Book Review
Copyright (c) 1994, Thomas Van Hook
All rights reserved


The Lady by Anne McCaffery
Ballantine Books, Copyright 1987
LCCN 86-92092
ISBN 0-345-35674-8
Pages:  369

When you mention the name Anne McCaffery, most people immediately
think of her Dragonriders of Pern series.  The setting for that
series and most of her other novels is in the Science Fiction
and/or Fantasy realm.  I was genuinely shocked and pleased to
find a novel by her that didn't fall into either of the above
categories.

"The Lady" is set in modern day Ireland, centering around an
estate and stable in the countryside between the towns of
Kilcoole and Greystones.  The family is a very odd one, in that
husband and daughter are very close, while the mother falls in
the range of a "snooty aristocrat."  The "battle" falls between
the mother and the father over what the daughter should be
allowed to do.  The daughter wishes to ride horses, while the
mother wishes for her to become a "proper lady" in the fashion of
aristocracy.  Soon enough, Selina Healey enters the lives of this
family and things get turned upside down.

Miss McCaffery has written what is, in my mind, one of the best
pieces of work she has produced.  The storyline is believeable
right down to it's very core.  The family's struggles, both
internal and external, are written from every point of view.  But
Miss McCaffery focuses on the young daughter through the entire
novel, letting the reader grow with her.  It is this that makes
the strongest point of the entire story-line.  You find yourself
totally encompassed in the daughter's life, living every
experience with her, seeing the world through new eyes.

I love to read books that express the relationship of human
beings with one another.  "The Lady" is one of the best examples
of such relationships that I have read in quite a while.  I
highly recommend this book to people that are looking for a
change of pace from SciFi thrillers, Suspense Thrillers, and the
such.  Pick it up and give it a read.

Grade:  A+
Storyline: A+