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Searching... Havenside Library | J REND 3 | Juvenile English Fiction | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Author Notes
Author Olivia Goldsmith was born Randy Goldfield in Dumont, New Jersey in 1949. She attended New York University and became one of the first partners at the management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in New York. After she divorced her husband, she moved to London, changed her legal name to Justine Rendal, and became a writer.
Her 1992 debut novel, "The First Wives Club" became a best-seller and was made into a movie in 1996. In her stories, there's a transformation of the main character and, according to Goldsmith, "In the Olivian universe, everybody gets what they deserve." Besides novels, she wrote articles for The New York Times and Cosmopolitan and wrote children's books under the name Justine Rendal. She received the Woman of Vision Award in 1997. She died from complications related to anesthesia on January 15, 2004 at the age of 54
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-- Many good books have been written about dolls; unfortunately, this is not one of them. The Darlings are a family of porcelain dolls in search of a playmate. Precious, didactic, and condescending, the story suffers from an intrusive narrator whose frequent asides interrupt the flow, and are no substitute for competent character development. The dialogue is melodramatic and humorless. However, avid dollhouse lovers may enjoy Rendal's extensive descriptions and find her decorating hints useful; most readers will skip over them in search of plot. The author's coyness and abrupt ending do nothing to improve the book. --Ruth Smith, formerly at Chicago Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This cozy, determinedly quaint tale will find a captive audience in dollhouse fanciers. An American Lady who may or may not be a Serious Collector (liberal capitalization helps give this book its antique patina) spots a group of dolls in an English toyshop and buys them all--not just Mr. and Mrs. Darling and their children, who are made of hand-painted porcelain and dressed in exquisite hand-sewn clothing, but also Amanda Miranda and Revely, the mass-produced sister and brother who desperately wish to be part of the Darling family. Rendal lards the story of their resettlement with enchanting details and parenthetical tips on dollhouse decor (``Stamps make excellent doll's house pictures''; ``very fine cotton batiste'' is the fabric of choice for doll linens). Several plot lines generate tension: Will Amanda Miranda and Revely become Darlings? Who is the American Lady? Will the dolls ever be united with a child who can Pretend with them? Aside from a bit of clumsy psychologizing, Rendal cleanly and capably navigates between the whimsical and the coy. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-6. The lives of dollhouse characters are fraught with anxieties and conflicts that would go unnoticed except for story~tellers like Rendal. The Darlings ("for that is what everyone called them, and so they thought it was their proper name")--two parents, three daughters, and a son--reside in an English toy shop until they are purchased and carted off to America by a lady collector. Understanding the world of dolls, she is sensitive enough to buy Amanda and Johnsley as well. They are two dolls whose clothes are glued, not sewn, and who have desperately wanted to be part of the Darling family. The adventures of this tiny group, as they travel, wait impatiently for their newly constructed home, and finally go on display, culminate in their ultimate wish and concern: to be loved and played with by real children. Although not all readers will be drawn to the subject matter, the book offers an unusual point of view and provides fascinating insights into the problems of a miniature world. ~--Deborah Abbott