Synopses & Reviews
In April 1940, as the Nazis march into Denmark, Sydney Brant, a wealthy girl of the Dundee summer colony, marries a gifted Danish pianist, Laurus Moss. They believe they are well matched, as young lovers do, but Laurus's beloved family is in Copenhagen, hostage to what the fortunes of Hitler's war will bring. By the time the war is over, Laurus's family has played an active role in Denmark's grassroots rescue of virtually all seven thousand of the country's Jews. Meanwhile, in America, Sydney has led a group knitting for the war effort, and had a baby.
Combining the story of one long American twentieth-century marriage with one of the most stirring stories of World War II, Leeway Cottage is a beautifully written tour de force of a novel.
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“A great drama, cinematically told…[Gutcheon] writes elegantly about the complex bonds of family.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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"Compelling...Ambitious...Gutcheon's insights are...keen, her sympathy for all her characters...contagious." Kirkus Reviews
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“Charting a marriage against the backdrop of a tumultuous century, Gutcheon writes evocatively of love and war.” Publishers Weekly
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“Absorbing…Daring…Gutcheon has strong narrative skills.” New York Times Book Review, Editor & #8217;s Choice
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“A remarkably rich and emotionally jarring novel filled ultimately with hope.” Pages Magazine
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“Stirring…The World War II saga anchors the novel, giving it resonance beyond the family dramas Gutcheon tells so well.” Los Angeles Times
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“A compelling and deeply felt reading experience.” Times Leader
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"Gutcheon's tale is more than just a story of a marriage; it's a metaphor for an era." Booklist
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“[E]nthralling . . . triumphant and true.” Boston Globe
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“Pure storytelling…[Gutcheons] characters and settings are alive, sparkling with deft touches of period detail…riveting…vibrant.” New York Newsday
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“A gentle, even tender book. Every reader will be wiser for it.” BookPage
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“A good oldfashioned, allencompassing read, with tears and smiles guaranteed.” Library Journal
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“A rich saga of an American family told with moving clarity.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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“Compelling…Ambitious…Gutcheons insights are…keen, her sympathy for all her characters…contagious.” Kirkus Reviews
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“Gutcheons tale is more than just a story of a marriage; its a metaphor for an era.” Booklist
About the Author
Beth Gutcheon is the critically acclaimed author of eight previous novels: The New Girls, Still Missing, Domestic Pleasures, Saying Grace, Five Fortunes, More Than You Know, Leeway Cottage, and Good-bye and Amen. She is the writer of several film scripts, including the Academy-Award nominee The Children of Theatre Street. She lives in New York City.