ie They are  NOT coming from overseas !!

A  Family    Romance

- by Anita Brookner -

ISBN-10: 0224036432 

ISBN-13: 9780224036436

Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd, London, UK 

Published: 1993

Binding: HARDcover with Dustjacket  218 pages  

Condition: Once read & displayed condition! HERE in MELBOURNE! A retired display copy as illustrated!

Edition:  FIRST EDITION: 1st printing 1993

TIGHT,  SCARCE   HARDCOVER with Dustjackt ~  IN  MELBOURNE  ... 

WHY do ebayers buy from US?

Because you KNOW what you're getting. My close up photos are of the actual item!!

Remains carefully handled and once read - it was the display copy instore . It is Tight -  neat, no inscriptions or marks within. Appears as in my photos - this is the exact copy!!  A nicely preserved copy - superb!

No discernible shelf wear, slight lean only, the interior is tight and spotlessly clean with 218 pages. THIS copy is the FIRST EDITION: Only printing from 1993 - the UK publishing by Jonathan Cape Ltd, London.

Incredibly SCARCE title - this is an  UNread copy!!

In original grey boards HARDcover binding with gold spine titles, in publisher's glossy pictorial dustcovers which are in excellent condition.

(Stored with 2019!)

Measures approx.  9¾  x 6¾  inches or 25  x  17cms

SYNOPSIS ....

In a sense, "A Family Romance" (which was published as "Dolly" in the US) is one long primal fantasia ...

Mild and self-effacing, Paul and Henrietta Manning are ill prepared for the interuptions into their lives of Dolly - widow of Henrietta's brother Hugo. Dolly's ways are idiosyncratic, yet she is an object of fascination and dread to her relatives, especially her niece, Jane.

'Literature for me was a magnificent destiny for which I was not yet fully prepared.'

Paul and Henrietta Manning and their solitary, academic daughter Jane have nothing in common with Dolly, widow of Henrietta's brother. Corseted and painted, Dolly is a frivolous, superficial woman, who has little time for those without that inestimable quality - charm. 

Jane, in particular, falls into this category, especially after the death of her parents. But Jane has money - and a conscience - and these bind her to Dolly. Through disagreements, disappointments and disapprovals, Jane and Dolly are enmeshed in an uneasy alliance in which history and family create closer ties than friendship ever could.

A novel centring on the relationship between the classic Brookner heroine (only child, soon bereft of parents, alone in depressing flat) who becomes a feminist academic, and her pleasure-loving French aunt who's into men and bridge parties.

About the Author

Anita Brooknerpublished her first novel, A Start In Life in 1981. Her most notable novel, her fourth, Hotel du Lacwonthe Man Booker Prize in 1984. Her novel, The Next Big Thing was longlisted (alongside John Banville's, Shroud) in 2002 for the Man Booker Prize. She has published over 25 works of fiction, notably: Strangers(2009) shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Fraud (1992) and, The Rules of Engagement (2003). She was also the first female to hold a Slade Professorship of Fine Arts at Cambridge University.

Very  Entertaining read!

Reviews

Publishers Weekly …  A novel of feelings, A FAMILY ROMANCE describes in fascinating detail a young, protected, but liberated, English woman's growing appreciation of her Aunt Dolly, a woman from another time. Shaw's genteel, English dialect (with such lovely, soft "r's") reflects well the novel's subdued, confessional, often sad and solitary tone. Shaw's voice is pleasantly smooth and deep--almost a contralto. She paces and dramatizes the reading to fit the temperament of the characters, never getting lost in the beautifully intricate sentences and doing especially well with the imperious and complex Aunt Dolly. Though the relatively few male voices are pitched too low, this is a worthy production. P.W.

Incredible …. In Anita Brookner's  'A Family Romance'  we meet Jane, the only daughter of Paul and Henrietta Manning, who grows up in very comfortable circumstances in a large flat in London overlooking Battersea Park. On a trip to Brussels to visit Henrietta's brother, Hugo, Jane meets Hugo's very 'European' wife, Dolly, and even though she is only a small child, Jane recognizes immediately that her aunt is the complete antithesis of her mother. Dolly, a name which Jane is later unsurprised to learn is not her aunt's real name, is a vibrant, voluptuous and rather vain middle-aged woman, whom, we subsequently learn, has worked with both charm and determination to elevate herself from her origins as the daughter of an impecunious Parisian dressmaker. On the surface, Dolly appears to lead a lively and interesting life filled with bridge parties and social engagements, but when Hugo dies suddenly and Dolly comes to England, where she solicits financial support from her in-laws, Jane gradually comes to the realization that her aunt's social standing, such as it is, has been hard fought for and that Dolly is putting on a brave front. And, as Jane grows into a reserved and introspective young adult, she learns there is more to her resolutely buoyant aunt - and, indeed, more to life - than she has previously considered...

