English, Scottish, & Welsh Fiction, Games & Hobbies - Fiction, Love & Relationships - Fiction
Log in to track your reading progress.
Overview
With a sophistication and mischievousness remarkable for a first-time novelist, Katharine Davies takes inspiration from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and raises the curtain on the interconnecting lives and loves of an unforgettable cast of characters. By turns comic and moving, The Madness of Love is a deftly woven tale of mistaken identity, bold moves, and unrequited desires.Valentina, a clerk in a London bookstore, is still reeling after her twin brother broke a childhood promise and ran off without her to exotic lands. When she cuts her hair, masquerades as a gardener to the melancholic Leo, and moves to the remote seaside town of Illerwick, she perplexes even herself.
Leo dreams of restoring his estate’s gardens to their former glory as a romantically naïve gesture toward the woman he’s loved all his life: Melody, an English teacher whose beauty bewitches many others. Melody rejects any attempt at capture; she is locked in a state of mourning over the suicide of her dear brother.
As Valentina struggles with the decades-old neglect of flowers, plants, and weeds, her affection for her eccentric employer grows, even as she helps him plot his overture to Melody. The gardens must be made ready for a grand late-summer party. But between now and then, Illerwick will stir with old longings and new desires. As people fall dangerously for those incapable of reciprocating, we see, enchantingly, how our misguided pursuit of passion often distracts us from finding real love.
Synopsis
With a sophistication and mischievousness remarkable for a first-time novelist, Katharine Davies takes inspiration from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night and raises the curtain on the interconnecting lives and loves of an unforgettable cast of characters. By turns comic and moving, "The Madness of Love is a deftly woven tale of mistaken identity, bold moves, and unrequited desires.Valentina, a clerk in a London bookstore, is still reeling after her twin brother broke a childhood promise and ran off without her to exotic lands. When she cuts her hair, masquerades as a gardener to the melancholic Leo, and moves to the remote seaside town of Illerwick, she perplexes even herself.
Leo dreams of restoring his estate's gardens to their former glory as a romantically naive gesture toward the woman he's loved all his life: Melody, an English teacher whose beauty bewitches many others. Melody rejects any attempt at capture; she is locked in a state of mourning over the suicide of her dear brother.
As Valentina struggles with the decades-old neglect of flowers, plants, and weeds, her affection for her eccentric employer grows, even as she helps him plot his overture to Melody. The gardens must be made ready for a grand late-summer party. But between now and then, Illerwick will stir with old longings and new desires. As people fall dangerously for those incapable of reciprocating, we see, enchantingly, how our misguided pursuit of passion often distracts us from finding real love.
Editorials
Taylor Antrim
Besides providing light, sure-footed entertainment, The Madness of Love is an empathetic study of the confusing days of adolescence. Fitch's search for love is the most convincing plot in the novel, and -- good news -- it ends well.— The New York Times
Publishers Weekly
It's love triangle within love triangle in this sly modern take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Beautiful English teacher Melody Vye is the object of much affection in her Welsh town. Her student Fitch and her headmaster, Mr. Boase, both adore her, but most smitten is Fitch's piano teacher, Leo Spring, a childhood friend but decidedly not Melody's dream man ("His gestures, his flailing arms had embarrassed her. His hair had embarrassed her"). Hoping to woo her, Leo hires Valentina, a writer posing as a gardener, to revive his neglected grounds. Valentina, bereft after her twin brother Jonathan's departure on a "solo voyage of rediscovery," is surprised to find herself falling for Leo, who fails to see how it pains her when he begs her to play Cupid for him and Melody. The women bond over their losses-Melody's brother has committed suicide-but one misinterprets shared grief as love: "It was a madness that grew inside her like the tendrils of a voracious climbing plant." Between Melody's staging of the school play (Twelfth Night, natch) and the big party for Leo's revitalized garden, there's little question that everyone will find happiness, even if it's in unexpected ways. Published as A Good Voyage in Davies's native Britain, this debut has a subtle sophistication and lovely, lyrical prose, and will charm readers with its warmth and sweetness. Agent, Caroline Dawnay. (Jan.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
Published in Great Britain in 2004 as A Good Voyage, Davies's quirky first novel is unabashedly based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, with perhaps a touch of A Midsummer Night's Dream thrown in and updated to the 21st century. Valentina, a bookseller, cuts off her hair and disguises herself as a gardener to follow musician Leo to his estate in Wales. Leo is in love with Melody, the young school headmistress who is grieving over the suicide of her brother but comes to life again as she falls in love with Valentina. Melody's student Fitch and fellow teacher Mr. Boase are also in love with Melody. All this takes place in Wales, while Valentina's twin brother goes off to Sri Lanka. The plot is grounded in true tragedy but, like Shakespeare's, is full of the light and dark comedies of infatuations, minor gender bending, and the dreamlike enchantments of gardens and celebrations. Both plot and style are deft and light but never saccharine. Highly recommended.-Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
British author Davies debuts with a modern, slightly depressive take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. This romance of confused identities is set in the supposed present, but, despite the occasional contemporary detail, its cast of sensitive, damaged souls seems to live in an earlier, more innocent era. Aspiring writer Valentina, distraught because her twin brother, Jonathan, has returned to their childhood home in Sri Lanka without her, cuts her hair. Pretending to have a landscaping degree, she takes a job in the seaside town of Illerwick, restoring the garden of musician/composer Leo, who has recently returned from abroad. Leo has long been in love with Melody, his best friend Gabriel's older sister, who is headmistress at the local school. Valentina, however, is soon in love with Leo, who asks her to be his go-between with Melody. Melody, though, mourning Gabriel's suicide, has no interest in Leo; nor does she notice that her assistant, Boase, fighting his alcoholic demons, also loves her. Instead, she finds herself drawn to Valentina. Melody's student Fisk witnesses more than he'd like of the adult entanglements while taking music lessons from Leo, working for Valentina in the garden, and rehearsing a school production of, what else, Twelfth Night, directed by Melody. Leo throws a gala party to impress Melody, but, before the party, Jonathan arrives looking for Valentina. He and Melody make love and come to the party together. Poor Boase, tricked by his students, makes a fool of himself by showing up in costume. When Valentina arrives transformed, Cinderella-style, Leo finally notices her beauty and almost kisses her. Melody and Jonathan move in together. Boase goes into rehab. Fisk,the most developed character here despite his age, gets his girl, and Valentina, who has left town in romantic despair, returns in time for Leo to declare his love. As pretentious as its title suggests: an update that lacks energy despite all the "madcap" confusion. Agent: Caroline Dawnay/PFDBook Details
Published
January 28, 2005
Publisher
San Val
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781417724048