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    The Bride's Farewell
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    The Bride's Farewell
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    The Bride's Farewell
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Bride's Farewell

    Written by Meg Rosoff

    Narrated by Susan Duerden

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A young woman runs away from home and finds love in the most unexpected place

    In Meg Rosoff's fourth novel, a young woman in 1850s rural England runs away from home on horseback the day she's to marry her childhood sweetheart. Pell is from a poor preacher's family and she's watched her mother suffer for years under the burden of caring for an ever-increasing number of children. Pell yearns to escape the inevitable repetition of such a life.

    She understands horses better than people and sets off for Salisbury Fair, where horse trading takes place, in the hope of finding work and buying herself some time. But as she rides farther away from home, Pell's feelings for her parents, her siblings, and her fiancé surprise her with their strength and alter the course of her travels. And her journey leads her to find love where she least expects it.

    Rosoff's magical voice and her novel's ethereal setting will thrill her passionate longtime fans and garner her new ones.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 6, 2009
    ISBN9781101079416
    Unavailable
    The Bride's Farewell
    Author

    Meg Rosoff

    Meg Rosoff is a hugely versatile novelist for children and adults and has won the Branford Boase Award, the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Printz Award. Her post-apocalyptic How I Live Now was made into a major motion picture starring Saoirse Ronan and Picture Me Gone was shortlisted for the National Book Award in the USA. Originally from Massachusetts, Meg now lives in London.

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    Reviews for The Bride's Farewell

    3.5/5

    129 ratings21 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Couldn't get into it. Found it boring.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book.
    • 4/5
      Adult fiction. Historical (1850s) setting with a Jane Eyre/Mr. Rochester-like romance, except that the protagonist Pell is a much stronger, more unconventional character.
    • 4/5
      Kind of a funny story -- in a literary fiction of young adults kind of way. Not a huge amount of action, aside from a constant journey, but I loved the characters and the writing is wodnerful.
    • 2/5
      I love Meg Rosoff’s work. “How I Live Now” and “Just In Case” were refreshing and vibrant, with a fascinating layer of unease throughout the simple but highly effective prose. Both books received mass acclaim, both from teens and adults, and many literary awards, such as the Carnegie Medal and Printz Award. I highly recommend her first two books to anyone in search of a book that proves YA can be just as moving, surprising and intriguing as anything intended for adults.

      Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing for “The Bride’s Farewell.”
      As always, Rosoff’s prose is wonderful, managing to be deceptively simple but striking and void of overt sentimentality. It’s certainly the strongest thing about this short book but great prose isn’t enough to make a story worthwhile. After a strong start and the initial establishment of a strong, independent heroine, the story quickly loses momentum and dissolves into many paragraphs of exposition and summaries more suited to a “Previously on...” introduction to a TV series than a novella. There is no real strong narrative to the novella; instead, we are left with chapter after chapter describing each unconnected thing Pell does, occasionally meandering off for a little exposition on a barely developed character of no real importance. I can’t blame the short length of the story for this since many wonderful novellas and short stories have been written before this that manage to get in ten times more characterisation and plot. Pell’s introduction started off so strong but quickly fell apart as it felt like Rosoff became bored with her own story and characters. So little time is spent allowing Pell to grow – and the few decisions she does make later on seem at direct odds with her early characterisation - and by the end of the book I felt apathetic towards her fate. I had similar feelings, or lack thereof, towards the supporting cast, who are so thinly drawn they’re transparent. Many of these characters also veered wildly into caricature territory. Almost every man in the story is a philandering drunk who does not care for his numerous children, while anyone who openly talks of faith and God is usually a ranting fool with no regard for kindness or basic human decency. Not only were such descriptions borderline offensive, they were also plain lazy. When the reader is asked to sympathise with one particular case – a man who abandoned his wife and child and only comes back to see his son to teach him to ‘be a man’ and hunt – because he becomes the designated love interest, it’s hard to stomach.

      My biggest problem with the book came with the story. As I said before, there really is no strong narrative structure to “The Bride’s Farewell” as Pell meanders from one place to another, but almost everything that happens in this story is misery porn. If something’s going to go wrong then chances are it will. Pell is mistreated, mocked, left to starve, robbed, cheated, the whole shebang. Almost every woman that Pell encounters, no matter how long they appear for, immediately mistrusts her or believes her to be out to steal their men with her beauty, another lazy character element that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I am fine with unflinching unsentimentality, many writers have made masterpieces from such plot choices, but here it feels lifeless and completely pointless. Pell doesn’t grow as a character because of these events, she doesn’t become a stronger person (actually, I think she becomes even more downtrodden and submissive than before), so to pack this short book with such defeated angst for no reason feels like bad storytelling. It’s such a disappointment because I know Rosoff is capable of brilliance.

