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The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene

The Headmaster's Wife

by Thomas Christopher Greene

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  • Published:
  • Feb 2015, 288 pages
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for The Headmaster's Wife
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  • Audrey C. (Canfield, OH)
    The Headmaster's Wife
    T. C. Greene's The Headmaster's Wife fulfills every author's dream to write a really good book. Not once in this book was there any predictable section that would make a reader shelve the read and forget about it.

    Certainly, Greene's novel grips the reader as a vise page after page with with a multitude of experiences. As a reader I could not imagine where the next pages would maneuver me so I read on. Each character, Arthur and Betsy, displays abilities and inabilities for survival. What, indeed, really drives us to act and react as we do?

    Toward the end of the book, Arthur and Betsy look out into the winter night. Far below "is the river, timeless and uncaring. It moves to the sea as if they were not there at all." So, too, for us in our day to day or ending phases of life's triumphs, foibles, or confusions, life moves in a timeless, uncaring manner except for those with whom we literally or figuratively hold hands! As we age we ponder to what end will our journey take us? And, Greene answers: Real courage lies in going on living when you know death is an eventuality! The book serves to give us an opportunity to see how someone else overcomes a tragedy.
  • Gretchen M. (Martinsburg, WV)
    A Fast-paced Read
    A story that grabbed me from the beginning. It's the kind of story that you think you have figured out but you don't until small details are reveled at the end. This book is a sharp turn from Greene's "Mirror Lake" but has the same superb character development and unique writing style.
  • Diane D. (South Portland, ME)
    Riveting & Real!
    I loved the Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene! It grips you right from the beginning and introduces you to broken people that seem just too real to forget. I was often reminded of Stuart O'Nan's descriptive style of writing about the mundane. I will definitely go back and read his other books!
  • Dorothy L. (Manalapan, NJ)
    An Enjoyable Read
    I liked this book. It was a good read from beginning to end and kept me interested throughout. It is clear from the first page that things are not what they seem. The world of private school is depicted well. The characters, especially the headmaster, kept me engaged and wondering what was going to happen next. I think it was also well written. I liked the symbolism of the river throughout and its influence on the characters. It was more than part of the environment. It was a thread which permeated the book. I would recommend it to my book club.
  • Roni S. (Pittsburgh, PA)
    The Headmaster's Wife
    'The Headmaster's Wife' is a book that I will recommend to my friends. The writing is beautiful and sensual. I liked that the chapters were short. The book is a psychological compelling story about a Headmaster and his wife. One has a close up view of a private boarding school. Anyone who enjoyed 'The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls' would like this book. I look forward to reading his other books.
  • Jean N. (New Richmond, OH)
    True to LIfe...Unpredictable
    I cannot really classify this book as a mystery, a love story, or a story of a marriage. It is that and more. Like life, it takes quick twists and turns and is unpredictable. I have never been "inside" of an elite school like this, and that was interesting as well...the routines, the politics etc.
    I would definitely recommend this book as a well written, fast paced novel.
    I am looking forward to checking out Thomas Greene's previous novels.
  • Beverly R. (Fullerton, CA)
    the Headmaster's Wife
    An intriguing plot structure takes the reader into the mind of Arthur, the Headmaster and of his wife. The characterization of these two is so well done we feel what they do. I recommend this book highly.

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