Exclusive interview with author Gil McNeil and a review of her new novel about starting over
Rating: Three Stars
Reviewed by Gabrielle Pantera
“Starting over and building a new life for yourself and your family, as Molly does, is a challenge many women face, often when they least expect it,” says A Good day for Roses author Gil McNeil. “I find characters who develop and surprise themselves are more interesting to write…and hopefully read. Given that around a quarter of all families in the UK and the US are single parent families, I also think it’s worth celebrating how successful and nurturing families come in all shapes and sizes.”
Molly Taylor is newly divorced and dealing with three sons whose father is becoming more and more distant. She must sell the house and now her beloved aunt Helena has just passed away. She has left everything to Molly, including caring for her eccentric uncle Bertie at Harrington Hall, a large manor house in Devon. To make money Molly will take over running the small bed-and-breakfast that operates within the manor. Aunt Helena loved gardening and her roses were award-winning. Molly knows nothing about roses, but feels she must continue the legacy of the rose garden that was Helena’s pride and joy.
A Good Year for the Roses is a heartwarming story of starting over, of family. With dry British wit, each character brings the warm and very familial story to life. Molly’s best friend Lola is a breath of fresh air. The opinionated cook Ivy keeps Molly on her toes. McNeil gives details of different roses at the beginning of each chapter, which is a nice touch and if you love gardening and roses, fascinating. More details on the upgrades to the house, guest house, barn and garden could have added another layer to the story.
McNeil says researching roses for this book was a huge treat. “I found the history of roses and all the descriptions of fragrance and petals so enchanting, I’ve got a long wish list of Old English roses I’d like to grow. I also enjoyed researching the long and glorious tradition of eccentric British aristocrats with large English country estates.”
“The house may be about to fall down,” says McNeil. “But, the garden will be fabulous, or there will be an exceptional collection of china, or art, or a collection of rare books in an extraordinary library. There are hundreds of famous examples, like Sir George Sitwell, father of Dame Edith Sitwell, who invented a special miniature pistol to shoot wasps, and a musical toothbrush, but also found the time to have the white cows on his estate painted with a blue and white Chinese willow pattern to improve the view. Or Ellen Wilmot, the first recipient of the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1897 from the Royal Horticultural Society, who spent so much of her fortune on her gardens she ended up bankrupt. An avid plant collector, she employed legions of gardeners on her estate in Essex and booby-trapped her daffodil bulbs with trip wires attached to air guns to ward off plant collectors.”
“All of the characters in my books are a mix of imagination, friends and family, and random snippets of dialogue I’ve overheard,” says McNeil. “I’m one of those writers who constantly scribbles in notebooks. Part of my preparation for a novel is building up the voices of the characters so I can hear how they speak before I start writing, which hopefully makes the dialogue feel authentic.”
McNeil has written six novels: The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club, Needles and Pearls: A Novel, Knit One Pearl One: A Beach Street Knitting Society Novel, The Only Boy for Me, Stand by your Man, and In the Wee Small Hours. He’s written six short story anthologies: Magic, Summer Magic, Journey to the Sea, Mums, Dads and Grandparents.
McNeil is based in In London and Kent. She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Hachette author website: CLICK HERE
Hachette ebook site: CLICK HERE
A Good Year for the Roses: A Novel by Gil McNeil. Trade Paperback: 384 pages, Publisher: Hyperion (July 1, 2014), Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-1401341916 $15.00
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