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The Woods in Winter

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The Woods in Winter

By: Stella Gibbons
Narrated by: Gabrielle Baker
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About this listen

. . . for the first time in her life, she was living as she had always unknowingly wanted to live: in freedom and solitude, with an animal for close companion. Her new life had acted upon her like a strong and delicious drug.

Ivy Gover, a curmudgeonly middle-aged charwoman with some slightly witchy talents, inherits a rural cottage in Buckinghamshire and takes up residence near the tiny village of Little Warby. Having settled in with a rescued dog and a pet pigeon, she manages, despite her anti-social instincts, to have surprising effects on her new neighbors, including Angela Mordaunt, a spinster still mourning her dead beau, Coral and Pearl Cartaret, ditzy sisters who have just opened a tea shop, the local vicar, and wealthy Lord Gowerville, whose devotion she earns by healing his beloved dog. But her biggest challenge will likely be the twelve-year-old runaway who shows up at her door . . .

Blending vivid characters and a deep knowledge of human nature, this is also a funny and poignant tale of the challenges and freedoms of old age and solitude. The Woods in Winter was first published in 1970 and was the last novel Stella Gibbons wrote for publication.

©1970 The Estate of Stella Gibbons (P)2024 Tantor Friendship Genre Fiction Small Town & Rural Women's Fiction Funny Village
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I wasn't sure about the narration at first but it grew on me and I really loved it by the end. I think maybe the sound quality isn't the best but it was worth sticking with it. Great characters, with a lovely magical element to the main character. Sharp social commentary on the English class system between the wars. Descriptive scene setting without being florid. A perfect winter / Christmas read for me. Made me want to read/listen to more Stella Gibbons.

The main characters drew me in

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