Book description
Beside the River Needle is a willow, meeting place for generations of
Needlewick girls. Suzanna is the elder daughter of the village doctor
who, with her friends, plans various outings, memorably to the Tunnel
Woods where Suzanna has a momentous encounter. Helen is Suzanna's niece.
She lacks companions of her own age, but makes up for it with the
imaginative world she creates for herself. In the summer of 1909,
Suzanna's daughter, Sophia, is sent from London to stay with her cousin
and soon Sophia and Helen are inseparable. Years later, after the War,
Sophia is engaged to be married. Over the years she has lost a great
deal - but not her ambition for a rich and secure future. Then one
morning she learns of a strange legacy. To receive her bequest, she must
return to Needlewick. There she seeks out the people and hidden places
of her childhood - and following her there are others for whom
Needlewick is a place of devastating significance. A WAY THROUGH THE
WOODS is a tale of a quest. It is also the story of a family: mothers,
sisters, cousins, friends and servants - their passions, and their
ability to destroy and heal, waste and love.
