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.

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.

Publishers Weekly

Mathilda Rainbird wills her English seaside estate to distant relatives shortly before her death, and the three beneficiaries' decision to move in together kick-starts Willett's whimsical tale of independence and familial support. Tessa Rainbird, a 22-year-old dog sitter still mourning the death of her parents and baby brother; widower Will Rainbird; and Beatrice Holmes, a retired matron from a boys' prep school are immediately enchanted by the home's location, perched on a hill overlooking a private beach. Along with Isobel Stangate, Mathilda's former housekeeper who lives in an adjacent cottage, this group of genuinely honest folks forms a strong bond. As Tessa, Will, Beatrice and Isobel get to know one another, Willett artfully weaves in the idea that their unlikely situation is essential to their destiny and will allow each of them to move ahead to the next stage of their lives. With its strong, empathetic characters, this latest from Willett (The Courtyard) will appeal to both fans and newcomers to her warm, easy style. (Dec.)

Born in Somerset, in the west country of England, Marcia Willett was the youngest of five girls. This is the fourth of several early novels that will be published by Thomas Dunne Books; her more recent novels include A Week in Winter, A Summer in the Country, The Children's Hour, The Birdcage, Echoes of the Dance, and The Way We Were.