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The Vacillations of Poppy Carew: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Mary Wesley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 403 ratings
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A young woman is forced to decide for herself just who she wants to be—and who she wants, period—in this “high-spirited and inventive” witty romance (The Daily Telegraph).
 
Poppy Carew is at a crossroads. Her longtime boyfriend, Edmund Platt, has just left her. Her father has just passed away, leaving her a substantial sum of money he made betting on the ponies. And the undertaker for the funeral is showing an alarming amount of interest in her, as is a local farmer and a would-be author. In all, Poppy is having a strange time of it.
 
When her father’s funeral ends with Poppy being whisked off to North Africa by Edmund—who wants her back—Poppy realizes that she must finally take charge of her life and sort through the inheritance, the suitors, and her own flighty feelings, or risk being adrift for good.
 
Wesley’s winking look at female independence, family ties, infatuation, and love is a “fast and surprising” ride peopled with remarkable characters and unforgettably hilarious situations, proving that Wesley is a genius when it comes to smart romantic comedy (The Times Literary Supplement).
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  1. Print length
    322 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media
  5. Publication date
    November 12, 2013
  6. File size
    3125 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wesley (see review above) is considerably less successful with this tepid romance, which opens with two events: Poppy Carew's thoroughly detestable lover, Edmund, leaves her for a richer woman; and her father dies. The three men who are to become her suitors attend the funeral reception: Willy, a pig farmer; Victor, a novelist moonlighting as the caterer; and Fergus, the undertaker. Edmund shows up as well, abandons his new love interest and wisks Poppy off to Africa, where she embarks on a series of unlikely adventures. Whereas some of the characters provide moments of amusementas when Victor rescues a fish from drowning at the local fish marketPoppy is a singularly unappealing protagonist whose passivity includes her in the ranks of the worst type of romantic heroine. She allows herself to be taken to Africa by a man she now despises, she must be saved from him when he becomes abusive and she is equally inactive with her rescuer. Although the novel reads quickly and the subplots are mildly diverting, the story is uninspired, the heroine insipid and the ultimate pairings-off predictable.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Prances and bubbles along with the gay insouciance of a compulsive storyteller.” —The Observer
“Mary Wesley is high-spirited and inventive, and keeps her wayward plot moving forward at a spanking pace.” —The Daily Telegraph
“Wesley’s narration is as fast and surprising as ever; her subplots are . . . rich in detail.” —The Times Literary Supplement
“A charming love story and social comedy.” —The Times (London)
“Once again [Wesley] deploys her admirably comic skill to good effect; puncturing the pompous, exposing humbug, nudging our perceptions in the direction of the absurd.” —Financial Times

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00G2V626W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (November 12, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 12, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3125 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 403 ratings

About the author

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Mary Wesley

Mary Wesley

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Mary Wesley (1912–2002) was an English novelist. After she published her first novel at age seventy, her books sold more than three million copies, many of them becoming bestsellers. Her beloved books include Jumping the Queue, The Camomile Lawn, Harnessing Peacocks, The Vacillations of Poppy Carew, Not That Sort of Girl, Second Fiddle, A Sensible Life, A Dubious Legacy, An Imaginative Experience, and Part of the Furniture, as well as a memoir, Part of the Scenery.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
403 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Alabama Anglophile
5.0 out of 5 stars Musical beds
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018
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and continents with a tongue in cheek exploration of the life of a nascent travel agent and the duplicities of diplomacy.
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Sharon Isch
4.0 out of 5 stars Love, lust and laughter in '80s England
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2013
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"I write about the world I was brought up in, a world where snobbery, hypocrisy and unquestioned conservatism are the norm. I just try and show it like it is, and, God knows, that's damning enough."
--British novelist Mary Wesley, as quoted in her Telegraph obit 1/1/03

Mary Wesley started writing novels liberally laced with with love, sex and Brit wit in the mid 1980s at the age of 70. By the time she stopped writing in the late '90s, she'd written 10 best sellers, some of which were adapted for TV, "The Camomile Lawn" being the best known of them. Perhaps it was seeing "Camomile" on PBS ten years or so ago that led me to come here and buy all of her books. I devoured nine in short order, putting this one aside to save as a treat for later, as I knew the author had died and there wouldn't be more. I only came across it again the other day while reorganizing my book shelves. I instantly shelved the shelving and gave "Poppy" priority.

The tale of Poppy Carew opens just as our heroine has been dumped by her longterm live-in boyfriend, Edmund, and word comes that dear old Dad, from whom she's long been estranged (because Dad couldn't stand Edmund) is dying. Dad manages to stick around long enough to learn Edmund is out of the picture and dies with a smile on his face. At Dad's request and over the objections of others, Poppy arranges for a Furnival "Fun" Funeral and in the process attracts the interests of the funeral director along with a budding novelist, a pig farmer and the clod who'd just dumped her. This is the story of how she ends up and with whom. A most entertaining read.

