The Song of Hartgrove Hall

September 15, 2015
A composer looks back on a life nurtured and challenged by a crumbling English country house. The plot of Solomons' fourth novel caroms between the 1940s and '50s and the early 2000s. In the present, septuagenarian Harry Fox-Talbot, known as Fox, a celebrated conductor and composer, is mourning the death of his wife, Edie Rose, a famous singer. Back in 1946, as Fox returns from boarding school and his two older brothers, Jack and George, from World War II, their father, the General, is contemplating demolition of their English country house, Hartgrove Hall, which is severely dilapidated after several decades of neglect and recent use as a billet for troops. The three sons resolve to save Hartgrove by farming the land, and the General gives them one year to succeed. The plan is complicated by Fox's decidedly nonrustic musical ambitions and the fact that Jack, the oldest son and sole heir to Hartgrove, has secretly married Edie, a Jewish songstress known for her stirring wartime ballads, much to the General's alarm. And Fox's, because not only do he and Edie have musical aptitude in common, he is obsessed with her. Distraught, Fox leaves Hartgrove and goes to London to make his fortune under the tutelage of illustrious conductor Marcus Albright. In the present, these conflicts appear to have been resolved: Hartgrove is fully restored and Fox owns it. He and Edie had a long and happy marriage which produced two daughters, Clara and Lucy, and three grandchildren, including 5-year-old Robin, a piano prodigy. A grieving Fox finds a degree of solace in championing Robin's talent. The main source of suspense is how these reversals of fortune occurred. Despite a cliched redemptive close, the principal characters are not sympathetic enough, nor does the love affair seem compelling enough, to make us care. Will appeal mainly to readers seeking inside glimpses into the classical music world.

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November 1, 2015
When Harry Fox-Talbot and his brothers return home in 1946, they find their English manor house in sad disrepair from ill use during the war. They are determined to save the estate and bring better times back to the grounds, but with little money, they are forced to do most of the work themselves. Almost immediately, they are hampered by lack of know-how, and the arrival of famous wartime singer Edie Rose causes further confusion and, ultimately, terrible heartbreak. Fifty years later, Fox-Talbot has been unable to recover from the loss of his beloved wife, but a burgeoning relationship with his young grandson, a piano prodigy, becomes his salvation. Yet while the boy's talent keeps Fox close to his musical past and gives him hope for the future, it also brings back troubled memories long buried beneath a life of happiness. Solomons colors this beautiful story of love, loss, and betrayal with rich descriptions of the bucolic English countryside while shining a brilliant light on the inner workings of the music world, new and old.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2015

Solomons's (The House at Tyneford) engaging novel is the story of the three Fox-Talbot brothers, who return to their ancestral home after World War II to find their world in flux. Eldest brother Jack, always the life of the party, has brought along Edie Rose, a famous wartime singer. Youngest brother Harry, nicknamed Fox, is a collector of old English folk songs. Throughout England, stately homes are being demolished or sold. The Fox-Talbot brothers decide to try to save Hartgrove Hall, and Fox reluctantly gives up his dreams of music. Meanwhile, all three brothers fall in love with Edie, a situation that leads to betrayal, heartbreak, and estrangement. Interspersed with the events of the postwar years is Fox's life in the present day. He's a famous composer mourning the death of his muse, Edie. A visit by his four-year-old grandson, a piano prodigy, reawakens the music in Fox's heart, and he begins a new composition. But when the music stalls, he realizes that he must confront the past in order to finish his symphony. VERDICT Devotees of television's Downton Abbey will be drawn in by this novel's historical detail and emotional story line.--Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015

The New York Times best-selling author of The House at Tyneford returns with a new novel that opens in post-World War II England. Home from the fighting, Harry Fox-Talbot and his brothers agree that they must save their once glorious home from ruin. But the arrival of wartime singer Edie Rose sows strife that reverberates 50 years later. With a five-city tour and a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.