September (1990) (edit title/settings)

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

• Violet Aird, aka Vi: Lives in Strathcroy, Scotland in a renovated cottage, Pennyburn, on Archie Balmarino's estate, Croy. Mother of Edmund, grandmother of Alexa and Henry. A tall, very large lady in her late 70s and a dedicated gardener, with merry, intelligent eyes. She grew up and lived at Balnaid until her son's second marriage.
• Geordie Aird: Violet's deceased husband.
• Alexa Aird: Violet's granddaughter who loves to cook. Now owns her maternal Grandmother Cheriton's posh house in Ovington Street, London and runs a catering business out of it. Has a Westie called Larry.
• Edmund Aird: A powerful, Edinburgh-based, jet-setting international trust banker. widowered father of Alexa, remarried to Virginia, and they have son Henry. Lives at family home, Balnaid, built by his grandfather in Relkirkshire, Scotland
• Virginia Aird: Second wife of Edmund Aird, mother of Harry. Early 30's, slender, blonde, devoted to her son and husband. She grew up in Devon and went with her American mother to spend every summer with her grandparents in Leesport, NY.
• Henry Aird: 8 year old son of Edmund Aird and his second wife, Virginia. Small and immature for his age. Father wants to send him away to Templehall boarding school as per tradition.
• Edie Findhorn: Plump, jolly 68 year old lady who helps clean for Violet and Virginia, watches Henry, was Alexa's nanny. She has a tiny one story cottage on the main street of Strathcroy, is the lunch-lady at Henry's village school, and now cares for her daft cousin Lottie.
• Archie Blair, Lord Balmerino: Lord Balmerino, lives at Croy, in Strathcroy. Married to Isobel, father of Lucilla and Hamish.. Joined the Queen's Loyal Highlanders at 19, rose to Lt. Col. before he lost a leg in Northern Ireland and was invalided out on 60% pay. Still haunted by nightmares of it. Edmund Aird helped hold the estate together, finding tenant farmers and leasing the grouse moors.
• Isobel Blair, Lady Balmerino: Takes in the Scottish Country Tour visitors to keep paying the bills on their estate, Croy., and the education of Lucilla, 19, artist, currently traveling in Europe, and Hamish, away at boarding school.
• Lucilla Blair: 19 year old daughter of Archie and Isobel Balmerino
• Hamish Blair: Teen-aged son of Archie and Isobel Balmerino
• Pandora Blair: Archie Balmerino's sister, who hasn't been home for twenty years since eloping with a rich American. Has led a wicked, immoral, delicious life doing exactly what she wished.
• Noel Keeling: (Shell Seekers) Penelope Keeting's only son, four year's after her death. Creative Director with the advertising firm Wenborn & Weinburg. A 34 year old bachelor who does well, but always wants more. Has two sisters: Olivia in London is editor-in-Chirf of Venus, one in Gloucestershire. Tends to date young models or actresses.
• Verena Steynton: Angus and Verena are relative newcomers to the village having only lived at Corriehill near Strathcroy. Throwing a Dance party for their daughter Katy's 21st birthday. Verena runs the local part of Scottish Counrty Tours, arranging for American's to stay in posh private homes and shuttling them around to the local sites, shopping hunting and golfing during the spring and summer months.
• Angus Steynton: Verena's husband, Katy's father. A retired stockbroker who bought Corriehill 10 years ago, and then restored a lumber firm.
• Katy Steynton: Almost 21 year old daughter of Angus and Verena Steynton.
• Lottie Carstairs: Cousin of Edie's. Mentally a little off, released from institution into Edie's care. Outspoken, clumsy, un-nerving. Creeps around spooking people. She sees and knows many secrets. "Nutty as a fruitcake."
• Mrs. Ishak: Kindly Pakistani grocers in the village of Strathcroy
• Conrad Tucker , aka the "Sad American": American friend of Katy's, a recent widower, who stays at Balnaid for Katy's party. Old friend of Virginia's from a summer with her Long Island, NY grandparents when she was 21, twelve years ago.
• Caroline Cheriton Aird: First wife of Edmund Aird; mother of Alexa, died when she was six.
• Dermot Honycombe: runs the antique shop in Kelkirk. Assigned the White Elephant stall for the church fund raiser.
• Dr. Martin: young doctor at the hospital where Lotty is
• Jeff Howland: The Australian shepherd friend whom Lucilla met in Paris and is traveling around Europe with now.
• Seraphina: Pandora's maid/housekeeper in the villa in Majorca. Married to Mario.
• Willy Snoddy: a unreliable old rascal who poaches trout from Balmarino's loch, but is also a good flanker on a grouse shoot
• Larry: Alexa's West Highland White terrier
• Carlos Macaya: friend of Pandora's on Majorca. Studied at Oxford several years.
• Gordon Gil: estate manager of Croy for Balmarinos
• Colin Henderson: Add a description of this character.
• Hughie

Quotes edit see section history

• “My mother had a saying. Fear knocked at the door, Faith went to anser it, and no one was there.”

  Archie

• “Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away in to the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we loved so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of e in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. Lie means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well.”

  Archie

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Pennyburn: Violet's cottage on the Croy Estate of the Balmerino's in Strathcroy
• Balnaid: The Aird family home in Strathcroy, Scotland
• London
• Scotland
• New York
• Relkirk: Village where the Aird family home, Balnaid is located
• Edinburgh
• Majorca: Where Paloma Aird lives.
• France
• Paris
• Ibiza
• Northern Ireland
• Ovington Street: London street where Alexa's home is located
• Devon
• Leesport
• Long Island
• Berlin
• Australia
• Spain
• Atlantic
• England
• Heathrow
• California
• Casa Rosa
• Poison
• Corriehill: Angus and Verena Steynton's large home ten miles from Strathcroy, Scotland

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Rosamunde Pilcher (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary