Rosamunde Pilcher is well known for her beautifully descriptive books about the countryside of England and Scotland. For the record, I am one who at times skips some intensely descriptive sections of novels because I begin to feel like I am drowning in them. The continuous onslaught of detail after detail can make my eyes glaze over and my mind lose track of the point of the paragraph because I get so caught up in the minutia. I realized after many years that it wasn’t just that I skipped over description in general; I soon figured out that it was “bad” description that lost my interest. It seems some authors believe that if they just load the reader up with more and more details they are performing the task I always assigned my students to do as readers – paint the picture so that the reader can envision it in their heads as they read. The problem is that some authors seemed to believe that quantity of details could make up for quality.
Rosamunde Pilcher is the author who proved to me that it truly was quality that mattered. Her descriptions truly do paint the picture for the reader and what a gorgeous picture it created. In fact, I fell so in love with the places she told me about that I was ready to pack my bags and move to Scotland. It’s not just lovely environments that Pilcher creates however; she also develops some of the most interesting characters I have ever known. Again, I wished I could pack a bag and head out to meet these people in person. They seemed like the kind of people I would want to interview, to write about myself, to befriend, and to learn from.
Pilcher’s book are generally “family sagas” often spanning several generations and giving the reader a picture of how the family and its members developed over time. The characters all show a love and respect of each other and their environments. Pilcher began by writing short stories for women’s magazines and a few lesser known novels in 1949. Finally her novel “The Shell Seekers” was published in 1987 and made its way to the bestseller list and received a strong fan following. It was eventually made into a movie as well. Her novels “September” (a sequel to “The Shell Seekers”) and “Winter Solstice” (a love story between two “senior” adults) follow very much in the footsteps of “The Shell Seekers”.
Through each one I feel as though there are lessons I have learned about people, places, and life. From each one I come out with those lessons and carry them with me through the rest of my days. In “The Shell Seekers”, the main characters tell each other to “Cherish yourself,” and this tiny statement carried much power with it to me. Not long after I was in a serious car accident with my Mother and my daughter and that statement took on such special meaning for me. I repeated it to the two of them whenever the long recovery and rehabilitation process seemed to be getting us down and I repeated it to myself when I needed reminding that it was a good thing to take time for myself. I remember a book by Mother Teresa where she talks a lot about filling the well. She reminds readers that if you continually empty your well to others, some day the well will be dry and you will have nothing left to give. Taking time for yourself, then, is not a selfish thing to do; rather it is one of the most selfless things you can do for yourself and for those who depend on you. You have to replenish the well if you wish to nourish yourself and in turn, if you wish to be able to help nourish others as well. Those two little words, “cherish yourself”, and the context in which they were spoken in the book never fail to remind me of that important life lesson.
Pilcher has since gone into retirement and her son Robin Pilcher has taken up the torch, writing novels much in her style. The legacy of Rosamunde Pilcher lives on in her words, her creations, her lessons for all of us contained within her books. From time to time I reread her stories, soaking in those lessons once again; they themselves serving to “replenish the well” and nourish my soul.
Come join us along with Rosamunde at Table 42 as she shares with us more of her lessons in life and love. Refill your well and nourish your soul.
Cyn
15 comments
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January 1, 2007 at 11:29 pm
dcevaal
Sounds enticing- I will have to look out for her books! Thank you for invitiing Rosamunde to the table.
January 2, 2007 at 1:36 am
imogen88
“Shell Seekers” is a brilliant study of human relationships.
January 2, 2007 at 4:54 am
lorigloyd
Thank you for this post. This is exactly the type of writing I would like to see on this blog. And you have made me curious about Pilcher’s work.
January 4, 2007 at 12:29 am
jan2
I adored “The Shell Seekers” which I read years ago and ” Winter Solstice” is an absolute delight of a novel.When my aunt died just before Christmas a few years ago I truly believe that ‘Winter Solstice’ got my mother through those first raw weeks of losing a much loved sister.
