Forgiving Nancy
Recapture your love and his heart with Forgiving Nancy
Two marriages real bloopers, the third one is going downhill. Nancy went from just getting by to lady in a seriously wealthy household and threw it all away. Will Maxwell forgive her?
Left alone in London, finally Stella found a reason to move to Edinburgh. She tried to win Maxwell over, but to no avail. Will she find her love in the end?
One wrong decision a lifetime ago. Now Madam Melody chances upon her daughter in Edinburgh. Will she find forgiveness?
Forgiving Nancy draws pictures of rich Edinburgh and the poor parts of town. It conjures up images of scrumptious foods and homeless shelters. It weaves together the lives of people and will make you want to continue reading and, one day, visit Edinburgh and all its wonderful hotels, cafés, gardens, and, of course, the castle.
Two marriages real bloopers, the third one is going downhill. Nancy went from just getting by to lady in a seriously wealthy household and threw it all away. Will Maxwell forgive her?
Left alone in London, finally Stella found a reason to move to Edinburgh. She tried to win Maxwell over, but to no avail. Will she find her love in the end?
One wrong decision a lifetime ago. Now Madam Melody chances upon her daughter in Edinburgh. Will she find forgiveness?
Forgiving Nancy draws pictures of rich Edinburgh and the poor parts of town. It conjures up images of scrumptious foods and homeless shelters. It weaves together the lives of people and will make you want to continue reading and, one day, visit Edinburgh and all its wonderful hotels, cafés, gardens, and, of course, the castle.
About Janice:
Born in Ayrshire and educated at Ayr Academy, Janice Cairns has had an assortment of jobs. She's worked in child-care, law, insurance, media and creative writing. Janice lives in Edinburgh now; the city has been home to her for the last thirty years. It is here that her dream of becoming a writer is coming true. This last year, she has polished her debut novel, 'Forgiving Nancy'. She is absorbed in the marketing for this novel currently and does feel her days in advertising have helped with the marketing aspects of her being a writer today. In the last year or so she has also spent time developing her social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and her blog. She loves to keep these pages thriving and also is loving taking the photographs she does for her sites. Her main passion being writing, though, it is no surprise to her to find she has a second novel brewing and evolving within her. Already some plans are gurgling in the pipeline for what might follow ' Forgiving Nancy'. Janice's life could be described as a happy mix of active marketing for her first novel and laying some foundations for what is to come. She finds time in her busy schedule to enjoy walks at the Botanic Gardens or by the sea or even in the busy beautiful city she lives in. She has always considered her walks as important to her as she thinks these activate her creative thoughts and actually inspire her to write.
My Review:
Set in the 1980s, Forgiving Nancy is a story turning around preconceptions and prejudices. When millionaire, Maxell, sets his heart on Nancy, his housekeeper, assumptions are made. Stella, his longstanding friend and former employee, perceives herself his social and intellectual equal. In love with Maxwell, she’s waited in vain for him to ask for her hand. She sees Nancy as a gold-digger, intellectually inferior to Maxwell and outside his social sphere. Obviously, the fact that Nancy is so much younger than him means she can only have married for money.
Maxwell is a buttoned-up character, out of touch with his family, his emotions constrained by his status and the persona he’s expected to be, rather than what he might have wished to have been. Despite the luxurious life his fortune allows him, upon meeting his estranged family, he perhaps yearns to be a freer spirit, like Nancy. Things come easily to Maxwell. If he wants something, he buys it. We can’t help but think then, where at their wedding, “He exhibited Nancy like a priceless work of art, like a precious possession…” that he does in fact see Nancy as just that, a possession that needs its rough edges honing in order to fit elegantly into his lifestyle. Once the afterglow of the wedding has worn off, in attempting to mould Nancy, he is “clipping her wings”, dampening her spirit and her lust for life and love.
The differences between them soon become apparent, the gaps between them widening as Maxwell persists in treating her like child to be instructed or indulged. Nancy’s reaction is to rebel, to break free of the constraints of her marriage and seek the passion and love that fires her soul.
To say more would give spoilers. Ultimately, relationships are tested. New relationships are forged. Nancy is not perfect. Can she be accepted, forgiven? Can the love that was undeniably there at outset survive? Can Stella move on? Forgiving Nancy gives us a wonderful array of colourful characters and stunning descriptions of Edinburgh, from the castle “sat with an air of majesty, like a king on his throne, the sky wrapped around like a cloak of blue silk” to the “single white cloud sitting in the blue sky, undisturbed and entirely still”, the portrayals of the landscape and architecture are beautifully evocative. I’ve never been to Edinburgh, but I feel I know it intimately.
Maxwell is a buttoned-up character, out of touch with his family, his emotions constrained by his status and the persona he’s expected to be, rather than what he might have wished to have been. Despite the luxurious life his fortune allows him, upon meeting his estranged family, he perhaps yearns to be a freer spirit, like Nancy. Things come easily to Maxwell. If he wants something, he buys it. We can’t help but think then, where at their wedding, “He exhibited Nancy like a priceless work of art, like a precious possession…” that he does in fact see Nancy as just that, a possession that needs its rough edges honing in order to fit elegantly into his lifestyle. Once the afterglow of the wedding has worn off, in attempting to mould Nancy, he is “clipping her wings”, dampening her spirit and her lust for life and love.
The differences between them soon become apparent, the gaps between them widening as Maxwell persists in treating her like child to be instructed or indulged. Nancy’s reaction is to rebel, to break free of the constraints of her marriage and seek the passion and love that fires her soul.
To say more would give spoilers. Ultimately, relationships are tested. New relationships are forged. Nancy is not perfect. Can she be accepted, forgiven? Can the love that was undeniably there at outset survive? Can Stella move on? Forgiving Nancy gives us a wonderful array of colourful characters and stunning descriptions of Edinburgh, from the castle “sat with an air of majesty, like a king on his throne, the sky wrapped around like a cloak of blue silk” to the “single white cloud sitting in the blue sky, undisturbed and entirely still”, the portrayals of the landscape and architecture are beautifully evocative. I’ve never been to Edinburgh, but I feel I know it intimately.
Thanks for brightening my day, Janice!
Keep safe everyone!
Lots of love,
Keep safe everyone!
Lots of love,