Author Description

Christmas 1907 is the background for Elizabeth Walter’s compelling new novel.Reminiscent of the works of Edith Wharton and, more recently, of Isabel Colegate, A Season of Goodwill probes beneath the glossy exteriors of its polished and privileged characters to reveal the raw passions of some very volatile men and women.Emily North, beautiful, selfish, spoiled, arrives from India with her two children to celebrate the holiday with her in-laws at their English country estate. Emily’s son will one day inherit Amberley, so it is fitting that he should learn to know and love it.Emily has other reasons for visiting Amberley, reasons that she prefers to keep to herself. A woman whom other women dislike and men covet, Emily acts as a catalyst wherever she goes. Full of suppressed passion herself, she inspires overt displays of emotion in others, emotions that, if openly acknowledged, could destroy the North family.Love, loyalty, duty, tradition—all may be forgotten if Emily prevails. Or is Emily really to blame? Do the problems in the North family go back further than Emily’s advent into its ranks?A seductive storyteller, Elizabeth Walter strips away all pretension from her characters. With artistry, wit, grace, and a poetic command of language, she shares her compassionate insight into the follies of human nature. A Season of Goodwill is an exquisite gem.