The book is the story of one woman’s life, her mistakes, the love of her life, loss, and the strength to go on. If you’ve already read The Shell Seekers, do you remember it? Is it one of those books that lingers in your memory? As a reader who loves wonderful characters, I was drawn to Penelope, moved by her courage, her will to live and enjoy life on her terms. And, it’s that simple joy in life that two of her children couldn’t appreciate. Her life may not have turned out as she would have liked it, but she enjoyed it, and led a gracious, Bohemian existence as befitted the daughter of an elderly artist and a young French woman. She’s strong, independent, and full of love. But, it’s Penelope who will claim your heart, and make you cry.

In her introduction, Pilcher calls them “The tiresome Nancy, the cool-headed Olivia, the materialistic Noel”. In the course of the story, we get to know Penelope and all three of her children.

Instead, she handles her affairs, and decides to make a long-overdue trip to Cornwall where she grew up and spent the years during World War II. And, she’s not going to allow her children to push her around. But, except for one major mistake in her life when she was a young woman, Penelope Keeling has always known her own mind. The picture has been her refuge and comfort throughout her life, but when her adult children discover Lawrence Stern’s paintings have increased in value, they have plans for the money if she’d only sell her paintings. The Shell Seekers is Penelope Keeling’s story, from the time she was a child, appearing in a picture of that title by her artist father, Lawrence Stern. Both notes are as warm and welcoming as the book itself. After all that time, The Shell Seekers is out in trade paperback for the first time, with a note from Thomas Dunne, the publisher for Pilcher’s book, and Pilcher’s introduction to the twenty-fifth anniversary edition. And, I really think I appreciate the book now that I’m in my fifties much more than I would have at thirty. But, I was too busy to spend time with a book over 600 pages long.

Of course, as a librarian, I was aware of Rosamunde Pilcher’s #1 bestseller, The Shell Seekers. Where were you in 1987? I was in Florida, starting a new job in Lee County, and certainly not reading the number of books that I now read each year.

The shell seekers