All agreed that the author captured the feel and essence of post war, middle class England extremely well. Her descriptions of the main characters' emotional turmoil instilled many of us with strongly emotive reactions of our own.

More than one of us found it hard to read at times, in that the level of angst suffered was also emotionally draining for the reader. The possibility of a positive ending produced a sigh of relief in more than one of us! An indication of how well it was written.

The book prompted a lively discussion about 'the old days', with memories and tales of rationing, old sayings and expressions, along with a comparison of how enlightened todays society is to depression and grief counselling.

The majority felt that the book was in their top ten, although this was not unanimous.