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Summary
Summary
Rose Fenemore is taking a break from her Cambridge teaching post in an isolated cottage on the island of Moila. One evening, she is shocked to discover an attractive stranger, Ewen Mackay, in her kitchen, who claims to have grown up in the cottage. She is tempted to believe him, when another man seeks shelter from the storm. John Parsons also rouses Rose's skepticism...and more tender feelings as well. And as the truth about the two men unfolds, the stormy petrels, fragile elusive birds who fly close to the waves, come to symbolize Rose's confusion and the mystery of her future....
Author Notes
Mary Stewart was born on September 17, 1916 in Sunderland, County Durham, England. She received a First Class Honours B.A. in English from Durham University in 1938 and a teaching certificate in 1939. She taught in elementary school until 1941 when she was offered a post at Durham University. She taught there until 1945 and received a M.A. in English during that time.
Her first book, Madam, Will You Talk?, was published in 1955. Her other works included My Brother Michael, Touch Not the Cat, This Rough Magic, Nine Coaches Waiting, Thornyhold, Rose Cottage, and the Merlin Trilogy. She also wrote children's books including Ludo and the Star Horse and A Walk in Wolf Wood. She died on May 9, 2014 at the age of 97.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
YA-- Little does Dr. Fenemore suspect that she will become immersed in a Highland theft when she retreats from Cambridge to a remote Scottish island so that she can write without interruption. Mysterious nighttime visitors at a nearby vacant house start her wondering what is happening there. Stewart has drawn a character with whom readers will readily identify. Although there is only a hint of romance and a touch of danger, the interest in and beauty of nature and the environment provide a unifying theme. The simple plot, short chapters, and easy-to-read style make this an appropriate choice for average readers. They will, however, have to skip over descriptive British terms describing the scenery. This is easy to do and does not detract from the story line. --Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A professor vacationing in the Hebrides is discomfited by two unexpected guests in this charming tale. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
By the English author of Thornyhold (1988), etc., more atmospheric romance, but here in a slight, mere wisp of a novel set in Scotland's Western Islands. The scenery, however, is grand. Rose Fenemore is a tutor of English at one of the Cambridge colleges; she also writes poetry and now needs an ``ivory tower'' retreat. Brother Crispin promises to join her for a holiday on the Scottish island of Moila but is delayed. Alone in her cottage, Rose is at first terrified, then angry and puzzled, by the night arrivals--separately--of two men. Both are strangers to her. Ewen Mackay, who lets himself in with a key, claims that the cottage was his childhood home and hints that he was the love-child of the now- deceased Colonel Hamilton, owner of the nearby ``Big House.'' But the man who calls himself John Parsons turns out to be the Hamilton heir. There are curious break-ins at the Hamilton house, and odd movements of Ewen's boat, the Stormy Petrel. As Rose puzzles, and enjoys the scenic wonders of the island, others arrive--including two of her students; Crispin; a Mr. Bagshaw (ex-con and developer!); and, at the finale, two policemen. Before the crowd thins, the island is saved from development, and a romantic interest is hinted. But all this is a mere puff beside the cries of birds, boom of sea, and ancient artifacts. For Stewart's many followers, a pleasant armchair holiday in a wild and lovely landscape. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for Fall)
