Marcia Willett Books In Order

Chadwick Family Books In Publication Order

  1. Looking Forward (1998)
  2. Holding on (1999)
  3. Winning Through (2000)
  4. The Prodigal Wife (2009)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. The Courtyard (1995)
  2. Those Who Serve / First Friends (1995)
  3. A Friend of the Family / Thea’s Parrot (1995)
  4. The Dipper (1996)
  5. Amy Wingate’s Journal (1996)
  6. Hattie’s Mill (1997)
  7. Starting Over (1997)
  8. Second Time Around (1998)
  9. A Week in Winter (2001)
  10. A Summer in the Country (2002)
  11. Forgotten Laughter (2002)
  12. The Children’s Hour (2003)
  13. The Birdcage (2004)
  14. The Golden Cup (2005)
  15. Memories Of The Storm (2005)
  16. Echoes of the Dance (2006)
  17. The Way We Were (2008)
  18. The Summer House (2010)
  19. Christmas in Cornwall / The Christmas Angel (2011)
  20. The Sea Garden (2012)
  21. Postcards from the Past (2013)
  22. Indian Summer (2014)
  23. Summer On The River (2015)
  24. The Songbird (2016)
  25. Seven Days in Summer (2017)
  26. Homecomings (2018)
  27. Reflections (2019)
  28. Facing the Music (2019)
  29. The Quick and the Dead (2019)
  30. Sisters Under the Skin (2019)
  31. The Garden House (2021)

Chadwick Family Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Marcia Willett Books Overview

Looking Forward

Life at The Keep changes forever when Fliss, Mole and Susannah arrive in the summer of 1957. Their parents and elder brother have been killed in Kenya so the children are sent to their grandmother, Freddy, in Devon. Freddy is no stranger to grief, but she would be lost without her devoted helpers, Ellen and Fox, who enable her to cope with this latest tragedy. And, above all, she looks to her brother in law, Theo, to guide her while the children heal their wounds and embark on the treacherous journey to adulthood

Holding on

Over the years, the magnificent Keep in Devon has provided a bolt hole for the Chadwick family. Now the five young cousins who grew up there have left home and their grandmother Freddie wonders anxiously whether she will live to see the arrival of the next generation. No matter what happens to them, she knows that The Keep must remain within the family, ready and waiting for their return.

Winning Through

It’s nearly thirty years since the Chadwick siblings arrived from Kenya at The Keep in Devon to live with their grandmother Freddy. And while much has altered since in their lives, The Keep remains a sanctuary for the whole family; warm, unchanging, filled with love. Now mistress of The Keep, Fliss finds it hard to fill the place of her beloved grandmother, especially when she has so many doubts in her life. Mole has settled into his second family, the Navy. And Susanna, always the baby, is now a wife and mother herself. But whatever challenges they face, the family know that the house will always be ready to welcome them home.

The Prodigal Wife

Deservedly compared to her countrywomen, Binchy and Pilcher, Willett is an equally gifted storyteller. Booklist The Keep that beautiful, ancient family home where the Chadwick family had lived for generations is still a haven from the heartbreaks and storms of life. Jolyon Chadwick, a famous television presenter, takes his new girlfriend Henrietta home meet his extended family and also to meet Maria, the mother who deserted him and his father many years ago, now re appeared and seeming to want forgiveness. Jolyon, however, is not in the mood for forgiveness although his father Hal, now married to his cousin and childhood sweetheart, feels a lingering guilt about Maria and wants them all to be friends. And Henrietta, still vulnerable from the break up of her own parents’ marriage, is not sure whether she can move on.

The Courtyard

In this latest early novel from the beloved Marcia Willett, Henry Morley can only wonder at the good fortune that has given him a vivacious wife and a beloved family home called Nethercombe. When he remodels a cluster of cottages known as The Courtyard, he is delighted to welcome a group of charming tenants. But soon disaster strikes, and everyone must come together to face the crises head on. Marcia Willett’s ardent fans will savor a return visit with some of her most endearing characters. The Courtyard is a gem of a story to be savored.

Those Who Serve / First Friends

Cass and Kate meet at school and are firm friends for the rest of their lives. Both marry naval officers, but Cass’s infidelity has far reaching consequences for her children and Kate’s. Many of the characters in First Friends published in the UK as Those Who Serve reappear in later Marcia Willett novels, and we meet their children as well. As always, Marcia Willett’s wise understanding of love, loss, marriage, and parenthood is conveyed with honesty, generosity, and compassion.

