{"product_id":"nightingale-wood","title":"Nightingale Wood","description":"Review      Gibbons's heroines are plucky, determined and quietly hedonistic. But she can do melancholy with the best of them, too, not to mention melodrama ― GuardianWhat luxury to stumble upon this quirky book, and the fascinating modern woman who wrote it. It is a rare unadulterated pleasure and high time for its encoreNightingale Wood is very impressive . . . Gibbons is superb on middle class life in the years immediately before the second world war, on the erosions of class division and ongoing snobbery . . . relying on icicle wit and sharp observation to lambast conventional morality. Gibbons also displays a tender side. There is real sadness in some of her characters, instead of deliberately heightened rural dolour - and it winds up as a love story that would please Jane Austen . . . I've loved every minute ― GuardianNIGHTINGALE WOOD is in essence, a sprawling, delightful, eccentric fairy tale . . . There is romance galore, a transformative dress, and a ball, much dizzy kissing in hedgerows and beyond, spying, retribution and runaways, fights and a fire, poetry and heartbreak, a few weddings AND funerals, and a fairytale ending with a twist. What luxury to stumble upon this quirky book, and the fascinating modern woman who wrote it. It is a rare unadulterated pleasure and high time for its encore ― Sophie Dahl      Product Description      'Nightingale Wood is very impressive . . . a love story that would please Jane Austen' Sam Jordison, Guardian'What luxury to stumble upon this quirky book, and the fascinating modern woman who wrote it. It is a rare unadulterated pleasure and high time for its encore' Sophie DahlLife is not quite a fairytale for poor Viola. Left penniless, the young widow is forced to live with her late husband's family in a joyless old house. There's Mr Wither, a tyrannical old miser, Mrs Wither, who thinks Viola is just a common shop girl, and two unlovely sisters-in-law, one of whom is in love with the chauffeur. Only the prospect of the charity ball can raise Viola's spirits - especially as Victor Spring, the local prince charming, will be there. But Victor's intentions towards our Cinderella are, in short, not quite honourable . . .      From the Back Cover      Introduced by Sophie Dahl'What luxury to stumble upon this quirky book, and the fascinating modern woman who wrote it. It is a rare unadulterated pleasure and high time for its encore' Sophie DahlLife is not quite a fairytale for Viola. Left penniless, the young widow is forced to live with her late husband's dour family in a joyless old house. There's Mr Wither, a tyrannical miser; Mrs Wither, who is certain that her son married beneath him; and two unlovely sisters-in-law - one of whom is secretly in love with the chauffeur.Only the prospect of the charity ball can raise Viola's spirits - especially as Victor Spring, the local Prince Charming will be there. But Victor's intentions toward our Cinderella are, in short, not quite honourable . . . 'Nightingale Wood is very impressive . . . Gibbons is superb on middle class life in the years immediately before the Second World War, on the erosions of class division and ongoing snobbery . . . relying on icicle wit and sharp observation to lambast conventional morality. Gibbons also displays a tender side. There is real sadness in some of her characters, instead of deliberately heightened rural dolour - and it winds up as a love story that would please Jane Austen . . . I've loved every minute' Sam Jordison, Guardian       About the Author      Stella Dorothea Gibbons was born in London in 1902. She studied journalism at University College, London, and worked for ten years on various papers, including the Evening Standard. Her first novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932) was (and is) hugely successful. She married the actor and singer Allan Webb, who died in 1959. They had one daughter. Stella Gibbons died in 1989.","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40272018767957,"sku":"9781844085729N","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2481\/5790\/products\/faa3b0f6-593b-4c76-9281-a152d7a4aace.jpg?v=1661876871","url":"https:\/\/smeikalbooks.co.uk\/en-us\/products\/nightingale-wood","provider":"smeikalbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}