Most probably one of Anita Brookner's best novels, this is a compelling, poignant and exquisitely told story and one which renders a sensitive and sympathetic portrait of the lives of two outwardly very different women. First-person narrated by the self-contained and calmly contemplative Jane - who, despite her disapproval of her aunt, strives to do what she considers to be her duty towards Dolly and, in doing so, gradually develops a deep affection for her - this is yet another perceptive and psychologically insightful story from Ms Brookner, whose exquisite writing never fails to impress me. It is true that the author's sharply observant eye and unsparing honesty can make her novels a rather sombre reading experience at times, but I became caught up in this story from its beautifully composed opening sentence to its last, and this book is going straight back into one of my bookcases to experience again in the future.

FIVE STARS   …. Really lovely book. It’s like watching an old movie, the intricacies of daily life and relationships are described in an authentic way.

Loved it…. Very strongly written book on family connections and a lonely sad life, I loved it.

Brookner at her best.…… Jane dislikes, and is in turn disliked by, her aunt Dolly. Dolly - superficial, spoiled, selfish; Jane - solitary, undemanding, self-effacing. Yet life and need and loneliness drive them together throughout their lives.

Incredible   …. In Anita Brookner's 'A Family Romance' we meet Jane, the only daughter of Paul and Henrietta Manning, who grows up in very comfortable circumstances in a large flat in London overlooking Battersea Park. On a trip to Brussels to visit Henrietta's brother, Hugo, Jane meets Hugo's very 'European' wife, Dolly, and even though she is only a small child, Jane recognizes immediately that her aunt is the complete antithesis of her mother. Dolly, a name which Jane is later unsurprised to learn is not her aunt's real name, is a vibrant, voluptuous and rather vain middle-aged woman, whom, we subsequently learn, has worked with both charm and determination to elevate herself from her origins as the daughter of an impecunious Parisian dressmaker. On the surface, Dolly appears to lead a lively and interesting life filled with bridge parties and social engagements, but when Hugo dies suddenly and Dolly comes to England, where she solicits financial support from her in-laws, Jane gradually comes to the realization that her aunt's social standing, such as it is, has been hard fought for and that Dolly is putting on a brave front. And, as Jane grows into a reserved and introspective young adult, she learns there is more to her resolutely buoyant aunt - and, indeed, more to life - than she has previously considered...

Most probably one of Anita Brookner's best novels, this is a compelling, poignant and exquisitely told story and one which renders a sensitive and sympathetic portrait of the lives of two outwardly very different women. First-person narrated by the self-contained and calmly contemplative Jane - who, despite her disapproval of her aunt, strives to do what she considers to be her duty towards Dolly and, in doing so, gradually develops a deep affection for her - this is yet another perceptive and psychologically insightful story from Ms Brookner, whose exquisite writing never fails to impress me. It is true that the author's sharply observant eye and unsparing honesty can make her novels a rather sombre reading experience at times, but I became caught up in this story from its beautifully composed opening sentence to its last, and this book is going straight back into one of my bookcases to experience again in the future.

EXCELLENT … A fine book, which I enjoyed. It is basically the story of Dolly, the pleasure-loving, yet always slightly disappointed European aunt-by-marriage of the narrator. Dolly is a grasping, selfish woman, out for what she can get, who dislikes her English relations by marriage who don't, in her opinion, do enough for her. After a slow start, the novel drew me in, The clear, uncompromising rendering of Dolly's character is sufficiently well done that in the end the I did not feel unsympathetic towards her, rather, as reader, Iwas prepared to forgive her herfaults, her humanity, and that surely is the sign of a great writer.

Beautifully written – amazing insight…. I found this book very readable and almost unputdownable. Unlike the previous reviewer, I didn't find it bleak but refreshingly realistic about people's lives. And the insight into the characters was just stunning as well as fascinating. I honestly feel my understanding of human nature has increased as a result of this book and I now understand some of the people in my life much better.