      Someone asked me if it was worth reading a bad book if it had one truly wonderful redeeming feature, in this case the prose. Even though I think Rosoff is a wonderful writer and her prose is always strong, in the case of “The Bride’s Farewell”, it’s just not worth it. Great prose cannot singlehandedly support lazy characterisation, clumsy plotting and a story that seems more concerned with making its characters miserable than allowing them to truly grow. I cannot recommend Rosoff’s other books highly enough so I recommend you pick those wonderful pieces of YA up to read instead of this one, which I hope is merely a minor speed bump in her career.

      2/5.
    • 5/5
      Breathtaking and gorgeous. A book that destroys you and then repairs only to leave the cracks behind.
    • 1/5
      So disappointed. I loved Rosoff's 'How I Live Now' and I had high expectations of this book... but no.

      It was painfully boring, and thankfully short as well because I couldn't wait for it to be over. I think it was meant to be deep and moving but I felt no connection with the protagonist and all the endless talk about horses and farming nearly sent me to sleep.

      I can't believe the difference between the gripping and rather disturbing 'How I Live Now' and this load of pointless waffle. It didn't work as an important message for growing up and womanhood, it didn't work as a romance, it just didn't work full stop.

      After my give-or-take attitudes to 'Just In Case' and 'What I Was', I really thought the author might regain some of the magic of her first novel in this book; but I'm now starting to believe that Meg Rosoff exhausted her genius with her first release.

      It's really quite disheartening.

