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Brimstone Wedding, the
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: Penguin Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover  Contemporary
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ASIN: 0140252800 |
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Marvellous title, marvellous book!.......2005-10-26
amazing.......2003-11-04
This, "The Brimstone Wedding", is yet another masterpiece of atmospheric fiction from Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell). Yet again she synthesises her twin storylines one in the past, one in the present brilliantly, and they eerily mirror each other down the generations. She builds the atmosphere brilliantly in both the time periods, and the suspense is continually ratcheted up, helped along by subtle and tantalising hints as to what exactly Stella's shocking secret could possibly be.
This time around, the characters are also more likeable than is the norm for a Vine novel, so it has a warmer, deceptively (and dangerously) cosy feel, which is juxtaposed with the usual chilly atmosphere and down-to-the-bones and wonderfully detached writing style. They're characters you are motivated to care deeply about, which serves to make this not only a powerful in places but also very moving. Certainly, there was one point when I even shed a few tears.
The story is told brilliantly, giving readers enough information to satisfy, but yet as little as possible, to ensure that they need continually to turn the page to find out more. It all culminates excellently with a shocking revelation about the true nature of Stella's secret. This revelation is not overblown and exaggerated, as some authors might make it, instead Vine underplays it, clearing it entirely of melodrama and simply telling things exactly as they were, which forces the reader to actually think about it, thus bringing huge power to the climax.
This, a masterpiece that is the sum of many excellent parts, is a complete triumph for Vine, matching up very equally with my previous favourite of hers, the erotic and chilling genius that is "No Night Is Too Long". Neither of these books should be passed over by any reader worth their salt.
Fascinating!.......2003-09-19
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The Brimstone Wedding
Ruth as Vine, Barbara Rendell Manufacturer: Crown ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000GLZS1E |
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Brimstone Wedding, The
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: Shaye Areheart Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover British
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ASIN: 0517703394 Release Date: 1995-12-19 |
Amazon.com
A wise and unsettling tale of the power and poison of love, from the acknowledged queen of the English psychological mystery.Book Description
Both a finely crafted mystery and a disturbingly honest depiction of the kinship between love and madness, The Brimstone Wedding tells an unsettling story about the power and the poison of love. A gracious, dignified woman, who's dying in an English nursing home, reveals the secrets of her erotic past to her young caretaker.Customer Reviews:
Atmospheric mystery of infidelity.......2004-02-04
Genevieve, 32, a working-class caretaker at a private nursing home, confides her affair to her favorite patient, Stella, who is middle-class, educated, affluent and dying. Stella responds with the keys to a house none of her family knows she owns, a house no one has visited in 30 years. She asks Genevieve to report its condition.
Shocked that something so valuable could be simply abandoned -for whatever reason - Genevieve appropriates it as a trysting place, her curiosity only slightly piqued by the abandoned, burned car in the garage, the photographs hidden away, the food and champagne left in the refrigerator.
And so begins a story in tandem as Genevieve's stolen meetings alternate with Stella's story of her own doomed love. Character precipitates the events of the plot, and as we increasingly sympathize with Stella's shy dignity and Genevieve's fretful ardor, foreboding envelops the narrative like a London fog. Not to be missed.
another masterpiece.......2003-02-25
This, "The Brimstone Wedding", is yet another masterpiece of atmospheric fiction from Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell). Yet again she synthesises her twin storylines - one in the past, one in the present - brilliantly, and they eerily mirror each other down the generations. She builds the atmosphere brilliantly in both the time periods, and the suspense is continually ratcheted up, helped along by subtle and tantalising hints as to what exactly Stella's shocking secret could possibly be.
This time around, the characters are also more likeable than is the norm for a Vine novel, so it has a warmer, deceptively (and dangerously) cosy feel, which is juxtaposed with the usual chilly atmosphere and down-to-the-bones and wonderfully detached writing style. They're characters you are motivated to care deeply about, which serves to make this not only a powerful in places but also very moving. Certainly, there was one point when I even shed a few tears.
The story is told brilliantly, giving readers enough information to satisfy, but yet as little as possible, to ensure that they need continually to turn the page to find out more. It all culminates excellently with a shocking revelation about the true nature of Stella's secret. This revelation is not overblown and exaggerated, as some authors might make it, instead Vine underplays it, clearing it entirely of melodrama and simply telling things exactly as they were, which forces the reader to actually think about it, thus bringing huge power to the climax.
This, a masterpiece that is the sum of many excellent parts, is a complete triumph for Vine, matching up very equally with my previous favourite of hers, the erotic and chilling genius that is "No Night Is Too Long". Neither of these books should be passed over by any reader worth their salt.
Deceit Times Two.......2002-09-20
Jenny/Genevieve Warner is a care assistant at a luxurious home for the elderly where she has built a friendship with terminally ill, exquisitely turned out Mrs. Stella Newland. Two women could not be more different on the surface. Jenny is a modern, practical, hard working country girl who has never traveled and is a product of village life and education. Stella comes from the gentry, married very well and seems so sheltered as to have come from a different age all together. Yet the sparkling Jenny's humdrum marriage is teetering because she has discovered passion in the form of a married lover. Stella has some dark secrets she has lived with for over twenty years and wants to share them with Jenny. Stella believes in nothing, but would like redemption. Jenny believes in everything: omens, charms, and every passing happenstance has psychic meaning for her. Jenny is willing to work her way to better things; Stella is passive. But why does Stella own a house that no one knows about? And why is she afraid to even ride in automobiles when she once was considered a dashing driver? Why does she refuse to sit outside in the sunshine?
The author keeps us asking these questions and sends us down some strange paths to get the answers. We know we are heading for a nameless horrific climactic event in Stella's past that will somehow impact on Jenny's present, but what can it be? Ms. Vine never falls into a Gothic romance-type of trap. Her people and events are sharp edged. Stella smokes irritably in spite of the fact she is dying of lung cancer. When Jenny finally works up her courage to leave her husband, he will not take her seriously; so what should be a grand melodramatic episode degenerates into farce. "I'm leaving you Mike"----"Well take the washer and leave the car, there's a good lass."
The author builds the tension until we are wrought up for at least a tornado strike, and she doesn't disappoint. Then when we think we have taken quite enough for one day, she adds another zinger. A great well-done page-turner.
Wow!.......2002-07-30
wonderfully engrossing book.......2002-06-16
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The Brimstone Wedding
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: Viking ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000G7ZP3O |
Product Description
From the cover: Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is smart and elegant and in control. She keeps her secrets to herself, revealing nothing about her past. Only Jenny, her young care assistant, seems aware that her heart harbours a dark, painful mystery. And only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to her grave.|
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The Brimstone Wedding Limited
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: Shaye Areheart Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0517705826 Release Date: 1996-02-13 |
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The Brimstone Wedding (SIGNED)
Ruth (as Barbara Vine) Rendell Manufacturer: Viking ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000GTSOQW |
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The Brimstone Wedding
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: New York: Penguin Books, 1997 ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000NXFGTY |
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The Brimstone Wedding
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: Penguin Books Canada, Limited ProductGroup: Book Binding: Mass Market Paperback ASIN: B000HB3SWO |
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The Brimstone Wedding
Barbara Vine Manufacturer: Penguin Books Canada, Limited ProductGroup: Book Binding: Mass Market Paperback ASIN: B000PFKO1A |
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THE BRIMSTONE WEDDING
Vine Barbara Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000OJ2NUC |
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