Books with author Jane Gilley

The Lady in the Van meets The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry in this uplifting, funny and moving debut novel about a 79-year-old hoarder who is convinced the world is against her.79-year-old Gloria Frensham is a hoarder. She lives amongst piles of magazines, cardboard boxes and endless knick-knacks that are stacked into every room of her home, and teeter in piles along the landing and up the stairs.She hasn’t left the house in years, but when a sudden smell of burning signifies real danger, she is forced to make a sudden departure and leave behind her beloved possessions.Determined she’s not ready for a care home, Gloria sets out to discover what life still has to offer her. It’s time to navigate the outside world on her own, one step at a time, with just one very small suitcase in tow…Heart-warming and poignant in equal measure, this is a story about the loneliness of life, the struggles of growing old, the power of kindness, and the bravery it takes to leave our comfort zones.** Praise for The Woman Who Kept Everything **‘Without a doubt, readers will be charmed by the many colourful characters and their relationships with each other, as well as where life takes Gloria next.’‘This delightful book will enchant any reader who has a soul.’‘Fans of A Man Called Ove and Three Things About Elsie will find comfortable, enjoyable ground here.’‘It would make a great and inspired book club read.’‘A beautiful, charming, witty story’‘This is a novel that perhaps we all need to read. It is a realistic look into aging with humour and some sadness, that all too many often forget to see.’‘A lesson on how to live life!’‘Oh Gloria Frensham, what a fabulous ride you gave us on your adventures in this book. I suspect this will turn out to be a film and very much on a par with Lady in the Van.’

The Lady in the Van meets The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry in this uplifting, funny and moving debut novel about a 79-year-old hoarder who is convinced the world is against her.79-year-old Gloria Frensham is a hoarder. She lives amongst piles of magazines, cardboard boxes and endless knick-knacks that are stacked into every room of her home, and teeter in piles along the landing and up the stairs.She hasn’t left the house in years, but when a sudden smell of burning signifies real danger, she is forced to make a sudden departure and leave behind her beloved possessions.Determined she’s not ready for a care home, Gloria sets out to discover what life still has to offer her. It’s time to navigate the outside world on her own, one step at a time, with just one very small suitcase in tow…Heart-warming and poignant in equal measure, this is a story about the loneliness of life, the struggles of growing old, the power of kindness, and the bravery it takes to leave our comfort zones.** Praise for The Woman Who Kept Everything **‘Without a doubt, readers will be charmed by the many colourful characters and their relationships with each other, as well as where life takes Gloria next.’‘This delightful book will enchant any reader who has a soul.’‘Fans of A Man Called Ove and Three Things About Elsie will find comfortable, enjoyable ground here.’‘It would make a great and inspired book club read.’‘A beautiful, charming, witty story’‘This is a novel that perhaps we all need to read. It is a realistic look into aging with humour and some sadness, that all too many often forget to see.’‘A lesson on how to live life!’‘Oh Gloria Frensham, what a fabulous ride you gave us on your adventures in this book. I suspect this will turn out to be a film and very much on a par with Lady in the Van.’

On a Maine island in the 1920s, the Barton family keeps the light, requiring effort from the entire family. Elizabeth, the only daughter, feels particularly lonely, except during her grandmother’s visits. When Mother travels to the mainland to have a baby, Elizabeth shoulders all responsibility for household chores. Additionally, the forces of nature challenge Jib Island and create unexpected adventure.

This is Book One of the Troglodyte Trilogy. It is set in the Loire region of France. This first book centres around Roodery, the heron's, birthday which is interrupted when there's a fire on the hillside. The fire threatens to set the whole of Troglodyte Hill alight. So Roodery and his friends, Snap, Whisper and Feather have to think of a way of alerting the troglodytes (cave dwellers) to help put out the fire. However, there are no fire engines on Troglodyte Hill, so Roodery and his little troglodyte friend, Maud, come together in a 'saving the day' adventure. Easy French words and phrases are included in the text with the English equivalent next to them, to create a unique ambience.

In the early 1920s, the Bartons were a lightkeeping family on Jib Island several miles off the Maine coast. The adventures of the four Barton children and their parents in this isolated place are snapshots of the real lives of those who kept the lights burning to make travel safer for the many boats that sailed the cold and treacherous Maine waters. Visits from a very capable and loving grandmother and a spunky itinerant school teacher add excitement, as do the accidents of nature that the family must manage. When Mother leaves the island to await the birth of another child, twelve-year-old Elizabeth takes over the running of the house. At this point in the story, the real challenges begin.

Christmas on Troglodyte Hill This is Book Three of the Troglodyte Trilogy, which is set in the Loire region of France. This final book tells the story of Maud's 'Big Surprise' for Roodery, the heron and his friends in time for Christmas! Maud wants to thank Roodery for all his help throughout the year when he saved her village from a fire and when he found Thibault, a missing pupil, who was visiting from Saumur. Again easy French words and phrases are included in the text with the English equivalent next to it, to create a unique ambience.

The Lady in the Van meets The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry in this debut novel about a 79-year-old hoarder who is convinced the world is against her.79-year-old Gloria Frensham is a hoarder. She lives amongst piles of magazines, squashed cardboard boxes, surplus carpet rolls, heaps of towels and knick-knacks littering the stairs. She hasn t left her home for years, until a loud bang and a sudden smell of singeing sets in motion Gloria s unwilling exodus from her home...That day is the start of a journey that will never return Gloria back to her beloved, hoarded possessions, nor to her son s house to live. For it is the start of her journey to discover life again and she s going to make some good friends and defiant decisions along the way, with just one very small suitcase in tow...