Bittersweet (McCullough)

Bittersweet 
Colleen McCullough, 2013
Simon & Schuster
384pp.
ISBN-13: 9781476755410


Summary
In her first epic romantic novel since The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough weaves a sweeping story of two sets of twins—all trained as nurses, but each with her own ambitions—stepping into womanhood in 1920s and 30s Australia.

Because they are two sets of twins, the four Latimer sisters are as close as can be. Yet these vivacious young women each have their own dreams for themselves: Edda wants to be a doctor, Tufts wants to organize everything, Grace won’t be told what to do, and Kitty wishes to be known for something other than her beauty.

They are famous throughout New South Wales for their beauty, wit, and ambition, but as they step into womanhood, they are not enthusiastic about the limited prospects life holds for them.

Together they decide to enroll in a training program for nurses—a new option for women of their time, who have previously been largely limited to the role of wives, and preferably mothers. As the Latimer sisters become immersed in hospital life and the demands of their training, they meet people and encounter challenges that spark new maturity and independence.

They meet men from all walks of life—local farmers, their professional colleagues, and even men with national roles and reputations—and each sister must make weighty decisions about what she values most. The results are sometimes happy, sometimes heartbreaking, but always...bittersweet.

Rendered with McCullough’s trademark historical accuracy, this dramatic coming of age tale is wise in the ways of the human heart, one that will transport readers to a time in history that feels at once exotic and yet not so very distant from our own. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—June 1, 1937
• Where—Wellington, New South Wales, Australia
• Education—Holy Cross College (Australia); M.D., University of Sydney
• Currently—lives on Norfolk Island in the Pacific


Colleen McCullough-Robinson is an Australian author and medical researcher, best-known for her 1977 novel (and subsequent mini-series) The Thorn Birds.

McCullough was born in Wellington in 1937, in the outback of central west New South Wales. Her father was James McCullough and her mother Laurie was a New Zealander of part-Maori descent. During her childhood, McCullough's family moved around a great deal, eventually settling in Sydney, where she attended Holy Cross college.

After stint as a teacher, librarian, and journalist, she enrolled at the University of Sydney to study medicine. Iin her first year, however, she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was advised to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doctor—she could never scrub for surgery. Instead, she switched to neuroscience and worked in Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, where she established the department of neurophysiology.

In 1963 McCullough moved to the United Kingdom for four years. While at the Great Ormond Street hospital in London, she met Yale University's chairman of neurology, who offered her a research associate job. She accepted and spent the next ten years (till 1976) at Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut, researching and teaching. At Yale she penned her first two books.

The success of these books enabled her to give up her medical-scientific career and to try and "live on her own terms" In the late 1970s, she finally settled on the isolation of Norfolk Island in the Pacific. There she met her husband, Ric Robinson, whom she married on in 1983 at the age of 46 (Robinson was 33).

Recognition
In 1984 a portrait of Colleen McCullough, painted by Wesley Walters, was a finalist for the Archibald Prize, awarded for the "best portrait painting preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics."

In 1993 she was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree by Macquarie University for the depth of historical research in her novels of ancient Rome.

McCullough is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Controversy
Her 2008 novel The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet engendered controversy with her reworking of characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Susannah Fullerton, the president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, said she "shuddered" that Elizabeth Bennet was rewritten as weak, and Mr. Darcy as savage.

She is one of the strongest, liveliest heroines in literature … [and] Darcy's generosity of spirit and nobility of character make her fall in love with him—why should those essential traits in both of them change in 20 years?

Bibliograhy
Novels (stand-alones):
Tim (1974) ♦ The Thorn Birds (1977) ♦ An Indecent Obsession (1981) ♦ A Creed for the Third Millennium (1985) ♦ The Ladies of Missalonghi (1987) ♦ The Song of Troy (1998) ♦ Morgan's Run (2000) ♦ The Touch (2003) ♦ Angel Puss (2004) ♦ The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet (2008) ♦ Bittersweet (2013).

Masters of Rome series
The First Man in Rome (1990) ♦ The Grass Crown (1991) ♦ Fortune's Favorites (1993) ♦ Caesar's Women (1996) ♦ Caesar (1997) ♦ The October Horse (2002) ♦ Antony and Cleopatra (2007).

Carmine Delmonico series
On, Off (2006) ♦ Too Many Murders (December 2009) ♦ Naked Cruelty (2010) ♦ The Prodigal Son (2012) ♦ Sins of the Flesh (2013). (Author bio adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 2/8/2015.)

Book Reviews
Filled with humor, insight and captivating historical detail, McCullough's latest is a wise and warm tribute to family, female empowerment and her native land.
People


Just as epic as her ultra-romantic classic, The Thorn Birds.
Marie Claire


Vintage McCullough...underlines several of McCullough's enormous strengths as a writer—superbly deft characterization; multiple plots that move apace; a warmth and generosity in the telling; and dialogue sharp and, in moments, uproariously funny...a meditation on love and the decisions we make that riffle into our future.
Courier-Mail

 
Lovers of McCullough’s bestseller The Thorn Birds will be happy to hear that Bittersweet takes us back to historic country Australia...as clever, compelling, and as down-to-earth as its four heroines.
Australian Women's Weekly


It’s the heartwarming family bonds that will have you passing this gem on to friends.
Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)


A master class in succinct, precise prose, captivating yet flawed characters and an engrossing historical setting…meticulously researched and cleverly composed.
Good Reading (Australia)


Fabulous...engrossing.
Manly Daily (Sydney)


[A] sweeping historical saga..... McCullough’s richly drawn characters grab hold of the heartstrings from the beginning of their journey...and prove that, even when choices are not in wide supply, happiness is attainable—even if, at times, it is bittersweet.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Readers of historical family dramas will be excited to find a new, satisfying book to enjoy while longtime fans of The Thorn Birds will be over the moon, welcoming back a dear old friend. Take it to the beach, on the plane, or the couch, this book will be the best traveling companion of the summer.
Library Journal


Four sisters are McCullough's avatars of women's progress in Depression-era Australia.... The chief attractions here [is]the...detailed exposure of sex discrimination and feminist struggles.... [But McCullough] doesn't manage to endow her story with much conflict or narrative drive. An uneven but enlightening novel.
Kirkus Reviews

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