The Ladies of Missalonghi

short little feel good story.

My book (used) was exactly the way it was described. I received it so much earlier than expected and will certainly keep this seller’s name and start there first when I am looking for a hard to find book. Thank you…it is nice to have good business people!

THE LADIES OF MISSALONGHI is the story of Missy Wright, a 33 year-old-woman who has had a very dismal life. She lives with her widowed mother and maiden aunt in a small town called Byron in the Blue Mountains of Australia. The three ladies are part of the very large and self-important Hurlingford family. The story takes place shortly before World War I.The family members are very wealthy, and happen to own a lot of the land in and around the town of Byron. They also own most of the shops and stores in Byron. To be a Hurlingford is to be very tall and very blond. Missy who is brunette and a little shorter than the other family members is the exception to the rule. Also, Missy Wright, her mother and aunt are the poor relations who live in genteel poverty. Their brothers and uncles rule the family, and life for the widows and unmarried ladies is indeed drab. The ladies are not allowed to work outside the home, and their pride stops them from asking for financial help. The Hurlingford men are mean spirited and have taken advantage of their sisters and nieces in money matters and inheritance. Missy is so painfully thin that her body is that of a tall and skinny child. They live farther away from the other members of the family in a house called Missalonghi. Missy must walk a round trip of about 10 miles whatever she makes the shopping trip to town.Life starts to change for Missy when Una, a distant relative begins working in the Byron library. Una is divorced and apparently not welcomed by the wealthy Hurlingford clan. She befriends Missy and recommends books that are wonderfully romantic and causes the inexperienced Missy to dream of love. The appearance of a strong and forceful new man, who comes to Byron and buys property right under the noses of the Hurlingford men, also makes Missy aware that just maybe she could find love and happiness. Once she dares to dream she starts to live.My tape was beautifully read by Davina Porter. This story is so good that I listened to the entire book in just two sessions. It's entertaining and full of surprises!

I like the author's other books. This book has a wonderful surprise ending. It's my favourite out of all her books. The heroine is my favourite of all her characters.

I don't mind authors telling similar stories if each is entertaining in its own way. But this book troubled me. It had too many parts directly copied from LM Montgomery's book The Blue Castle (TBC). TBC was published in 1926. This book was published in 1987. I gave TBC 4 ½ stars.PLOT PROBLEMS:Missy is 33, wimpy, mousy, downtrodden, a spinster, and lives with her mother. In TBC a doctor sends her a letter by mistake saying she will die within the year. Therefore, she no longer cares what people think, she speaks the truth even when it's rude, and she makes major changes in her life. In this book, there is no doctor's letter to her. She just all of a sudden makes changes in her life. Supposedly she met someone who encouraged her to do new things. I don't think that person was enough to justify Missy's changes.At the end of the book one character who had a significant part disappears - because she is really just a ghost. That came from nowhere. The ghost element did not connect in any logical way.CAUTION SPOILERS:In both books Missy proposes marriage to a stranger and tells him it is temporary because she will die within the year. In TBC Missy believes it. In this book she lies to him on purpose. At the end of this book she intends to continue the lie. That didn't feel right. It left the story unfinished.I was also disappointed in the lack of relationship development. In TBC there was a lengthy period of the couple interacting and getting to know each other. Here there is nothing like that. For some unknown reason he accepts her proposal. He discovers he likes sex with her. Then the book is over (as far as their relationship goes).DATA:Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 177 pages. Swearing language: none, other than occasional use of religious swear words. Sexual language: none. One sex scene referred to, no details. Setting: around 1918 Byron, Australia. Copyright: 1987. Genre: historical romance.

When I started reading  The Ladies of Missalonghi , during the first portion of the book, I often wondered why I was wasting time with this story. By the time Missy made her first decision to speak out independently, however, I began to take an interest in her story and the writer's craft as the book progressed. My interest continued to grow as events occurred and soon I found the book hard to put down without going just a few more pages to see if my suspicions were correect about the direction the story was heading. I was pretty proud of myself for correctly guessing the next series of events until I reached the very last page. I was totally flabbergasted at the final turn which not only made final sense out of certain seemingly unconnected parts of the story but actually changed the genre of the book itself in the last few paragraphs of this remarkable tale. (If someone out there actually knows how to pronounce Missalonghi, [...]

This is an old novel that I bought more than 30 years ago, loaned it to a friend, and never got it back. Decided to purchase it again. It's by the well-known Australian writer, Colleen McCollough. It's a fairy tale; very satisfying to read. Especially today with the "Me too" movement. Hurray for women who stand up for their rights.

I love this book. Set in Austrialia at a different time period that what I am used to (I love Regency!) The total flavor of the book was delicious. Nothing standard or ho-hum. I love it. Check it out for yourself.

Excellent book in good condition .