A Friend of the Family / Thea’s Parrot

Picking up the story of Kate Webster and Cass Wivenhoe that began with First Friends, A Friend of the Family published in the UK as Thea’s Parrot tells the tale of one of their friends, Felicity, a married woman who has been dallying with George, another mutual acquaintance. When Felicity is widowed, everyone expects George to pop the question. He does, but to the astonishment of Kate and Cass, his intended bride is not Felicity. With her usual generous helping of tears and laughter, Marcia Willett again provides her fans with a treat to be savored.

Hattie’s Mill

Hattie Weatherall’s heart leapt when she first saw Abbot’s Mill, and with her dog and an assortment of wild fowl for company she sets about renovating the mill. Sarah Farley feels a pang of envy for Hattie’s freedom. For over twenty years, Sarah has tolerated her husband’s infidelities and her love for him is about to be tested again…
As Hattie settles into life at the mill, she befriends two young boatmen. Toby is recovering from a broken marriage and, when he has a another chance at happiness, Hattie is glad welcome his new family into the fold. Joss’s problems are not so easily solved, but when he turns to Hattie for help, the motherly love that blossoms in her heart enables them both to heal old wounds…

Second Time Around

In this latest early novel from bestselling author Marcia Willett, Mathilda Rainbird bequeaths her home to three unknown relatives: twenty two year old Tessa, who misses her dead parents and brother but has learned to live alone; Will, a widower, who is drawn to Mathilda’s housekeeper, Isobel; and Beatrice, a retired prep school matron who thinks the idea of living with her cousins is preposterous.

Deeply moving and utterly real, Second Time Around features the shining honesty that Willett s fans have come to love.

A Week in Winter

Every once in a while a very special story comes along that deserves an enormous cozy chair with a view of rolling hills, a fire snapping quietly in the hearth, a cup of real cocoa in a favorite mug, and a plate of homemade cookies. A Week in Winter is such a tale. Moorgate is an enchanting old country house that belongs to Maudie Todhunter, a spirited widow who has been holding on to the place for the sake of her beloved granddaughter. But Maudie can no longer afford a second home, so she reluctantly puts it up for sale. Moorgate immediately attracts more buyers than Maudie knows what to do with. The first is Selina, her stepdaughter, who has never seen eye to eye with Maudie on anything. The second potential buyer is Rob Abbot, a contractor who has lovingly restored every nook and cranny and who is embarrassed by his own passionate devotion to the house. The third is Melissa Clayton, a young woman with a sad, sad secret who discovers at Moorgate all she’s ever wanted. As the story weaves between the past and present, Maudie is startled to uncover patterns of deceit and betrayal that contradict all her most cherished beliefs. At times it seems that her most trustworthy companion is her granddaughter’s giant English mastiff Polonius, who is boarding with Maudie after having been banished from his own home by an irate Selina. As the final revelations stun both Maudie and the reader, A Week in Winter achieves a combined richness of character and circumstance that raises it above most modern contemporary fiction. Marcia Willett is a writer to discover and to celebrate.

A Summer in the Country

Marcia Willett’s previous novel, A Week in Winter, her first to be published in the United States, received a rousing welcome from readers and reviewers alike. Her new novel, A Summer in the Country, introduces an equally beguiling cast of characters whose lives become intricately entwined at Foxhole, a charming and cozy country house on the wild edges of the Devon moors.

Brigid Foster has inherited Foxhole from her father, and has created two guest cottages, which she rents during the holidays to tourists. Brigid s delight at welcoming Louise Parry, one of her regular summer visitors, is tempered by the irritating presence of Brigid s monumentally judgmental mother, Frummie. Having abandoned Foxhole and Brigid forty years earlier, Frummie makes no secret of her disdain for the glorious natural splendor of her surroundings, nor of her preference for Brigid s flightly but fabulous half sister, Jemima. Jemima, meanwhile, has problems of her own.

When a stranger begins lurking in the isolated byways of the lonely countryside, Brigid turns to her oddly elusive father in law for comfort and protection. But both Brigid and Louise Parry are hiding certain essential facts, and each woman s fragile sense of haven and security is threatened by disclosure. A Summer in the Country is the story of the enduring, but often painful love that exists between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives. It describes with exquisite sensitivity and tenderness the precarious journey each of us undertakes as one generation makes way for the next, as each indelible and priceless relationship grows, changes, blossoms, or dies. Marcia Willett writes novels that will last.

Forgotten Laughter

Marcia Willett’s previous novel, A Week in Winter, her first to be published in the United States, received a rousing welcome from readers and reviewers alike. Her new novel, A Summer in the Country, introduces an equally beguiling cast of characters whose lives become intricately entwined at Foxhole, a charming and cozy country house on the wild edges of the Devon moors.

