There comes a time in a woman's life when she realizes she
has more perfume in her bottles than she will even get
opportunities to wear and what is she going to do about
that. This was the situation for Miriam Elizabeth Swanson,
a still beautiful, but middle-aged New York quasi-socialite,
desperate to pander to the wishes of Agnes
Willis, the stone-faced chair of the gala spring benefit,
while she clings to the vestiges of her old life of 20
years ago before her ungallant husband ran away with a
lingerie model and her two sons abandoned any opportunities
to be with her.
Then, the unspeakable happens! After spending hours of
work volunteering to organize for the benefit, Miriam has a
fall from grace that leaves her lurching on her high heels
and stunned by the viciousness of the crowd she had worked
so hard to please.
Supported by the best and wisest of friends as well as
being her tenant, Kevin Dolan, Miriam seeks solace by
visiting her mother on Sullivan's Island in South
Carolina. There as she re-connects with her youthful self,
she sees her mother differently than before and decides to
change her own ways as well. Intrigued by meeting the
handsome Harrison Ford (even better than the movie
version), Miriam is re-named to suit a softer "Mellie" self
and she soon realizes that there might be something to that.
As unexpected events occur, Mellie starts to change how she
views life, her family and her silver tea sets.
Yet, despite her previous misgivings, when Miriam's new
tenant, Liz, has a tragic finale to a relationship, Miriam
quickly connects to who she really wants to be and as she
reaches out to help Liz, her friends and family start to
reach her in ways she never could have imagined.
Dorothea Benton Frank is well known for her delightfully
sassy and sophisticated novels with a connection to
Sullivan's Island and THE LAND OF MANGO SUNSETS only
re-affirms that well-earned reputation. She is skillful at
interweaving the threads of the various stories about, and
between, the generations, the urban and island geographies
and her characters are quirky, yet totally realistic to
their environments. I just adored Kevin, the devoted
friend and so talented window dresser with all the right
connections who brought such magic to the wedding, and
Harry the Parrot who just knew just when to say "Charles is
an ass!". This story will have instant appeal to the over
40 crowd as well as to younger readers still trying to
figure out their boomer moms. This is one hoot of a novel
you will enjoy!
Her sleazy husband left her for a lingerie model who's
barely more than a teenager, and her kids are busy with
their own lives. But before Miriam Elizabeth Swanson can
work herself up into a true snit about it all, her newest
tenant, Liz, arrives from Birmingham with plenty of troubles
of her own. And then Miriam meets a man named Harrison, who
makes her laugh, makes her cry, and makes her feel like a
brand-new woman.
It's almost too much for one
Manhattan quasi-socialite to handle�so Miriam's escaping to
the enchanted and mysterious land of Sullivans Island, deep
in the low country of South Carolina, a place where she can
finally get her head on straight�and figure out that it's
not pride that's going to keep her warm at night . . .
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