The Shell Seekers
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Hannah Gordon
Barbara Rosenblat
 | |
| Author | Rosamunde Pilcher |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Lynn Redgrave Hannah Gordon Barbara Rosenblat |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Set in | England |
| Published | 1987 |
| Publisher | Coronet Books (UK) St. Martin's Press (US) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print Digital (Audiobook) |
| Pages | 530 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-3120-1058-4 |
| OCLC | 16830868 |
| 823.914 | |
| LC Class | PR6066.I38 |
The Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read.[1] In Germany the novel is called Die Muschelsucher and was also in the top 100 novels.[2] The novel sold more than five million copies worldwide, and was adapted for the stage and as a film for television twice.[3]
Shifting in time, the novel tells the story of Penelope Keeling, the daughter of unconventional parents (an artist father and his much-younger French wife), examining her past and her relationships with her adult children. When the novel opens, Penelope is in her 60s and has just been discharged from hospital after what was seemingly a heart attack. Penelope's life from young womanhood to the present is revealed in pieces, from her own point of view and those of her children. Much of the forward impetus of the novel involves the work of her father, including a painting called The Shell Seekers, given to Penelope as a wedding present.
Pilcher's novel September includes the character of Noel Keeling, son of Penelope.
Awards
- BBC Big Read top 100 novels (#50) (2003)
- Winner of the Prize for Fiction by the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television (UNDA) - Monte Carlo Television Festival (1990)[4][5]