Brigid Foster has inherited Foxhole from her father, and has created two guest cottages, which she rents during the holidays to tourists. Brigid s delight at welcoming Louise Parry, one of her regular summer visitors, is tempered by the irritating presence of Brigid s monumentally judgmental mother, Frummie. Having abandoned Foxhole and Brigid forty years earlier, Frummie makes no secret of her disdain for the glorious natural splendor of her surroundings, nor of her preference for Brigid s flightly but fabulous half sister, Jemima. Jemima, meanwhile, has problems of her own.

When a stranger begins lurking in the isolated byways of the lonely countryside, Brigid turns to her oddly elusive father in law for comfort and protection. But both Brigid and Louise Parry are hiding certain essential facts, and each woman s fragile sense of haven and security is threatened by disclosure. A Summer in the Country is the story of the enduring, but often painful love that exists between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives. It describes with exquisite sensitivity and tenderness the precarious journey each of us undertakes as one generation makes way for the next, as each indelible and priceless relationship grows, changes, blossoms, or dies. Marcia Willett writes novels that will last.

The Children’s Hour

Marcia Willet’s A Week in Winter and A Summer in the Country, her first two novels to be published in the United States, were welcomed enthusiastically by both eager readers and appreciative reviewers. Her new novel, The Children’s Hour, will not only delight her current ardent fans, but will garner Marcia Willett a whole new circle of friends. The Children’s Hour is set in a big old rambling house overlooking the sea, where assorted small children listened as their mother read them a story. Theirs was an idyllic childhood, as they played on the beach and in the garden and woods, before the war and other tragedies disrupted their lives. Now, many years later, two of the sisters, Nest and Mina, still live at Ottercombe, their beautiful family home. There they delight in their splendid dogs, the gorgeous Devon countryside, and visits from Lyddie, their much beloved niece. But when their sister Georgie comes to stay, unwelcome memories of their shared childhood start to emerge. As a child, Georgie claimed to know all their secrets secrets that she now wants to share. Georgie’s revelations are a reminder of long buried passions and promises and bring unexpected shocks to a new generation struggling with their own unruly hearts. A triumph of beautifully interwoven story lines and unfolding dramas, The Children’s Hour will secure Marcia Willett’s growing reputation as a world class master storyteller.

The Birdcage

Marcia Willett’s fans have fallen in love with the English countryside and the wonderful characters that inhabit its idyllic setting. Written with shining honesty and compassion, The Birdcage has every bit of the wonder that Marcia Willett’s fans have come to expect The BirdcageNo one can foresee when life is about to change. For Felix Hamilton, it started with an evening at the theater. There, he first set eyes on the captivating actress Angel Blake, and knew he’d never be the same an intense, forbidden love was about to turn his world upside down…
The Birdcage, Felix called it. For Angel and her daughter Lizzie, it was home. The funny old house played host to cozy nights and stolen, joy filled days. Felix and Angel knew those days couldn’t last. And little Lizzie couldn’t understand how these times would shape her life. Until, years later, a holiday by the sea and a chance encounter reopen the doors to The Birdcage, secrets, and second chances…

Echoes of the Dance

In the mellow stone house of his childhood, Roly Carradine has found refuge in the stream running past the garden where a heron makes his nest. A broken marriage and a terrible burden of guilt made Roly remove himself from his busy London life; here in Cornwall he welcomes Kate, who also seeks refuge from the grief of losing her husband, and young Daisy Quin, a dancer recovering from a back injury. Roly’s son Nat, a garden designer with his own secret, lives not far away, and is plagued by the unsympathetic visits of his mother Monica, Roly’s ex-wife. Daisy, her burgeoning talent frustrated by her back problems, has been taken in by Mim, Roly’s sister and a brilliant ballerina until an accident forced her into early retirement. Living in Bath, Daisy thinks she has found love with the attractive schoolmaster in the nearby flat—but her dreams prove to be false ones. Treating Marcia Willett’s ardent fans to a return visit with some of her most endearing characters from previous books, Echoes of the Dance is a gem of a story to be savored.

The Way We Were

Captivating…
will evoke for readers Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers. Willett s a true discovery.

Michelle Slung, Victoria Magazine on A Week in Winter

Marcia Willett captured the hearts of Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy fans across the nation with her previous heartwarming stories of family devotion and abiding compassion. Now, in her newest novel, The Way We Were, Willett introduces a deeply moving and utterly real tale that is sure to win over a whole new set of readers.

It was in the middle of a snowstorm when Tiggy arrived at the remote house on Bodmin Moor. She was alone, her partner tragically dead in an accident. Julia, her dearest friend, welcomed her into her warm and chaotic family. Tiggy started to live again and look forward to the birth of her child. But nearly thirty years later, when her son is about to become a father himself, the next generation discovers that there are secrets from the past that still live on…
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