A House at War/the Continuing Story of the House of Eliott - Hardcover

O'Leary, Elizabeth; Marsh, Jean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312135130 ISBN 13: 9780312135133

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1995

Synopsis

On the crest of the successful 1936 season, sisters Bea and Evie place their attentions on their neglected families and loved ones, but the onset of the Second World War forces them to confront the harsh truths about their lives.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Fans of actress Jean Marsh's The House of Eliott and of the A&E series of the same name will be gravely disappointed by O'Leary's slight and totally colorless continuation of the Eliott sisters' rags-to-couture fashion story. It is now 1936, and the London fashion house started by Beatrice and Evangeline Eliott has just lost a commission to design the wedding dress of the about-to-be Duchess of Kent. Fortunately, the sisters have more than enough personal travails to occupy their thoughts. Bea is still trying to achieve a serene life with her film director husband, Jack Maddox, and their three children. Evie is involved in a series of disastrous relationships with men that O'Leary develops sketchily. Only Evie's former lover, Hugo, back after a four-year absence and a brief marriage, manages to be more than a shadow. As Europe veers toward war, Evie takes a lifeless sabbatical in Hollywood while Bea and Jack deal with the possibility that their son may be going blind. WWII brings an absurd plot twist as a House of Eliott model moves to Paris, conceals her Jewish identity, takes up with a Nazi officer and spies for the Allies. O'Leary's first novel pays little attention to the integrity of the characters. As a result, she's done the impossible: taken the vibrant Eliott sisters and made them tedious.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

In this sequel to The House of Elliott (1994), many familiar characters reappear, but one valuable factor is missing--the author, for the first novel in this series was written by Jean Marsh. While its sequel is a fun historical romance that pursues the career and private lives of two London sisters who started a high-fashion design and dressmaking establishment, some of the flair and continuity is lacking. Still, readers (and viewers of the TV series on which these novels are based) will relish the wartime adventures of Bea and Evie as they struggle to keep their business and families intact in a London under siege. Denise Perry Donavin

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0312135130
• ISBN 13: 9780312135133
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 247