Books : Fiction : Contemporary Fiction: 1970 Onwards : Authors A-Z : T : Titchmarsh, Alan

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Folly

Alan Titchmarsh
Fill My Stocking: A Christmas Anthology

Alan Titchmarsh
Love and Dr. Devon

Alan Titchmarsh
England, Our England

Alan Titchmarsh
The Last Lighthouse Keeper

Alan Titchmarsh

"Viking, North Utsira, South Utsira, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight." The exotic names of the shipping forecast--the opening words of Alan Titchmarsh's second novel--never fail to evoke an annoyingly patriotic nostalgia in Brits: no matter what else changes, their country is still an island with miserable weather.
The fictional Cornish world of Pencurnow Cove seems at first sight to be the forecast's literary equivalent: the kind of village where the landmarks (pub and post office) are populated by obligingly eccentric locals; where Loaded and FHM are sold under the counter, as overly racy; and where borderline criminals are easily identified by hints of foreignness ("Len Gryler looked as if he was of Italian ancestry") or a loud London accent ("Bladdy hell, woman"). It's the kind of world only Enid Blyton ever lived in. But Titchmarsh's nostalgic Cornwall is no life-enhancing, organic community: it serves primarily as a retreat for battered victims of the real world. Will Elliott has spent the last six years in Prince Albert Rock Lighthouse, failing to grieve for his pregnant wife, killed in a hit-and-run; Amy Finn is a one-time Ballet Rambert ballerina, felled by a knee injury and plagued by her ex-lover and dance partner. When the lighthouse closes, Will buys a motor launch and attempts to build a new life; his attraction to Amy threatens to make him face his grief. Titchmarsh seems unsure what to make of the dilemmas facing the inhabitants of Pencurnow Cove. Though mourning the passing of the lighthouses, he appears to embrace the possibilities of the new world. Following his more upbeat bestseller Mr MacGregor, The Last Lighthouse Keeper is a gentle, well-written tale, whose picturesque setting will no doubt appeal to the tourist in us all--but in the sudden, deeply-felt sufferings of its hero, there's a glimpse of something much tougher. --Alan Stewart
Folly

Alan Titchmarsh
Mr. MacGregor

Alan Titchmarsh
Rosie

Alan Titchmarsh
Only Dad

Alan Titchmarsh
Animal Instincts

Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Titchmarsh, the best known gardener novelist in Britain, extends his patch with his novel, Animal Instincts. Expectedly funny and warm, Animal Instincts also has a distinct tinge of social commentary. The central figure is one Kit Lavery, who is returning to bucolic Devon, after ten enjoyable years in the Aussie Outback, so as to sort out the parlous estate of his deceased dad. It is all Kit can do not to leap on the next plane home when he meets the scarily modern women presiding over his father's penniless eco-empire: feisty Elizabeth, polemical Jess.
Love, naturally, will bloom in this seemingly unpromising soil. Before it does Titchmarsh deftly sketches an engaging plot that touches on delicate countryside issues like fox hunting, conservancy and the class system, without ever getting tendentious or dull--and without losing the quintessentially pleasant and light-hearted tone. --Sean Thomas
Love and Dr. Devon

Alan Titchmarsh
Folly

Alan Titchmarsh
The Alan Titchmarsh Omnibus: "Mr. McGregor", "The Last Lighthouse Keeper", "Animal Instincts"

Alan Titchmarsh
Only Dad

Alan Titchmarsh
Rosie

Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh's Fill My Stocking

Alan Titchmarsh
The Last Lighthouse Keeper

Alan Titchmarsh

"Viking, North Utsira, South Utsira, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight." The exotic names of the shipping forecast--the opening words of Alan Titchmarsh's second novel--never fail to evoke an annonyingly patriotic nostalgia in Brits: no matter what else changes, their country is still an island with miserable weather.
The fictional Cornish world of Pencurnow Cove seems at first sight to be the forecast's literary equivalent: the kind of village where the landmarks (pub and post office) are populated by obligingly eccentric locals; where Loaded and FHM are sold under the counter, as overly racy; and where borderline criminals are easily identified by hints of foreignness ("Len Gryler looked as if he was of Italian incestry") or a loud London accent ("Bladdy hell, woman"). It's the kind of world only Enid Blyton ever lived in. But Titchmarsh's nostalgic Cornwall is no life-enhancing, organic community: it serves primarily as a retreat for battered victims of the real world. Will Elliott has spent the last six years in Prince Albert Rock Lighthouse, failing to grieve for his pregnant wife, killed in a hit-and-run; Amy Finn is a onetime Ballet Rambert ballerina, felled by a knee injury and plagued by her ex-lover and dance partner. When the lighthouse closes, Will buys a motor launch and attempts to build a new life; his attraction to Amy threatens to make him face his grief. Titchmarsh seems unsure what to make of the dilemmas facing the inhabitants of Pencurnow Cove. Though mourning the passing of the lighthouses, he appears to embrace the possibilities of the new world. Following his more upbeat bestseller Mr MacGregor, The Last Lighthouse Keeper is a gentle, well-written tale, whose picturesque setting will no doubt appeal to the tourist in us all--but in the sudden, deeply-felt sufferings of its hero, there's a glimpse of something much tougher. --Alan Stewart
Mr. MacGregor

Alan Titchmarsh
Animal Instincts

Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Titchmarsh, the best known gardener novelist in Britain, extends his patch with his novel, Animal Instincts. Expectedly funny and warm, Animal Instincts also has a distinct tinge of social commentary. The central figure is one Kit Lavery, who is returning to bucolic Devon, after ten enjoyable years in the Aussie Outback, so as to sort out the parlous estate of his deceased dad. It is all Kit can do not to leap on the next plane home when he meets the scarily modern women presiding over his father's penniless eco-empire: feisty Elizabeth, polemical Jess.
Love, naturally, will bloom in this seemingly unpromising soil. Before it does Titchmarsh deftly sketches an engaging plot that touches on delicate countryside issues like fox hunting, conservancy and the class system, without ever getting tendentious or dull--and without losing the quintessentially pleasant and light-hearted tone. --Sean Thomas
Animal Instincts

Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Titchmarsh, the best known gardener novelist in Britain, extends his patch with his novel, Animal Instincts. Expectedly funny and warm, Animal Instincts also has a distinct tinge of social commentary. The central figure is one Kit Lavery, who is returning to bucolic Devon, after ten enjoyable years in the Aussie Outback, so as to sort out the parlous estate of his deceased dad. It is all Kit can do not to leap on the next plane home when he meets the scarily modern women presiding over his father's penniless eco-empire: feisty Elizabeth, polemical Jess.
Love, naturally, will bloom in this seemingly unpromising soil. Before it does Titchmarsh deftly sketches an engaging plot that touches on delicate countryside issues like fox hunting, conservancy and the class system, without ever getting tendentious or dull--and without losing the quintessentially pleasant and light-hearted tone. --Sean Thomas