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Falling by Elizabeth Jane Howard
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Falling (original 1999; edition 2000)

by Elizabeth Jane Howard

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1753154,713 (3.2)6
Fiction. Romance. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:

An aging con man sets his sights on a twice-burned, sixtyish woman in this suspenseful novel from the author of the bestselling Cazalet Chronicles.

Harry Kent is the caretaker of a houseboat on the English canal where he lives, subsisting on a nightly dinner of tinned steak and kidney pudding. Although love has been the single most important influence in his life and he believes he knows what the other sex wants, he is separated from his wife and has left behind a string of other failed relationships.

Playwright Daisy Langrish has just bought a weekend cottage in the country. She has an estranged adult daughter, Katya, from her first marriage, and a grandchild. Her second marriage, to a handsome actor seven years younger, recently ended in a painful divorce. When Harry shows up looking for work, Daisy, needy and vulnerable, hires him first as a gardener and then, while she's away in America, as caretaker. But when she returns to England, she begins to fall for her charming employee. Slowly and with masterly skill, Harry seduces Daisy, drawing her in to his spiraling web of lies and deception.

Told in the alternating voices of Harry and Daisy, Falling builds tension as it winds its way toward a thrilling climax. Both a story of romantic yearning and a cautionary tale inspired by the author's own experiences, this intimate and dispassionate exploration of the many facets of love is among Elizabeth Jane Howard's finest literary accomplishments.

.… (more)
Member:jamie59
Title:Falling
Authors:Elizabeth Jane Howard
Info:Pan Books (2000), Paperback, 448 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
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Falling by Elizabeth Jane Howard (1999)

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The main characters are Henry Kent and Daisy Langrish. The story alternates between the two so that the reader understands the plot from their two differing perspectives. The chapters headed "Henry" tell the story in the first person, whilst those headed "Daisy" are told in the third person.

Without any means of support, Henry is living rent-free in a friend's houseboat when he discovers that a cottage nearby has been bought by an author, one Daisy Langrish. He immediately determines to have her fall in love with him, so that they can marry and he will be financially set for life. Henry works on his plan to worm his way into her life and affections, and before very long, he has gone from being her gardener to her lover.

I found Falling hard to get into, and a little depressing. It was a slow starter, and the writing style did not appeal to me. This story is about a conman deceiving his way into the affections of his mark, and that made me feel very uncomfortable at times.

I took an instant dislike to Henry Kent - before I'd even finished the third paragraph in the first chapter. Throughout the book, he tells us how he is going to win Daisy's affections, and considers how his circumstances will improve once her has her ensnared. It is obvious from the outset that he cares only for himself and everyone else was of no consequence - he is a fraudster, a liar, a fantasist, a narcissist, and believes he is irresistible to the women he preys upon. Towards the end of the story, we learn that he is also violent when things don't go his way.

Daisy seemed a strong-minded, independent individual, so I was surprised when she allowed Henry to seduce and charm her so easily. She unquestioningly accepts everything he tells her, and quickly dismisses any little doubts she may have about him. I felt sorry for her, and at the same time, angry at her for being so blind to what he truly was.

The final chapters were a little disappointing, designed to tie up the story, although not very convincingly to my mind. ( )
  Deborah_J_Miles | Jul 2, 2019 |
"Give me the woman and I would fall in love with her"
By sally tarbox on 23 April 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
An unputdownable read, told in alternate chapters between Henry - poor, charming (I envisaged him as something of a Nigel Havers), living on a canal boat and desperately seeking any woman who can provide an easy life for him - and Daisy, a writer, vulnerable after two failed marriages, but with a comfortable lifestyle...

While Daisy's chapters are narrated in the third person, Henry tells his own; he's certainly rather a cad...but is he always an entirely reliable narrator? As his apparently selfless adoration of his employer (he gets taken on as her gardener) starts to break down the barriers she has built around her feelings, the reader begins to fear for her future life...

Very very compulsive writing! ( )
  starbox | Apr 23, 2018 |
Story of an ageing woman who lives alone. An elderly gardener comes into her life and woos her, she falls in love with him and is hopeful of a loving relationship after a disappointing life with previous partners. He turns out to be a con man. Very plodding and a bit depressing although it was made into a television drama which was interesting to watch. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. ( )
  karensaville | Jun 19, 2010 |
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Epigraph
Dedication
For my daughter Nicola
First words
She has left me.
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Even after twelve years, ten of them divorced from him, her grief and – not shock but the memory of shock was there.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fiction. Romance. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:

An aging con man sets his sights on a twice-burned, sixtyish woman in this suspenseful novel from the author of the bestselling Cazalet Chronicles.

Harry Kent is the caretaker of a houseboat on the English canal where he lives, subsisting on a nightly dinner of tinned steak and kidney pudding. Although love has been the single most important influence in his life and he believes he knows what the other sex wants, he is separated from his wife and has left behind a string of other failed relationships.

Playwright Daisy Langrish has just bought a weekend cottage in the country. She has an estranged adult daughter, Katya, from her first marriage, and a grandchild. Her second marriage, to a handsome actor seven years younger, recently ended in a painful divorce. When Harry shows up looking for work, Daisy, needy and vulnerable, hires him first as a gardener and then, while she's away in America, as caretaker. But when she returns to England, she begins to fall for her charming employee. Slowly and with masterly skill, Harry seduces Daisy, drawing her in to his spiraling web of lies and deception.

Told in the alternating voices of Harry and Daisy, Falling builds tension as it winds its way toward a thrilling climax. Both a story of romantic yearning and a cautionary tale inspired by the author's own experiences, this intimate and dispassionate exploration of the many facets of love is among Elizabeth Jane Howard's finest literary accomplishments.

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