The Parson's Daughter

By Catherine Cookson

Book Overview

From Simon & Schuster, The Parson's Daughter is Catherine Cookson's novel of one woman's questions of womanhood, marriage, and tragedy. In nineteenth century Northumberland, Nancy Ann Howard agrees to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000FDTO7M
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Summit Books
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

superb! among my best of hers

Loved it! Unpredictable, enough highs and lows and of course a thoroughly nice ending. I love Cookson's books because she tries to encompass all that life offers -pain, tragedy, triumphs, challenges in short REALISM! No sentimental claptrap from her like some American female writers. Loved it.

A Story About Marriage

The parson's daughter is Nancy Ann. She comes from a sheltered home consisting of her pious parents, a fiesty grandma, and two brothers. Her little cocoon of safety is threatened, however, by a wealthy man old enough to be her father that desires her hand in marriage. His name is Dennison and he loves to gamble and womanize, but he has his heart set on making the young, free spirited, and innocent Nancy Ann his wife. Despite her father's wishes, Nancy Ann marries Dennison. After Nancy's childhood mishaps and a few "get to know everybody" chapters, the novel focuses on Nancy and Denny's trying relationship. Nancy was a passing fancy for Denny. Denny is a spoiled brat that cannot change his bachelor ways and he chooses to lay the blame at everybody's door but his own, mainly at Nancy's. There is a lot of drama involving Denny's nephew, a few deaths in the family, and as usual with a Cookson novel, household servants that do not take too kindly to the lady "upstart" in their domain. The parson's daughter has a few surprises up her sleeve tho. She doesn't turn the other cheek as one may expect. I laughed and cheered for her a few times as she used either her wit or her fists to defend herself from some less than savory characters. Will Denny and Nancy's marriage survive a meddling mistress, the loss of a child, or even bankruptcy? Four stars instead of five because I found myself infuriated with a lot of the choices Nancy makes.

Very well written, but...

I am using my husband's account..he wouldn't be reading a romance. LOL! Anyways, I just finished this book this morning, and as I commented above, it is very, very well written. The plotline is interesting, the characters, for the most part, believable, as is the dialogue. *SPOILERS* The only problem I have with the book is with the character of Nancy Ann herself. It became very annoying, watching her escape a rotten husband, marry a nice, caring man who, it was stated over and over throughout the story, she couldn't stop thinking about and even loving during her first marriage. When she is finally married to her second husband, suddenly he is not good enough. I was going, "HUH???" Fortunately for her, her unwanted husbands seemed to "loose this mortal coil" rather conveniently, leaving her a young, comfortably-situated, beautiful, skinny widow. ahem... . So she ends up with the younger man whom, it appears, for some unknown reason, was the one she had desired all along. I couldn't quite understand where this all-consuming love for him had come from, esp. since they had had about two whole conversations in their entire lives, but it appears he resembled Fabio by the end of the book, and was a pretty good kisser to boot. (I suppose I just answered myself! :) By the last few sentences, though, I was just thankful there wasn't another chapter beginning, "Nancy Ann had been married to David for two years, when she suddenly realized she had been thinking of Shane quite often... ." Other than that (ha!) it was a pretty good book, albeit, as others have stated, rather depressing at some points. I am just beginning a second of Ms. Cookson's novels, so I suppose that shows I enjoyed TPD.

Excellent!

Thi book is absoutely gripping. Once you start to warm toward it you don't want to put it down.Nancy Ann Hazel, the 'heroine' in this novel is a tomboy. Due to her elder brothers' training she does most of the things boys do in that time like fencing and a bit of wrestling. When she turns thirteen, her parents decide to send her to dame school to learn the ways of a young lady. After two or three years there, her mother becomes gravely ill and she returns home to stay with her mum until her death or recovery. During this period, the man from The House, a rich, notorious womanizer and gambler pays calls and helps the family to get through their difficult time by providing food and a doctor to attend to the mother. His intentions are to act as a suitor to this wonderful young girl, athough he is old enough to be her father. The only one oblivious to his motives is Nancy Ann herself. The mother wants to see her lovable tomboy settle down before she dies and suggests that she allow the man from The House to court her because he would be ale to provide for her without much effort. This is the exact opposite idea of the Parson, Nancy's father, because the man from The House is known to have many mistresses and he is a man of the world. He pleads with his wife to change her mind but her opinion can't be changed. Nancy Ann marries the man against her father's wishes to please her mother. After this she goes through trials where she shows incredible strength of character and mind and is able to come out on top, finally happy, with the love she was avoiding.I recommend this book to anyone who loves a bit of comedy wrapped up in the joy and sorrows of life in the 19th century. This is the first novel by Catherine Cookson that I have read and it has encouraged me to purchase more of her writings.

An excellent story about a brave woman.

Cookston tells her sad story about a young girl who follows her mother's wishes and goes against her father's, to have what she believes is true love. The readers follow Nancy Ann from husband to husband as she searches for true love, which she finds in the end. I thought this novel was wonderful! I felt the pain that Nancy Ann felt with her first husband who mistreated her and I felt her happiness when she found at last her true love. I recommend this novel to anyone who will suffer along with the characters in the novel because they love a happy endings.