The Lavender House

 

Nancy de Freitas is the glue that holds her family together. Caught between her ageing, ailing mother Frances, and her struggling daughter Louise, frequent user of Nancy’s babysitting services, it seems Nancy’s fate is to quietly go on shouldering the burden of responsibility for all four generations. Her divorce four years ago put paid to any thoughts of a partner to share her later years with. Now it looks like her family is all she has.

Then she meets Jim. Smoker, drinker, unsuccessful country singer and wearer of cowboy boots, he should be completely unsuited to the very together Nancy. And yet, there is a real spark.

‘I find writing with a man’s voice huge fun,’ Hilary says. ‘I sometimes have to ask my husband, ‘What’s the man’s perspective in this situation?’ But on the whole Jim seemed to fall into place all by himself.’

But Nancy’s family don’t trust Jim one bit. They’re convinced he’ll break her heart, maybe run off with her money – he certainly distracts her from her family responsibilities.

Can she be brave enough to follow her heart? Or will she remain glued to her family’s side and walk away from one last chance for love?

‘I wrote this book because I’ve seen many of my older women friends being put upon by family. The responsibilities of being a daughter, mother, grandmother and wife leaving them no time to do what they want to do, in order to be happy and fulfilled.

These women have done the bringing-up-the-kids bit. Done the devoted wife bit – cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping for the spouse. Done the working years, when maybe their focus was on earning money for the family. So now they should be free to pursue their own dreams.

Instead, they end up at the beck and call of the entire family. Not maliciously, from the family’s point of view, of course. They’re just taking her for granted. 

Nancy loves her family, but she struggles to have an identity beyond them, until Jim. ‘I loved creating Jim,’ Hilary says. ‘He’s not perfect by a long chalk, but he really tries, and he genuinely adores Nancy. He’s a bit of an innocent, really.’

‘I find writing with a man’s voice huge fun,’ Hilary says. ‘I sometimes have to ask my husband, ‘What’s the man’s perspective in this situation?’ But on the whole Jim seemed to fall into place all by himself.’

A warm-hearted story of families, trust and second-chance love.

Sunday Mirror

Warm-hearted and with a beady eye, Boyd gets under the skin of her characters to show that falling in love isn’t limited to the young, although it can be fraught with problems that only come with age. With plenty of will-they, won’t-they moments to keep the narrative swinging along, the novel goes some way towards demonstrating that while 60 may not be the new 40, it certainly isn’t the end.

FANNY BLAKE

S Mag, the Express

“Hilary Boyd in her inimitable fashion has told the story yet again of mature love which, like an excellent vintage wine, is just waiting to burst out of its barrels, freed from the constraint of convention and the inevitable signs of ageing.”

Karen Byrom

My Weekly