Without having read the book, I just watched Winter Solstice, the movie. I can't help but saying that I found it to be a wonderful, touching and heartwarming movie, with a number of excellent actors and actresses of whom I had never heard before. Well, Birdie," he said, "last night when you arrived I thought you looked very tired. You had these blue rings around your eyes. I was actully concerned for you. But this morning, you still have those rings around your eyes, and they're now even bigger!" Our normal Cancellation Terms as outlined in the point below have been temporarily relaxed. The relaxation is in relation to any booking which requires to cancel due to COVID-19. Our COVID-19 cancellation terms are outlined here . She retired after Winter Solstice, which also enjoyed international success, saying that she wanted to stop while she was writing well. January 2, 2022. I just finished my annual re-read this morning. As with last year, I was aware of those incidents of mansplaining. The Sam character is definitely a good guy, but Pilcher has him being so much cleverer than everyone else, and the women all tell him so. Hmm.

You know how the Danish concept of hygge (coziness, comfort, conviviality) has been popular lately? Well, Rosamunde Pilcher was all over that stuff years ago. Her novels have always celebrated the simple beauties and pleasures of ever-changing weather, warming a home with friends, family, food and drink, overcoming pain to re-find love. Her books are what I consider to be the ultimate comfort reads, and Winter Solstice is just what you should be reading if you’re trying the hygge lifestyle this winter. I had an aunt Birdie, who imagined herself more beautiful than Liz Taylor, particularly when she imitated everything about the famous actress, including the blue eye shadow that would even be securely painted on her eyelids with her passing. She just couldn't be seen without it. There is more than a story here. It's not just a collection of lovely descriptions, unique characters, and a touch of romance. There are so many things to enjoy - Elfrida, the aging actress who's not too old to fall in love, the unspoiled 14-year-old Lucy, gentle Oscar with whom you just begin to get a bit irritated until he finally takes action. That's the thing - there's a philosophy here, about living. About what makes every life and each day worthwhile. They will come on you unexpectedly, those moments in the book, and they are what makes this book, and others by Ms. Pilcher, the books you remember, and reread, and leave you wishing you could know what these characters, these people, will be doing the rest of their lives.I did a buddy-read of this novel with Karina who bless-her-heart had read it before, but it's well worth a reread. Having recently loved The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, I was looking forward to this. I was not disappointed, Winter Solstice, is a sweet love story in a gorgeous and evocative winter setting. I loved it even more than The Shell Seekers. The novel changes perspective with each chapter so the reader gets to know the characters slowly, learning what is important to each as they go about their lives. There are a few coincidences that are just too good to be true, but they add to the joy and the promise of a happy ending. Elfrida, Oscar, Carrie, Sam, Lucy, and all the incidental people around them come to life and thanks to Pilcher's talent, lived long after the book was closed. And so did smiley dog Horace, who was as much a part of the story as everyone else! How many times in the book did really complicated things get sorted by 'a phone call?' I mean, even legal details like next-of-kin (the guy isn't even related!) get arranged via a phone call. Easy-peasy. Ditto the details of a will (as yet unoffically 'read') get divulged to the beneficiary via a phone call to a lawyer? I don't think so. An antiques assessor is conveniently 'found' living not far away from the characters in a supposedly remote northern Scottish location? And etc. Everything is so convenient. There is an architect around the corner, just when one is needed. And etc.

Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE ( née Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) [2] was a British novelist, best known for her sweeping novels set in Cornwall. Her books have sold over 60 million copies worldwide. [3] Early in her career she was published under the pen name Jane Fraser. In 2001, she received the Corine Literature Prize's Weltbild Readers' Prize for Winter Solstice.This is the culmination of our tour; the very pretty town of Creagan (Dornoch). Our characters settled into the Estate House and had many adventures. Carrie and Lucy came to the Creagan Estate House later, and like them you will have free time to have a walk, see the town, the shops, and the beach and Golf Course. The last chapter in Winter Solstice saw Oscar becoming reconciled to the past, and playing Beethoven’s “Song of Joy” for Christmas in Creagan’s church [Dornoch Cathedral]. Our last chapter will be similar. We will visit the Cathedral – a magnificent building erected in 1224 by Gilbert de Moravia. We will see the organ which Oscar played. This was also the organ in which police found paparazzi hiding, in 2000, prior to the christening of Guy Ritchie and Madonna’s son Rocco. Elfrida Phipps, once of London's stage, moved to the English village of Dibton in hopes of making a new life for herself. Gradually she settled into the comfortable familiarity of village life -- shopkeepers knowing her tastes, neighbors calling her by name -- still she finds herself lonely.