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Never Look Back | 
| Author: Lesley Pearse
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (24) Used (98) Collectible (2) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 5224
Media: Paperback
Pages: 752
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.4 x 2.1
ISBN: 0140282270
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140282276
ASIN: 0140282270
Publication Date: May 4, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: good clean tight copy - - will be dispatched in a bubble padded postage pack (box 312)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 An American Woman of Substance, with no substance December 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sorry to all the many fans but I think this book reads like the author has read a how-to manual on writing an epic saga of romance and self-discovery and is following it to the letter. It's full of cliches and cardboard cut-out characters. Strong but vulnerable heroine, hooker with heart of gold, vicar simmering with passion underneath, strong, silent frontier soldier and no less then two wives-who-don't-understand-their-husbands holding them all back from true love. All of that would be fine if they were interesting and engaging, but they're not. I realise I'm in a minority here, but to me it was like a panto version of what could have been a great story.
 Fantastic read!! November 12, 2008
What a great book! You live with the main character, Matilda, throughout, more or less, her whole life. From flower girl to nursemaid to entrepreneur, from London to New York to the Wild West! If this woman wasn't fictional she'd be amazing. And the heartache, wow, no character should have to go through what she did. It's an amazing story that will capture your heart, have you spellbound and also have you in tears on a number of occasions. We done Lesley Pearse what a fantastic book!
Amazing! October 12, 2008
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Somehow, through the tragedy and heartbreak, you still can't manage to put the book down. Lesley has managed to include sadness and excitment throughout the book and as new things come into light, you wonder whether Matilda is destined for tragedy or not. Everything good in Matilda's life seems to slip away before she can get a hold of it. The things that happen that the reader doesn't want to happen, creates an even better book.
An Incredibly Well-Researched and Memorable Story March 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This epic, moving and awe-inspiring work of fiction is perhaps the greatest evidence of Lesley Pearse' commitment to extensive research and attention to detail.
It tells in incredible detail the ENTIRE life story of a London-born woman named Matilda Jennings. Her life begins in dire poverty and gradually progresses through an incredible amount of experiences, from moving to America, to working with the poor, business ventures, extensive travelling, romance, childbirth, and many, many others.
This book is particularly valuable because of it's descriptions of poverty in nineteenth century London, New York and San Francisco. It describes vividly the many afflictions of the poor: illness, starvation, exploitation and horrendous living conditions. Some of the descriptions here of the personal hygiene and lack of sanitation in the nineteenth century are truly mind-boggling, but this book is an excellent exploration of just how bad life was less than 200 years ago.
The extremely high mortality rate of that era is also touched upon frequently, as Matilda has person after person torn cruelly from her life. These chapters reduced me to tears, but the descriptions of Matilda putting on a brave face and continuing on with her life, in the spirit of strength and courage, was truly inspiring. This is an undoubtedly powerful and well-crafted story.
The theme of female emancipation is also explored, and if there's a more inspiring figure of female independence and strength in contemporary fiction than Matilda Jennings, I have yet to encounter her. With unbelievable guts, the lead character of this novel shows an incredible amount of strength, instinct, dignity, resourcefulness and determination to succeed at so much more than being a wife and Mother. Perhaps the character is fictional, but in theory, any woman should be able to succeed as Matilda does in this story, if only they learn how to utilise the strength and determination which every woman undoubtedly has.
This book is superbly-written, engaging enough to keep my attention for hours and hours on end, without stopping reading. Despite it's huge length, I found myself finishing it in less than three or four days. It's characters are well-crafted, strong and interesting. Anticipation for the next event in Matilda's remarkable life kept me reading with keenness. The historical research is considerable and the attention to detail is impressive.
I cannot reccommend this book strongly enough. Even if you don't enjoy contemporary fiction which is has a generally romantic theme, this book can be enjoyed for it's important historical context and it's incredibly vivid depiction of the grimness of life in the nineteenth century. As a study of poverty and courage, 'Never Look Back' is valuable and poignant, firmly establishing Lesley Pearse as a writer of great talent and integrity.
My best read ever August 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Now what can I say I have read a lot of books lol but this is the best book ever well it was till I read Remember Me also by Lesley Pearce and now they are both my favourite books of all time - although Savages by Shirley Conran still has a place in my heart lol
These books were so good that they made me want to look up further information on the internet which I managed in my ever so busy life - all I can say is YOU MUST READ THIS - ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.
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