    • 3/5
      Meg Rosoff is not an author I am familiar with but a little research revealed that she has published several books for teens and is a well respected writer. This story has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, so I read it as part of my school’s shadowing programme.The premisePell Ridley knows what marriage is like. She’s seen her mother ‘squeeze out’ too many children and endure a loveless, often brutal marriage to an alcoholic, impoverished preacher. Refusing to accept this miserable existence as her destiny, Pell sneaks out of the house on the morning of her wedding day and flees, trying to convince herself that her betrothed would be equally happy to marry her more domestic-minded sister, Lou.Unfortunately, Pell quickly loses everything she left home with – her ‘adopted’ younger brother, Bean, her horse, Jack, and all her money. Devastated, she embarks upon a search for all of these, and the man she holds accountable for their loss. On her path, she meets a Mysterious Hunter who appears to be as independent as she is. Will he help her to recover the things she has lost? Or is she destined to wander from town to town, forever searching?I thought this sounded like a historical romance and as such I wasn’t interested in the plot itself. I definitely wouldn’t have read this if I wasn’t running the book group as nothing about this book particularly appealed to me. In fact, I thought it sounded like a wish-fulfilment story in which Pell secretly does want to get married, but only to the Right Man who will understand her need for independence and, um, not be an alcoholic wife-beater. The picture of the girl with beautiful blonde locks streaming out behind her on the front cover did nothing to allay my fears.The reality……is that this is a suitably adapted chicklit/ Mills and Book text for teen girls set in the early nineteenth century. Pell is an independent young girl who refuses to be broken by accusations that she is a harlot (most often made, bizarrely, after she has rejected a man’s advances) or the fact that she has no job. She takes charge of life and manages to rescue some of her siblings along the way. In a sense, I suppose she is a good role model for young girls. She will not accept a marriage that she feels will cast her in purely a supporting role. She knows that she deserves to be accepted as a man’s equal (although this is never explicitly stated) and she is perturbed by the fact that she can actually manage horses better than her fiancé. Although the novel is clearly set in an earlier era (the spectre of the workhouse and starvation loom over the story) Pell is a very modern young woman. Her confidence is attractive and her determination made her an admirable character. Her desire to be loved rather than used will surely resonate with readers.And yet…the mysterious hunter is a poor substitute for Mr Darcy as a love object and Pell’s ultimate ending seems too dependent upon him for someone so enamoured of her independence. Consistently demonstrating disinterest is not equivalent to being dashing. His support of Pell is physical rather than emotional and it could be argued that he takes advantage of her. He is twice her age and a rather shocking secret is revealed about his past that really isn’t adequately explained. In essence, as a romantic hero he doesn’t really suit. It is telling that Pell doesn’t even seem to know his name. He offers lust and security but it seems that Pell fits herself to his life rather than them becoming the kind of equals she presumably desired. I didn’t like this relationship and as this was central to the story I didn’t have particularly positive feelings about the book as a whole.In fact, the sub plots of the book irritated me immensely. I didn’t understand why the moody hunter had to have the secret he did and I couldn’t see what this added to the story, except to show that Pell was willing to accept a rather unconventional partner. I actually thought that her willingness to accept this made her more of a doormat than getting married would have done. Surely independence doesn’t mean being quite so accepting of other’s ‘flaws’?The other sub plot follows a gypsy woman, Estella, whose fate turns out to be entwined with Pell’s family. Fortunately, Pell never fully realises the terrible consequences of her flight from home, but this leaves the reader in the strange position of knowing more than the main character, even when the book closes. Part of me didn’t like this as I felt that the sub-plot only really served to intensify Pell’s misery – I didn’t feel that it added anything thematically, and in some ways it was the easy option. There are scenes I would have liked to have read that couldn’t occur because of this sub-plot.The dominant modes of the book are misery and, surprisingly, optimism. Pell’s resolute nature is inspiring and although I found the middle of the book rather heavy going – if it can go wrong, it does, usually tragically – there was a sense by the end that things had worked out the best they could in the circumstances. Although I found the ending annoying in some respects, particularly the way that the characters don’t ask any questions of each other – I did like the way that everything was ‘closed’ and there were no real question marks left for the reader. It is obvious how the story will develop.What is particularly interesting about this story is the sense of threat and danger that hangs over Pell’s journey. Her journey is less one of discovery (clearly, Pell already knows herself well enough to know that she can’t endure her ma’s existence) and more a journey towards danger. The threat that men can present to women is made very clear and Pell’s vulnerability is perhaps shocking to readers. There is a clear sense of the era the novel is set in and the disbelief other characters express when reacting to Pell’s choices might be rather shocking for readers. I think this book would certainly help young girls appreciate how life has changed over the last couple of centuries for women.Something I did enjoy about the story was the author’s use of irony. At one stage the narrator notes that: “Edward might have been a scholar had he possessed the foresight to be born into a different family.” Touches like this did make me smile and made the reading experience more pleasant. In fact, I did think the writing style was a strength overall. It is simple but engaging. Chapters are very short and the plot is easy to follow. The story itself is short enough (183 pages) for keen readers to devour in one go.Final thoughtsI didn’t really enjoy reading this. I didn’t like the central relationship that developed and, although I admired Pell’s independence, I would have preferred her to remain truly dependent at the end. I felt that this was rather ‘girly’ and too narrowly focused on relationships to be of much interest to boys. I thought the writer convincingly evoked the setting (the workhouse owner was truly menacingly) and I thought the writing was easy to read. I can’t imagine this winning the Carnegie as I don’t believe it has sufficient depth thematically. I think young teenage girls may well enjoy this and that, on the whole, it would provide them with a positive role model.
    • 3/5
      A very nice historical novel, aimed at middle teens. It's a believable story with a good central character, enough historical detail to make it real, and some really lovely turns of phrase.
    • 5/5
