At my local library yesterday, I found this photo and quote on the back of one of the Rosamunde Pilcher collection. I really liked it, although I didn’t just discover this favorite author of mine. I found her years ago, read as many of her books as I could find, and loved them. Her book, The Shell Seekers, is one of my all-time favorites. I recently discovered that her books and short stories are now available on Kindle, so I decided to give myself a treat and re-read them all. What a lovely thing to do for myself!
What do I love about her books? I enjoy her characters who, to me, seem like real people with real emotions. I love her landscapes, beautifully described. They make me want to spend time in Cornwall and London and Scotland, and when reading her books, I feel like I’m there! I really like her ideas about families and loved ones. There are blood families and there are chosen families, and I love that many of her characters find and surround themselves with the people who really mean something in their lives. And, finally, I simply love being part of each of the little worlds she creates in her books and stories.
I’m enjoying this re-reading, and will probably read them again in another few years! I obviously agree with the statement “now that I’ve found her, I’m not going to let her go!”
From the Archives: Click on the highlighted title to read a post I wrote about her in 2007… “The Gentle Books of Rosamunde Pilcher“
A Fondness For Reading 
I have subscribed to your blog for quite a while and always enjoy your posts. I, too, am a retired teacher, a mother and now a grandmother. I have agreed with many of your opinions and preferences and now I know why. The Shellseekers has long been one of my favorite books. I often think of it as comfort reading and have reread it many times when life got too hectic and I needed a calm place to go. Thank you for reminding me how much I like all her work and especially this one special story.
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I loved reading Rosamunde Pilcher’s books – The Shellseekers, Coming Home, September something that was a sequel to Shellseekers, Winter Solstice. How fun for you to go back and experience them once again. I’ve been so happy to see some of my old favorites show up as e-books. Especially when they are hard to find or even out of print. Enjoy, Robin!
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Marlo, thanks so much for your kind comments. I love your description of The Shell Seekers as being a “calm place to go.” That’s it, exactly! A calm place to go and be reminded of the things that really matter in life.
It’s nice that we share a love for Pilcher’s books! Yes, it is so nice to find old favorites showing up as e-books now. I bought some of May Sarton’s work as e-books just recently. So nice to find them.
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One of my all-time favorite books (and probably the first book I claimed to be “lyrical”) is The Shell Seekers. I’ve wanted to re-read it on several occasions, but I’m afraid it won’t live up to my memory of that first read back in 1988. You’ve convinced me (as has my mom!) that I shouldn’t worry. She really does have a way with words and expressing my own thoughts about family and love. I, too, would love to visit that part of the world!
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I’ve not seen that photo of her before. Doesn’t she look so beautiful. I liked her books, and I loved parts of them- usually descriptions of house interiors and landscapes, but I wouldn’t reread them. I didn’t care for the stories that much. There were always people I could.not.stand and they kind of spoiled the tales for me. And then of course there is Winter Solstice which to me is her best and most perfect, except for one thing. I won’t spoil it in case anyone reading this hasn’t read the book, but it happens very early on, and just tainted the book for me. I couldn’t get past the horrific sadness of the occurrence. I know, I know. I take books way too seriously!!
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Kay, the ebooks are what sparked my rereading of her work. I’m thoroughly enjoying them [again] and now my Mom has started reading them all, too.
Les, it’s always a “risk” to reread something that you loved, loved, loved at an earlier stage of life/reading. This one didn’t disappoint me, though. Now that I’m close to the main character’s age in The Shell Seekers, I appreciated it even more. The other author that has never disappointed me when rereading is Jane Austen!
Nan, you are a sensitive reader…which is a lovely quality. It’s always fascinating to me to realize how a book (or an author) will speak to one person but not so much to another. I’ve become more reserved in my recommendations to friends and family, qualifying my enthusiasm with the realization that it was right for me, but might not be the right book for them.
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