April 25, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Barbara Brace
I read Winter Solstice each December. It is such a wonderful story. She brings me home again.
September 6, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Janice Kohn
I love Rosamunde Pilcher books…they give me a satisfied, happy feeling. I tend to reread Shell Seekers in the Spring so I can rekindle that ‘content with life’ feeling and appreciate all the small pleasures in life. All her books take you away to that warm spot inside yourself that brings you happiness.
I first read her after a favorite cousin called from Chicago and said ‘you must read this book’. We have both been huge fans ever since!
January 9, 2010 at 10:04 am
Pepa
Soy una lectora emperdernida pero me fascina sobre todo la escritora Rosamunde Pilcher, sus libtos me dan ganas de vivir, contagian optimismo, calor de hogar y sobre todo nos ayudan a tomar consciencia de los placeres sencillos y cotidianos de nuestra vida.
Es una bocanada de aire fresco y puro en este mundo tán desquiciado.
January 27, 2010 at 2:21 am
patty
I’m reading Winter Solstice again. Every one of her novels invokes a season, a state of mind, a cause for love of family. My late mother introduced me to Shell Seekers and she was so touched by it, WWII and the father’s love for his daughter (my mother), the blackouts, the family that emerges. When my mother gave me the book, she told me this writer had the art of description, something my mother always wanted to “get”when she tried to write: scrubbing an oak table and setting it for lunch would keep the readers’ attention. Putting a dog out in the morning or filling his water bottle. Mrs. Pilcher’s way of telling a story is unsurpassed in this reader’s mind. I thank my Mom for introducing me to this writer. And when I need to reinforce my belief in the good of human beings, I go there.
October 29, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Sylvia
What comfort that life IS significant and beautiful, esp. when we dare to love. This is what Mrs. Pilcher’s works resonate in me. I have so often wanted to write her a note. To tell her that I’ve noticed that whenever I read her books, my cheeks ache. And upon analysing the situation, I found out exactly why this was so– I was smiling so continually as I read! God bless her! She is my mother’s age exactly. And, I’ve a friend here in the States that was a WRN; my age, but still, offering yet another sweet connection. My husband and I hope to be making our first trip to Scotland next summer and I’d so love to visit with her! But that not being likely possible, I do hope that she is well and reads this. She has been used to bless me many times and for this I thank her.
October 29, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Sylvia Kloks
Don’t understand. All the *** were answered.
February 6, 2011 at 1:53 am
Pauline Shahan
I met Rosamunde Pilcher in The Shell Seekers and have purchased all of her writings that I can get my hands on. She even has a space on my Kindle. Her book about her Christmas is wonderful. We are so blessed to such an author available to us. God Bless her for bringing such joy to her readers. I will reread her until my eyes give out!! A fan from North Platte, Nebraska, USA.
September 22, 2011 at 12:11 pm
sharon
The Shell Seekers!What an amazing book.I have lost count how many times I have read this book.Reading this book is escapism at its best.Thank you for such a beautiful storey.Sharon.
January 7, 2012 at 7:36 pm
Margaret Friesen
I simply LOVE this author, and would love to meet her. Having been a voracious reader my whole life (I’m 66), I transport myself into the book I am reading. I so love the places Rosamunde Pilcher transports me to. I have read and reread a number of her books, favorites being Shell Seekers, Coming Home, Winter Solstice, and September.
April 23, 2012 at 2:16 am
Penny Joy
I don’t know if these messages reach Rosamunde Pilcher but I would just like her to know how much I enjoyed Voices in Summer which I found by chance on an island in British Columbia and devoured in one sitting! It had great resonance with me since many of the locations and the characters I felt I knew intimately, reflections of my life and history! I am now on a mission to find The Shell Seekers!
May 1, 2013 at 1:44 am
L.J.
Rosamunde Pilcher is one of my favorite authors. I can read her books over and over again. There are few authors like her. Maeve Binchy is another. I wish there were new stories by Miss Pilcher. My mother also liked har books.