A Rebellious House: A Novel - Hardcover

Dickinson, Barbara M.

3.38

8 ratings by Goodreads

9781556181658: A Rebellious House: A Novel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1556181655 ISBN 13: 9781556181658

Publisher: Brunswick Pub Co, 1997

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A cross between Mary Poppins and Eleanor Roosevelt, Rose McNess is one zippy gal. After shedding most of her possessions, she moves to Wynfield Farms, a retirement community in the mountains of Virginia. At age 72 Rose knows how precious life is and savors every minute. The staff and eighty or so residents of Wynfield Farms provide Rose with endless material for the biweekly newsletter she writes, for friendship, and for good deeds. Each one has unique talents plus an individual history, most of which she unearths. Mystery, tragedy, humor, and even romance enhance the pages of this delightful first novel. Rose imagines herself as a sort of tour guide. And the trip she leads turns out to be "wonderful, wonderful, and yet again wonderful." These elderly people are not simply vegetating or marking time. They live fully and with gusto. As for Rose, whose ideas and energy light up A Rebellious House, she succeeds in making old age something to look forward to.

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About the Author:

Barbara M. Dickinson was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and grew up in Northern Virginia. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1955 and received her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Hollins College in 1983. Barbara paints and writes and regularly reviews books for the Roanoke Times. She has written and illustrated both a children's book and a cook book and has enjoyed solo exhibitions of her art here and abroad. A Rebellious House is her first novel. When not traveling, Barbara Dickinson lives in Roanoke with her husband, Billy, and her Scottish terrier, Max.

"What is g-going on?" timidly inquired Miss Puffenbarger, her face solemn.

"We are afraid to guess," stated Rose. "But if we don't investigate I can tell you someone who will! And soon!"

Rose moved rst. She walked swiftly to the door of Apartment 211 and putting her left ear to its surface, stood and listened for a moment. She heard the tinkle of glass and the dull thuds of heavy chunks falling to the oor. She could also smell plaster dust that was seeping through cracks around the door frame.

"Vinnie! Vinnie! It's me, Rose McNess. Can you hear me?"

There was no answer from 211. The only sounds Rose could distinguish were quiet scrapings, as if a heavy object were being shifted from one spot to another. Then she heard the crunch-crunch of wheels moving toward the door.

"Well, at least she's still mobile!" Rose cried to the pair behind her. "I can hear her chair coming this way."

No sooner had she spoken than the door to Apartment 211 opened. Sitting in their respective chairs, smiling at the trio gathered in the corridor, were Major Featherstone and Mrs. Lavinia Whittington. The two were as comfortable and congenial as if they were greeting midnight carolers on Christmas Eve. A fresh pineapple rested in Vinnie Whittington's lap and she cradled a huge bouquet. Major Featherstone's right hand clasped Vinnie's left one; his other hand held the most lethal hammer Rose had ever seen.

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