D       Be notified of updates to The Capital Scot		About Capital Scot Search this Site Site Map FAQ Notices Subscribers (Links) ICRA Checked

After Gus

by
Kathryn Glendenning

Published by
Stamford House Publishing, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, 2008

A review (©, 2007) by the publisher
Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission of the publisher.

After Gus is a semi-autobiographical tale of the author.

Greed, snobbery and backstabbing among the Scottish Landed Gentry! The book is a tale of one family's snobbery and skullduggery in the wake of the death of their patriarch, the titular Gus.  After her father Gus' sudden death, it seems to Jenny that her mother Jane is conniving at a scheme to manipulate the execution of the will in favour of elder brother Rory.  Knowing herself to be the least loved of Jane's children, but wanting to believe her mother to be honest and straight, Jenny agonises between uncertainty, indignation, fury and misery.  Jenny knows that she is the least loved of the children and reels through an array of emotions.  The family sides against her, motivated by a mixture of greed and snobbery.  Betrayal at the hand of her mother, conniving schemes and sibling greed force Jenny to decide whether to fight for her inheritance or cut all ties with her family forever.

... Financially and practically my parents had bitten off more than they could chew, and Rory and I, aware of our parents' anxiety over money, put our ingenuity to work, convinced that we could find a solution.  We collected old fizzy drink bottles from rubbish dumps and bins at picnic areas, washed them, and asked my mother to stop by the shop the next time we were passing in the car.  Appalled, Mr. Petrie the shopkeeper gave us a terrible ticking off.  He knew quite well we hadn't bouoght the bottles from his shop.  What were we thinking of? ... Little did he know that she was keen to encourage this entrepreneurial trait.  She was sitting outside in the getaway car, waiting for us to appear with the loot in our grubby paws, but we had enought savvy not to tell him that. ... Our next enterprise was ...

Glendinning's semi-autobiographical tale is permeated with genuine emotion.  Jenny's struggle is narrated with a wry wit and true-to- life experiences that readers can sympathise and indeed empathise with.  A must have for the sophisticated readership.

The author may be reached via the publisher.

ISBN 1904985602
227 pages
Price: US$16.65
Order securely from Stamford House Publishing

---

Memberships
Member of                      of the FOSI

Awards
                    

Accessibility