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Published Apr 2010
336 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Paperback Original. When Richie Rossiter, once a famous pianist, dies unexpectedly, Chrissie knows that she must now tell the truth to their three daughters: their parents were never married. Yet there is one more shock to come when Richie's will is read. It seems he never forgot the wife and son he left behind years ago—Margaret, who lives a quiet life of routine and work, and Scott, who never knew his famous father. Now two families are left to confront their losses and each other, and none of them will ever be the same.
Witty, intelligent, and insightful, The Other Family is a story of modern family life from one of our most beloved authors of domestic fiction.
"Trollope's keen ear for dialogue and her pointed development of secondary characters keep the novel on the safe side of overwrought, while the hopeful if too tidy conclusion highlights the sometimes surprising possibilities that can emerge in the wake of grief." - Publishers Weekly
"Though not the author's best, this is elegantly written domestic fiction—well worth reading for its snappy dialog and head-on tackling of a modern, middle-class family's dilemma." - Library Journal
"Trollope treats her characters with tough love, refusing to either downplay or offer pat solutions to their predicaments." - Kirkus Reviews
"Hurt feelings and issues of abandonment vie with the impulse to forge ahead and to heal in this intelligent and moving novel of modern family life." - Booklist
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joanna Trollope was born in her grandfather's rectory in the Cotswolds in December 1943, and although her actual childhood was spent in the Midlands and in Surrey, she always felt that her real "home" was her birthplace. Joanna says — “It gave me - still gives me - not just a sense of rootedness, but a capacity to value landscape and weather and the rich life of smallish communities. It wouldn't matter where I lived now, I'd always carry that centred feeling of having come from somewhere very well defined with me.” Joanna is the eldest of three, the mother of two daughters and the stepmother of two stepsons — and — now a grandmother. She once saw a car sticker in the States. It read: “If I’d known how wonderful grandchildren were going to be, I’d ...
... Full Biography
Link to Joanna Trollope's Website
Name Pronunciation
Joanna Trollope: trol-lop (rhymes with wollop)
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