The Tale of Briar Bank: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter | Susan Wittig Albert

The Tale of Briar Bank: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter | Susan Wittig Albert | Another winning episode in the Cottage Tales series

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The Tale of Briar ...

	The Tale of Briar Bank: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Susan Wittig Albert Berkley Hardcover, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beloved children?s author Beatrix Potter, wearing the hat of amateur sleuth, returns in this delightful series ?with legs?and tails.?(Publishers Weekly)

Near Sawrey, the seat of Miss Potter?s country home, is abuzz?Mr. Wickstead has died under a tree limb. The villagers are certain that his death had to do with a treasure he dug up last spring. But why was he in the wood on a frigid night? And what of the claw marks on the limb? And what was that treasure? As per usual, the town?s animals know more than the Big Folk. And only Pickles, Wickstead?s fox terrier, knows exactly what happened.

Meanwhile, Miss Potter wonders: can she acknowledge her fondness for Mr. Heelis and remain loyal to the memory of her fiancé? She has no time to muse, what with helping the denizens of Sawrey, human and animal?and the little matter of murder.

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Enchanting

How this author can transform herself into this bewitching tale and also be successful in her thoroughly modern China Bayles mysteries - is a bewilderment to me. She is successful at both. If you are an admirer (and purchaser) of all the "Tales" you don't have to be told to suspend your belief system and enter with joy. If you are incapable of shedding your frown - don't read this series. It is a charming story of human and animal involvement in a small village and in the life of the very real Beatrix Potter. I relish my time with these little books - they transport me into such a winsome world that I am distressed in completing the book. Purchase the entire set and read from the beginning. You will not be sorry. They will improve your worldly outlook.

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Another winning episode in the Cottage Tales series

Avid fans are now familiar with Miss Potter's retreats to her properties in the Land Between the Lakes ... and with her propensity for unraveling some of the mysteries that occur there. Here, it's December 1909, and Beatrix arrives just in time for a substantial snowfall that effectively maroons the Sawrey residents. She welcomes the fact that she's cut off from London. But a double tragedy has already taken place: Hugh Wickstead is dead, and Lady Longford's hay barn has burned down. Were both incidents accidents? Where is the Viking treasure that Wickstead supposedly found? Was he as cursed as the village gossips say he was? What is Mr. Heelis' relationship with Sarah Barwick? (Or with Miss Potter, for that matter?) And in a subplot twist that could easily be contemporary: the bank is about to foreclose on Courier Cottage, the home of the Suttons and their eight children. Can their hired girl Deidre find a way to get the veterinarian's customers to finally pay their bills?

As usual, the tale is told in omniscient style by a chatty off-screen narrator, mimicking the style found in Miss Potter's very own children's books. And again, as usual, the animals of the region take center stage. In the coziness of the underground Brockery, Bosworth Badger and his guests discuss the recent events over dinner and even make new, unexpected friends. What a pity that the humans do not follow the Badger Rules of Thumb! And what a pity that the humans never listen to what the animals have to say. We, as the ultimate eavesdroppers, have the benefit of hearing both sides.

Susan Wittig Albert continues to weave interesting storylines while maintaining the basics of historical integrity. To those who enjoy quirky mysteries that include "talking" animals: Here be good reading.

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engaging whimsical historical mystery

Her reception from her disapproving parents is so icy; Beatrix Potter decides to cut off her visit and leave London immediately. She returns to her home Hill Top Farm in the Lake District. Ironically she gets trapped in a blizzard that reminds her of the frozen welcome of her family.

Beatrix learns that neighbor Hugh Wickstead was killed in an accident when a tree limb fell on him. Some locals believe he died due to the curse of an ancient treasure trove he found. Beatrix knows humans are inane allowing their imagination to come up with ridiculous stories. She turns to the more honest animals to help her investigate how Hugh died.

The latest Potter Cottage Tale (see THE TALE OF CUCKOO BROW WOOD and THE TALE OF HAWTHORN HOUSE) is an engaging historical mystery that uses personification to combine fact and fantasy into a fine mystery. The fun in the TALE OF BRIAR BANK lies with that convergence as Beatrix talks to the late Hugh's fox terrier Pickles; co-star as a store owner in THE TALE OF GINGER AND PICKLES. This is a fun entry in a delightfully charming series.

Harriet Klausner

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Dragons Abound

A true storyteller puts your mind to work and pulls you into the story. Susan Wittig Albert is a master at this skill with her latest offering in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series. The Tale of Briar Bank is laced with local gossip and conversation. No person (or animal) is neglected; no voice is considered too small and insignificant. Each chapter draws the reader deeper into the story while we remain "safely hidden behind the penny postcard rack."

In early 1900's England, there be dragons! They are very tricky creatures and appear in varied guises. Beatrix Potter has made her escape, albeit temporary, from her dreary life in London with its resident dragon, only to find more dragons waiting in her pleasant heart-home of the Land between the Lakes. A record early snow storm grants her a brief reprieve from returning to the life her parents and society would choose for her, leaving Miss Potter in Near Sawrey with time to contemplate her heart's desires, catch up on local gossip, help out a few friends and maybe solve the mystery behind the strange rumors and unusual circumstances of the death of an antiquities collector.

A unique blend of history and mystery unfolds as the inhabitants of the small, old fashioned village go about their gossipy ways. Which eligible male was seen with one of the ladies? Is there romance in the air with more than one couple? Where is the treasure the antiquities collector was rumored to have found? Will the villagers be isolated because the ferry is broken and the roads impassable? If only the animals could talk...no,wait...they can! The Big Folk (humans) can't understand them, but the talking animals offer dimensions of the story that just aren't possible when the narrative is conveyed only through human characters. Join Beatrix Potter, the village residents and the animals of the Land Between the Lakes as they band together to solve the mystery of Briar Bank. And try to count how many dragons appear in this fun cozy that will entertain teens, adults and all Beatrix Potter fans.

by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

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Charming story, and series

Enjoyable, entertaining, and light-hearted, the mysteries in this series are good clean fun. A great escape that comforts instead of shocks or terrifies.

reviews: page 1, 2

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