, she and her two children moved to the Midlands, where she happily married again to her second husband. After living in the Lake District for twelve years, she finally moved back to Devon, and now lives in a village on the edge of Dartmoor. She lost her son Philip in 2008, and has two grandchildren. A keen walker and animal-lover, she now has a dog and three ginger cats to keep her busy, along with a wide range of hobbies she enjoys.

She started signing her romance novels as Donna Baker and Nicola West, now she also writes as Lilian Harry (inspired by the first names of her grandparents). Among her works are historical novels, romances and even two books giving advice on how to write short stories and novels.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book a few times and it's still one of my favourites.
Recommended.

[Terena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely gentle read about the people in a rural Devon village. This book centres around the build up to the celebrations for the Queen's Coronation in 1953.

[Amanda Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely gentle read, I love this series set in a fictional village on Dartmoor. This story the villagers are preparing for a big celebration for the Queen’s coronation in 1953. The characters are interesting and there are good descriptions of the rural setting. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but don’t want it to end.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of a series of books set in the fictional village of Burracombe on Dartmoor.

I gather this is the fourth book. There are some interesting characters and complicated relationships between families in this book which is set in 1953, during the lead up to the Coronation.

The sense of Dartmoor life after WW2 is interesting and explores a lot of the social history of a changing world.

The book is good enough to make me want to read more novels from this author in this series. For me this is the first of her books.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series of stories. Good light read.
Book 4 in a series.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really sad moments in this book

[Fi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Miss Read in Devon