The New Countess
By Fay Weldon
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
The year is 1905 and King Edward VII has invited himself and his mistress to a shooting weekend with the Dilbernes. Now Isobel, the Countess, must turn a run-down mansion into a palace fit for a king. Just as well the family fortunes have been restored, but money can't solve everything... not even a kidnapping.
The servants refuse to condone the King's morals; Isobel's daughter, Lady Rosina – now widowed and wealthy – insists on publishing a scandalous book, and the mis-spent pasts of Viscount Arthur and his Irish-American wife Minnie rear up to blacken the family name. When fate deals a hand in the middle of the shooting party, Isobel must consider not only her leading position in Society, but her entire future.
Fay Weldon brings an aristocratic Edwardian household to fabulous, vibrant life in this gorgeously witty tale of manners and morals, commoners and countesses, from one of Britain's best loved authors.
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon is a novelist, screenwriter and cultural journalist. Her novels include ‘The Life and Loves of a She-Devil’, ‘Puffball’, ‘Big Women’ and ‘Rhode Island Blues’. She has also published her autobiography ‘Auto da Fay’. Her most recent novel was the critically acclaimed ‘She May Not Leave’. She lives in Dorset.
Read more from Fay Weldon
The Hearts and Lives of Men: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fat Woman's Joke: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Worst Fears: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Spa Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Life and Loves of a She Devil: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Praxis: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Big Girls Don't Cry: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mantrapped: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Down Among the Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trouble: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Rhode Island Blues Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Puffball: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Auto da Fay: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Remember Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The President's Child: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Collected Novels Volume One: The Life and Loves of a She Devil, The Hearts and Lives of Men, and Praxis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Heart of the Country: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWicked Women: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Polaris: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moon Over Minneapolis: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bulgari Connection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWords of Advice: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Watching Me, Watching You: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Female Friends: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cloning of Joanna May: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Kehua! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Leader of the Band: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shrapnel Academy: A Novel Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Splitting: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to The New Countess
Related ebooks
The New Countess Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The New Countess: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Death of No Importance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Affair At Styles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Early Classics of Agatha Christie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Affair at Styles: The First Hercule Poirot Case Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Agatha Christie Collection #1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles + The Secret Adversary: The First Hercule Poirot novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTHE SECRET ADVERSARY Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Agatha Christie Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAGATHA CHRISTIE Premium Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Affair at Styles: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Warbler Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Murder on the Links: Agatha Christie's First Two Hercule Poirot Novels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Classic Mystery Novels Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5AGATHA CHRISTIE: The Secret Adversary & The Mysterious Affair at Styles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTHE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES & THE SECRET ADVERSARY Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDetective Poirot: The Mysterious Affair At Styles: Detective Hercule Poirot Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adventures on the Go, Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Early Classics of Agatha Christie (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAgatha Christie: The Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Agatha Christie Mysteries: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Poirot Investigates, The Big Four… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Historical Fiction For You
Demon Copperhead: A Pulitzer Prize Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Hour: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House of Eve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Euphoria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yellow Wife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden (Original Classic Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sold on a Monday: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Tender Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rules of Magic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Is on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Tent - 20th Anniversary Edition: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kitchen House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Quiet American Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girls in the Stilt House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Journals of Sacajewea: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Island of Sea Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book Woman's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sisters Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I, Claudius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hang the Moon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The New Countess
20 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is the final volume in Weldon’s trilogy set in the Edwardian era and featuring the wealthy Dilberne family. In this go round, the King invites himself – along with hiss wife, Queen Alexandra AND his mistress, Alice Keppel- to a shooting weekend at the Dilberne’s country house, which creates a panic in Lady Isobel. The country house is run down; the King – and his mistress- will be expecting flush toilets, electric lights and heaters, and up to the minute décor. This causes a hemorrhage of cash and a strain on the marriage. Meanwhile, their son Arthur is having problems with his American heiress wife, Minnie- he’s more interested in automobiles than in sex. Arthur’s socialistic sister has returned from Australia a well to do widow, and is living with a bohemian brother and sister duo and preparing to publish a book on the sex habits of the Australian aborigines, which horrifies her family. It’s all high-strung soap opera in a historical setting. Although supposed to be along the lines of ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’, showing the lives of both the high class and the servants, only the first volume really featured the downstairs. They do appear momentarily in this volume, but are not fully formed characters. I didn’t care for this volume as much as I did the first two in the trilogy. I liked Lady Isobel in the first two books; not so much this go-round, nor did I care much for Robert this time. The characters seemed harsh, mean spirited, and self centered. There is a rather bizarre little coda at the end, like a speculation in the first person while the rest of the book is told in the third person. And, sadly, the title gives away the event that I suspect was supposed to be a shock.