      I LOVE Meg Rosoff's books. I've read them all, some more than once, so VERY high expectations for me before reading The Bride's Farewell. And I wasn't disappointed...Rosoff's believable, well-drawn characters lead us through this tale of self-discovery. Pell, a strong-willed feminist is our eponymous Bride-to-not-be, confirms her suspicion, indeed the reason she runs away is triggered by looking at her own mother's lot, discovers just how unlike a fairy tale the reality of marriage/family life is. This is revealed through Pell's interactions with the families of the gypsy Esther and itinerant poacher Dogman, which expose to Pell the hypocrisies of her own family.Mood and pace are expertly handled, the vagueness of the actual year that the story is set adding to the slightly ephemeral tone throughout; perfect for a morality tale.I loved the ending, which came as no surprise, although perhaps Pell had not anticipated it until quite some way into her voyage. And another Rosoff book featuring dogs as significant characters, and with a literary name (Dicken, no less) - they always get my vote!Perfect, 9/10. Thanks Meg!
    • 4/5
      I was fascinated by the story of Pell Ridley, and her escape from the life she was expected to lead - jumping straight into the great, vast unknown. Pell was not like the other girls, and everyone knew it - except, perhaps, herself. She knew she could not settle down into the quiet, settled existence that should have been hers, but she did not seem to fully understand why. There's a wild freedom to Pell - something restless and wandering that I could recognize and identify with on some levels. So it's the story of Pell's search for freedom and belonging. But it's also a story of love, and family, and searching - not just for where you belong, but for simply searching. It's a short little novel, but it's got some very interesting thoughts and observations. It's not a sunshine-and-roses type of story, but it is one that I enjoyed, probably because it made me think a little, and - while being set so very far away from me - had traces of humanity I could recognize.
    • 5/5
      The Bride’s Farwell, by Meg Rosoff, is romantic adventure story, both in the traditional sense of finding true love, as well as finding oneself. Pell Ridley is England’s 1850s runaway bride. Wanting to escape the terrible future of ending up like her mother (caring for many children and unhappy), and settling for a loveless marriage to a man who can’t offer what she needs, the protagonist flees on her horse, Jack, and with her mute brother, both of whom she loses at the Salisbury Horse Fair. During her search for her brother and her horse, Pell encounters a gypsy and a man she calls “Dogman”, with whom she falls in love. Through this adventure, Pell finds romance, and herself. She discovers the family she left behind is in need and she wants to help them. The female audience will embrace this story; romance and victory in self-discovery will delight readers. The setting and time period also add to the plot, yet transcend the time period.
    • 5/5
      A very old-fashioned romance, reminiscent of that found in "Lady's Chatterly's Lover." The images Rosoff evokes have stayed with me, haunting me a year after I read it.
    • 3/5
      Can only remember rudimentary details of the plot, so must not have been too outstanding.
    • 4/5
      I love Meg Rosoff! She has such a way with words.
    • 3/5
      Kept reading, sometimes not sure why. Interesting, young woman who doesn't accept her lot in life (marriage), leaves for Salisbury Fair, eventually finds herself and some of her family.
    • 4/5
      Dickens in the country (only not as long-winded). The heroine was so brave, I was humbled.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Pell, a teen, left her home the day she was to be married to a neighbor boy she didn't love and took her beloved horse and youngest brother Bean with her. Despite all the hardships she endured, she kept going and found surprising kindnesses as well as cruelty along the way. A good coming-of-age story that could be recommended to an older teen reader.
    • 3/5
      Having read and loved How I Live Now by this author, I was expecting something of the same calibre with The Bride's Farewell. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed.This is the story of Pell Ridley, a girl who runs away from home on her wedding day, to avoid being tied down to local man Birdie, a man she has been destined to marry for years. He's a good man, but Pell wants freedom and doesn't want to end up like her mum, giving birth year after year and becoming worn out.She takes her younger brother, Bean, with her and her horse Jack, and sets out on her way. She ends up at the Salisbury horse fair, but events take a turn for the worse and she ends up losing money, Bean and Jack. The remainder of the story is about her learning to survive on her own in the world, and trying to find out what happened to her lost brother and horse.Somehow, although this book sounded good on paper, I had a real struggle to engage with it at all. I'm glad it is such a short book otherwise I think I would have found it hard to get to the end of it. Pell is a very feisty heroine, but the other characters didn't make much of an impact. Nice idea, but it just didn't work for me.
    • 5/5
      Pell's family has known all along that she would marry the farmer boy next door. But when the time comes, Pell saddles up her beloved horse Jack and rides off in the middle of the night. As she is leaving, her young foster brother begs in his wordless manner to go with her. Thus begins this story of life in the English countryside in the 1850's. The characters Pell and Bean meet in their wanderings are fascinating--from gypsies to wealthy horse owners to poachers. She feels her way carefully through the strangeness of the world beyond her miserable family life, and begins to strike out on her own, gaining confidence in who she is, and what she wants.Beautifully written in a somewhat understated style, The Bride's Farewell is a story of a young woman coming into her own.
    • 4/5
      What a wonderful short lite read! And don’t all of us married middle-aged women wonder how our lives might have been different if we’d run away on our wedding day….? The story is set in “eighteen hundred and fifty something”, and that’s all you need to know to understand the standard of living for the financially struggling in the English countryside. Pell is a strong-willed girl who knows what she doesn’t want in life and sets out to discover what else there might be in the world. She suffers a series of misadventures, including losing her horse and her brother – who refused to be left behind. But it all turns out well in the end.Meg Rosoff’s character development is wonderful. I particularly liked the gypsy woman Pell befriends, Esther. She is a woman of secrets, and a wily survivor in her wagon on the road with a passel of kids, human not goat. Meg’s description of the annual horse fair in Salisbury makes you feel completely immersed. Threaded throughout the story and Pell’s travels are meetings both brief and longer with other women, and their men, opening up trains of thought about the relationships between men and women, how they transcend history, and perhaps haven’t changed at all.It was a hard life for the un-moneyed in the 19th century. Meg Rosoff conveys this with great imagination, right down to the details of their clothing and food, all in a concise, pointed prose, which moves along swiftly. MAT11_09