Santa Montefiore's involving and dramatic novel The Butterfly Box opens in Vina del Mar, Chile, in the sweltering summer of 1982. Frederica is six years old and adores her father Ramon. He is a charismatic, good-looking adventurer who is due home after a long sojourn abroad. Frederica struggles to contain her excitement. Her mother, Helena, travelled with the glamorous Ramon Campione in the heady early days of their relationship; Ramon, a writer and photographer, travels the world and has sacrificed his family for his work. Over the years of growing disillusionment with their relationship, Helena endures his long absences waiting with the children in Chile. On his return, Ramon brings Frederica a gift: a magical box containing coruscating crystals in the form of a beautiful butterfly. According to legend, the butterfly once belonged to an Inca princess. Helena abandons her husband and returns to Cornwall with the children, and the Butterfly Box is now Frederica's sole connection with her past and her father. In Cornwall, Frederica grows up and falls in love with Sam Appleby and, later, the saturnine and charming Torquil Jensen. The lacerating relationship that follows forces her into a punishing voyage of self-discovery during which she learns the true lesson of the Butterfly Box.
Her first novel Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree established Santa Montefiore as a writer of elegance and craftsmanship working within the popular form of the romantic novel. So many novels in the genre are written in leaden-footed prose that it's a genuine revelation to find a writer as gifted as this. The Butterfly Box is couched in language that is always affecting, always truthful--even when saga conventions kick in. Few tales of love and loss exert such an emotional pull as this one. --Barry Forshaw
Her first novel Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree established Santa Montefiore as a writer of elegance and craftsmanship working within the popular form of the romantic novel. So many novels in the genre are written in leaden-footed prose that it's a genuine revelation to find a writer as gifted as this. The Butterfly Box is couched in language that is always affecting, always truthful--even when saga conventions kick in. Few tales of love and loss exert such an emotional pull as this one. --Barry Forshaw
Used availability for Santa Montefiore's The Butterfly Box
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
March 2002 : Hardback
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore ISBN: 0-340-76952-1 / 978-0-340-76952-2 (UK edition) Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 2002 : Hardback
| Title: The Butterfly Box (Charnwood Library) Author(s): Santa Montefiore ISBN: 0-7089-9402-4 / 978-0-7089-9402-3 (UK edition) Publisher: Charnwood Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
2001 : Hardback
| Title: THE BUTTERFLY BOX. Author(s): Santa: MONTEFIORE Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton. Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
Paperback Editions
September 2007 : Paperback
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore ISBN: 0-340-89807-0 / 978-0-340-89807-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
November 2002 : Mass Market Paperback
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore ISBN: 0-340-76953-X / 978-0-340-76953-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Coronet Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
April 2002 : Paperback
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore ISBN: 0-340-81948-0 / 978-0-340-81948-7 (UK edition) Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
2002 : Paperback
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
Audio Editions
January 2010 : Audio CD
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore ISBN: 1-4074-6053-6 / 978-1-4074-6053-6 (UK edition) Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
2002 : Audio Cassette
| Title: THE BUTTERFLY BOX (JUANITA MCMAHON) Author(s): SANTA MONTEFIORE ISBN: 1-84197-768-3 / 9781841977683 (UK edition) Publisher: CLIPPER Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
Other Editions
April 2012 : Kindle edition
| Title: The Butterfly Box Author(s): Santa Montefiore Publisher: Hodder Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
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