From Publishers Weekly
Set around the time of WW II, Pilcher's tale of youthful friendship and romance spent 16 weeks on PW's bestseller list. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
If you enjoy a long read, don't miss Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher. This story of Judith Dunbar growing up in England before and during WWII teems with memorable characters and the tribulations they confront. Rowena Cooper gives the novel a refined narration that spans controversies and continents. Her English accent heartens the intensity of the listening experience, making the characters our intimate friends. One has a sense of being there with Judith as she travels through life. B.J.L. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Pilcher's novel is big, both in size and scope. Yet its charm is in its details. The book's heroine is Judith Dunbar, who is a schoolgirl of 13 when the tale begins in 1935. Sent to boarding school in Cornwall because her parents are posted to Singapore, Judith becomes friends with Loveday Carey-Lewis, who introduces her to a family and an estate, Nancherrow, that is to influence her for the rest of her life. Pilcher does a marvelous job of describing life in England before World War II. Readers, especially Anglophiles, will adore the care Pilcher gives to setting her scenes, decorating them with everything from Cornish wildflowers to china dogs to particular tartan plaids. The same care is evident later in the tale, as Pilcher chronicles the changes brought by the war to the fabric of British life. There is, of course, more to the novel than a carefully rendered historical backdrop. There is a story, too, and a quite involving one even if its outlines are familiar from other melodramas set against the dramatic events of history. As Judith makes her way to adulthood in the midst of great wealth, great tragedy, and, naturally, romance, Pilcher effectively balances the demands of plot with the pleasures of revisiting a different place and time. Fans of the author's previous books, such as September (1990), will know what they're getting into and willingly plunge in headfirst. A Literary Guild main selection and an 850,000 first printing indicate supreme confidence on the publisher's part. Ilene Cooper


Review
"Rosamunde Pilcher's most satisfying story since The Shell Seekers."-- Chicago Tribune

"Captivating...The best sort of book to come home to...Readers will undoubtedly hope Pilcher comes home to the typewriter again soon."

"Pure, old-fashioned pleasure. I loved every minute of it."



Review
"Rosamunde Pilcher's most satisfying story since The Shell Seekers."-- Chicago Tribune

"Captivating...The best sort of book to come home to...Readers will undoubtedly hope Pilcher comes home to the typewriter again soon."

"Pure, old-fashioned pleasure. I loved every minute of it."



Book Description
Against the backdrop of an elegant Cornwall mansion before World War II and a vast continent-spanning canvas during the turbulent war years, this involving story tells of an extraordinary young woman's coming of age, coming to grips with love and sadness, and in every sense of the term, coming home...

In 1935, Judith Dunbar is left behind at a British boarding school when her mother and baby sister go off to join her father in Singapore. At Saint Ursula's, her friendship with Loveday Carey-Lewis sweeps her into the privileged, madcap world of the British aristocracy, teaching her about values, friendship, and wealth. But it will be the drama of war, as it wrenches Judith from those she cares about most, that will teach her about courage...and about love.

Teeming with marvelous, memorable characters in a novel that is a true masterpiece, Coming Home is a book to be savored, reread, and cherished forever.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The bestselling author of The Shell Seekers and September has enthralled readers around the globe with her blend of romance and historical drama. In this beautifully detailed and memorable story, the life and times of Judith Dunbar are chronicled from her pre-war boarding school days, where she makes friends with a wealthy girl and is introduced to a privileged world, to the turbulent WWII years. As it tells the story of Judith's coming of age, the changes brought to England by the war are intricately woven into the story. Full of the warmth and characterization Pilcher's readers have come to expect from the popular author.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Against the backdrop of an elegant Cornwall mansion before World War II and a vast continent-spanning canvas during the turbulent war years, this involving story tells of an extraordinary young woman's coming of age, coming to grips with love and sadness, and in every sense of the term, coming home...

In 1935, Judith Dunbar is left behind at a British boarding school when her mother and baby sister go off to join her father in Singapore. At Saint Ursula's, her friendship with Loveday Carey-Lewis sweeps her into the privileged, madcap world of the British aristocracy, teaching her about values, friendship, and wealth. But it will be the drama of war, as it wrenches Judith from those she cares about most, that will teach her about courage...and about love.

Teeming with marvelous, memorable characters in a novel that is a true masterpiece, Coming Home is a book to be savored, reread, and cherished forever.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Set around the time of WW II, Pilcher's tale of youthful friendship and romance spent 16 weeks on PW's bestseller list. (Aug.)

BookList - Ilene Cooper

Pilcher's novel is big, both in size and scope. Yet its charm is in its details. The book's heroine is Judith Dunbar, who is a schoolgirl of 13 when the tale begins in 1935. Sent to boarding school in Cornwall because her parents are posted to Singapore, Judith becomes friends with Loveday Carey-Lewis, who introduces her to a family and an estate, Nancherrow, that is to influence her for the rest of her life. Pilcher does a marvelous job of describing life in England before World War II. Readers, especially Anglophiles, will adore the care Pilcher gives to setting her scenes, decorating them with everything from Cornish wildflowers to china dogs to particular tartan plaids. The same care is evident later in the tale, as Pilcher chronicles the changes brought by the war to the fabric of British life. There is, of course, more to the novel than a carefully rendered historical backdrop. There is a story, too, and a quite involving one even if its outlines are familiar from other melodramas set against the dramatic events of history. As Judith makes her way to adulthood in the midst of great wealth, great tragedy, and, naturally, romance, Pilcher effectively balances the demands of plot with the pleasures of revisiting a different place and time. Fans of the author's previous books, such as "September" (1990), will know what they're getting into and willingly plunge in headfirst. A Literary Guild main selection and an 850,000 first printing indicate supreme confidence on the publisher's part.

AudioFile - Beth J. Long