Contemporary fiction

Winter Solstice

by Rosamunde Pilcher

Retired actress Elfrida Phipps has built a modest new life in an English village when friendship with musician Oscar Blundell becomes central to them both. Sudden tragedy drives Oscar to a large, neglected house in northern Scotland, where Elfrida joins him rather than leave him alone with grief. Other unsettled people arrive as Christmas approaches, including a young woman recovering from an affair, an independent teenager, and a businessman without a home. Cozy and compassionate, this winter ensemble novel suits readers who enjoy Scottish houses, mature friendship, found family, holiday atmosphere, slow emotional healing, and strangers creating warmth together at the darkest point of the year.