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Published Mar 2009
416 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
For every woman who has ever dreamed of starting over, or being a better mother, or just knitting a really nice scarf . . .
When her husband dies in a car crash--not long after announcing he wants a divorce--Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran's knitting shop--a quaint but out-of-date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a "Stitch and Bitch" group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor.
As Jo starts to get the hang of single-parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo's life, and an A-list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two.
The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club is an uplifting, winning tale about the healing power of friendship and new beginnings. It's a charming novel that will delight all passionate knitters--and win over befuddled, would-be knitters, too.
"Starred Review. Smart novels about starting over don't get any better than this sweet treat by Brit author McNeil." - Publishers Weekly.
"In light of the current popularity of needle arts, especially knitting, McNeil's debut will quickly find an audience." - Library Journal.
"Funny and sparkling - a profoundly moving study of motherhood and true love." - Ruth Rendell.
This information about The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Gil McNeil lives in Kent, England, with her son, and comes from a long line of champion knitters. She is currently working on a scarf and a rather tricky jumper (that's British for sweater).
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