Amberwell (Ayrton Family #1) in Retro Reads

Mar 13, 2017 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: comfort-read, historical-fiction, wwii, scotland

Good old-fashioned historic fiction.

I started this nostalgic book, intending to read just a couple of chapters, but found it too hard to put down and finished it off the same night. It's the story of the Ayrton family and their beloved estate in Scotland, Amberwell. In particular, it follows five siblings through their childhood and into their lives as young adults during the WWII years. With emotionally absent parents, Roger, Tom, Connie, Nell and Anne learn to rely on each other for support. B Good old-fashioned historic fiction.

I started this nostalgic book, intending to read just a couple of chapters, but found it too hard to put down and finished it off the same night. It's the story of the Ayrton family and their beloved estate in Scotland, Amberwell. In particular, it follows five siblings through their childhood and into their lives as young adults during the WWII years. With emotionally absent parents, Roger, Tom, Connie, Nell and Anne learn to rely on each other for support. But life pulls them in different directions.

It's rather leisurely-paced but insightful, and the characters are well-drawn. I wanted to punch out the parents, who really did their children — especially their daughters — a disservice. The parents' motto was "never explain" (citing Benjamin Disraeli: "Never complain and never explain."). They just issue orders. The girls are never taken anywhere as children, not even to church or the local village.

So it was really interesting seeing what life brought to their five children, and what they made of their lives, especially when hard times hit ... as they do nearly all of them, with one notable exception.

When he had gone Nell lay awake for a long time trying to tidy up the chaos in her mind. It was not easy. She had always thought of herself as a complete nonentity, unimportant and ineffectual; but now, all of a sudden, she had had heavy responsibilities placed upon her shoulders, and placed there quite confidently. Roger obviously had no doubt at all of her ability to cope.

It's always nice seeing people rise to a challenge. Not that life is all rainbows and sunshine here; WWII, not to mention the fraught family dynamics, both have a real effect on the characters' lives.

This book isn't nearly as heartwrenching as some WWII era books; it felt a little more like a cozy read, with most of the deaths and trauma taking place with a little distance. But I really liked that it was realistic, both about the effects of the family's dysfunctions ((view spoiler)) and the wartime experiences. ...more

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Aug 09, 2017 Julie Durnell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england-uk

Another delightful book from Stevenson-this was so heart-warming! I really enjoyed Nell's character and I am assuming there is a sequel so we know if she finds love at last. The siblings are so close even though as adults they have moved apart-great ending! ...more

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Dec 19, 2023 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, audiobook

4.5 stars for this lovely, absorbing, old-fashioned family saga set at the Scottish estate of the title. On the first page we learn the Amberwell estate has been passed down for generations in the Ayrton family, and tradition dictates each new caretaker makes some material improvement during his tenure.

The current Ayrtons settle on a lotus pond with a mermaid fountain; they are a very self-involved couple, and though they have five children - the two eldest boys from his first marriage, and thre ...more

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Mar 16, 2017 Amy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

This wasn't as "cozy" as some of the other DE Stevenson books I've read but instead it felt like a realistic view into life during the war. There was tragedy but also triumph. I loved it. ...more

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Mar 15, 2017 Judy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: d-e-stevenson

Full of aching nostalgia, this romantic family saga is hugely absorbing. While reading it, I resented having to stop for things like meals and work! This was only the second book by D.E. Stevenson I'd read (the first was Mrs Tim Of The Regiment, which didn't grab me quite so much) but I'm now hooked and will definitely read many more.

Much of the book is set in the "summer between the wars", following a wealthy Scottish family, the Ayrtons, who live in splendid isolation on their country estate, ...more

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Nov 13, 2016 Elinor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: women-in-wartime

A gentle read, not particularly compelling, perhaps the equivalent of watching a nice family saga on PBS. The main character Nell looks after the family estate called Amberwell in Scotland very capably while her brothers go off to fight in World War Two. Sometimes one needs a book like this when one is trying to relax, as it soothes and comforts without creating any mental mayhem. And yes, I will read the sequel to find out if Nell winds up happily married, although I suspect that she does, just ...more

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Jul 05, 2017 CLM rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, fiction, 20th-century, uk, re-read

Warning! Even when an author is one of your comfort reads, it is a mistake to pick one of her books for a few chapters at midnight. You will read the entire book and be very sleepy the next day! In this instance, I had to reread the whole series...

https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20... ...more

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Apr 29, 2021 Rachel Piper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, mount-tbr-2021, best-read-in-2021

4.5 stars ... reminded me of The Silent Shore and other books in Ruth Elwin Harris's criminally underrated quartet, as well as The Cazalet Chronicles: Five Novels in One Collection and other stories about stiff families in Great Britain during the war years. Immediately bought Book 2 after finishing this. ...more

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