Mary Wesley's other books are: "Jumping the Queue", "The Camomile Lawn," "Harnessing Peacocks", "Not that Sort of Girl", "Second Fiddle", "A Sensible Life", "A Dubious Legacy" "An Imaginative Experience" and "Part of the Furniture."
3 people found this helpful
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Lisa Brownson
5.0 out of 5 stars I love everything Mary Wesley wrote - Ms
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2015
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I love everything Mary Wesley wrote - Ms. Wesley must have had a canny, comic understanding of people. Wish I'd known her!
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jdub
5.0 out of 5 stars love this movie!
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2013
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love this movie! love joseph finnes, have watched it a million times will watch a million more. wish it was available on dvd.
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Jennifer Allen
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as other Wesley
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2013
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I love Mary Wesley's other works, so was looking forward to this - but this one is definitely not her best. Meh.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars ... one of Mary Wesley's entertaining romps where sex and love are always outrageous and amusing
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2016
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It is one of Mary Wesley's entertaining romps where sex and love are always outrageous and amusing. Not the best of her books but very readable as she always is.
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eunice spangaro
5.0 out of 5 stars a delghtful,entertaining read
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2012
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light hearted,witty dry humour with great endearing english characters
and a ..good story which keeps you turning the pages.Will appeal towomen and "gentle"men
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2015
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A good read enjoyed getting to know Poppy
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Top reviews from other countries

Emma
5.0 out of 5 stars Great entertaining story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2022
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More than just a romance, it's a romance with quirks, pigs and funerals.
Believeable characters realistic settings and twisted amusing plot.
Top read!
2 people found this helpful
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SusannahB
4.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable and Entertaining Downtime Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2016
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Mary Wesley's fourth novel 'The Vacillations of Poppy Carew' focuses on the attractive and rather aimless Poppy, who has drifted into a long-term live-in relationship with the very handsome, but totally self-centred Edmund. When Poppy's father - whose dislike of Edmund is one of the reasons that Poppy and her father haven't spent as much time together as they would have liked - dies, Poppy feels bereft; her only compensation for her loss is that her father died laughing with delight when Poppy told him that Edmund had recently left her for another woman. Determined to give her father the 'fun' send-off he requested, Poppy contacts the good-looking and rather unconventional Fergus Furnival who, apart from being able to provide a carriage, black plumed horses and top-hatted attendants for her father's send-off, also lets Poppy know that he is rather attracted to her.

In addition to the darkly attractive Fergus, Poppy meets Fergus's cousin, Victor, a self-confessed 'manqué' writer, who also makes Poppy aware that he would like to get to know her better. And if two handsome, young men were not enough to alleviate Poppy's feelings of abandonment, along comes the lovely Willy Guthrie, a rather unusual pig farmer, who takes one look at Poppy and loses his heart. And then the feckless Edmund decides he has made a terrible mistake in leaving Poppy (especially once he discovers her father has left her rather a lot of money) and rushes her off on a whirlwind trip to North Africa, where a whole series of events occur which force Poppy into the realization that she has to make a decision about her future. But does Poppy know what she really wants or does she spend so long vacillating over the men in her life that she risks losing someone she could actually have a promising future with?

Quirky and beautifully written, as are all of Mary Wesley's novels, this is a witty and amusing story and one which is peopled with a whole host of eccentric characters leading unusual and unconventional lives. It is true that Poppy's indecisiveness can be a little trying at times and also true that some of the characters' actions can sometimes be less than entirely convincing - however, if the story is not dissected too deeply and is taken in the wonderful spirit with which it was written, then this novel makes for very entertaining and enjoyable downtime reading.

4 Stars.

Also recommended by Mary Wesley:  Jumping The Queue ; The Camomile Lawn ; Harnessing Peacocks ; and  Part Of The Furniture .
3 people found this helpful
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John R
5.0 out of 5 stars Usual Mary Wesley, an enjoyable read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2021
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I don't know why I hadn't read this book before having read many Mary Wesley books but I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it typical of her novels with links to previous characters.
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P. G. Russell
4.0 out of 5 stars Pity she waited until 70!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2021
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I had all Mary Wesley's books, but lost this one and Harnessing Peacocks in a small water leak disaster. Her take on romance - cynical, sexy and ageless, is still the same pleasure it was when I first read this one. The best comparison is with Barbara Trapido, as one is left with the same deep satisfaction with the outcomes.
If you haven't tried her before - don't wait any longer.
2 people found this helpful
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Maureen McGuffog
5.0 out of 5 stars amusing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2022
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