When I was a kid, I loved Dickinson's 'Changes' trilogy, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi story set in Britain. I've read a few of his other books, including some of the short-stories he published with his wife, Robin McKinley (one of my very favorite authors), and always loved his sense of place and his capturing of the feel of mythology. I was aware that he also wrote adult mystery novels, but hadn't read any. I picked this up thinking it was a mystery. However, it's really not. There is a murder... but it doesn't show up as a plot element until the latter part of the book. I have to admit that I found the plot structure in general to be a little weak, which is the reason I went down to 3 stars.However, there are things I loved about this book so much that I've already talked about it and recommended it to people. Although the book has no fantasy or mythological elements, it has that same vivid, wonderful sense of time and place that I've come to associate with Dickinson's writing. The book truly opens a window into an unglimpsed world... and lets you feel like you're just about ready to step through that window.The main character is a society girl who ends up getting a job writing a satirical column in the society pages of a weekly magazine. Dickinson himself worked at the magazine 'Punch' for many years, and undoubtedly his portrayal of what it was like to work a a magazine in the 50's informs this novel. And that's what I really loved about this book: the view of a segment of society, the milieu of the magazine, the humor and interactions... it's wonderful.The plot hooks on the affair the girl has with her older boss, and the fallout from it that occurs much later, in the 1980's, once she has become a successful and established businesswoman. While I liked seeing her success, the first part of the book was what really caught my interest.
Where in the world did I get the idea to order this out-of-print book from Better World Books? I must have read a recommendation somewhere--but not from my usual sources.It was a quirky read but very enjoyable. Lady Margaret at age 21 and at age 51 was memorable; her lover Mr. B, her sister Jane, her domineering mother, and later her daughter and son are less so. Their motivations were not always that clear to me. An incident near the end of the book resonated with me. Lady Margaret visits an aged Mrs. Clarke, a gossip columnist she worked with 30 years earlier. She is encouraged to meet someone who has the disabilities of aging but is coping unlike her own ogre of a mother who now suffers from a stroke and dementia. Even Mrs. Clarke's confidence is shaken when her memory of something 30 years ago is questioned. She turns out to be right and Lady Margaret covers for her own unawareness of the true story. This is just one little scene of many but it was typical of the pictures created in my mind while reading.
Do You like book Death Of A Unicorn (1985)?
Plot: 2 stars Characters: 2 1/2 stars Style: 3 stars Pace: 2 1/2 stars I knew the streak of amazing books had to end. I'd picked a bunch of random paperbacks off my TBR shelf to take to work with me, and I figured I'd read this one first. There were bits I started to like, but it's far more a character study in shallow 1950s bubblebrains than anything resembling a coherent narrative. The structure on this one was strange as well, leaping forward abruptly, and getting lost in side paths. I probably would give it 2 stars, but for the fact that there was something almost voyeuristic about it all, and that curiosity kept me reading.
—Jami Leigh
Mabs, the young heiress to an important English estate, is bored with her life, which makes her susceptible to the dubious charms of Amos Brierly, sarcastic, physically unattractive, and with a mysterious past.When he flees the country because of some shady financial dealings, he is murdered.
—Carolynne
