The Blue Bedroom: & Other Stories (1991) - Plot & Excerpts
MSJA Book Club selection, October 2007. I love Rosamunde Pilcher. Her stories and novels are so lovely! She writes about strong women characters facing everyday problems in Scotland or Cornwall, England. I would love to live in one of her country villages. She writes about themes that touch everyone. Many of her plots revolve around family relationships, new babies or the death of a loved one. My favorite story in this collection is called "Miss Cameron at Christmas." The heroine, Miss Cameron, is an aging Scottish lady, who after taking care of her elderly parents for most of her life, is left enough money in her father's will to buy her own little home in a village outside Edinburgh. She befriends her neighbors and comes to their aid one Christmas offering to stay with their teenage daughter when a medical emergency arrises. She spends the evening talking about her life with the young girl and learns some valuable lessons about herself. I have re-read this collection many times.
Short stories.Rosamunde Pilcher certainly has a way with words and I started this book enthusiastically, thoroughly enjoying the title story. The next few were also good, but then I started to feel that the subjects were becoming too repetitive: three stories were about panic births, for instance. I realised that the book had lost my interest and I'm going against the grain here, to only give 3 stars.One story, in particular seemed a bit unlikely - a ten-year-old boy, recovering from an appendectomy, is sent to stay with his sister who is due to give birth only two weeks later. He's dashing around the countryside and, surprise surprise, her baby is early! The others were at least believable.I'd previously read one other book by this author (Snow in April), and only given it 2.5 stars, but I'd be interested in trying one of her more recent novels at some time as she writes beautifully.
What do You think about The Blue Bedroom: & Other Stories (1991)?
Rosamunde Pilcher's stories are so lovely! She writes about strong women characters facing everyday problems in Scotland or Cornwall, England. My favorite story in this collection is called "Miss Cameron at Christmas." The heroine, Miss Cameron, is an aging Scottish lady, who after taking care of her elderly parents for most of her life, is left enough money in her father's will to buy her own little home in a village outside Edinburgh. She befriends her neighbors and comes to their aid one Christmas offering to stay with their teenage daughter when a medical emergency arises. She spends the evening talking about her life with the young girl and learns some valuable lessons about herself. I have read or listened to my recorded book of this collection many times.
—Linda
I love all things written by Rosamunde Pilcher. Her simplicity of description and her beautiful way with words is astounding. Her stories flow effortlessly across my imagination, bringing to life her characters and making me fall in love with them every time. This particular book is full of priceless gems. I never read any book more than once but I've read The Blue Room from cover to cover many times. I still cry or laugh in all the right places. A must read for anyone who, like me, thinks of England with nostalgia or with hope of visiting again.
—R.L.
This is the only book I've read that I would recommend to all my GoodReads friends. That's why I gave it five stars.It is a collection of short stories: each one describes ordinary people and ordinary events. I really couldn't pick a favorite. I cried after reading:The Blue Bedroom An Evening to RememberIf I'd been pregnant I probably would have cried at every story -- a happy sort of cry, though. I also especially liked:Home for the DayTea with the ProfessorGilbertThe TreeThere wasn't a story I didn't like.Rated G.
—Megan
