The Song of Hartgrove Hall

Solomons's (The House at Tyneford) engaging novel is the story of the three Fox-Talbot brothers, who return to their ancestral home after World War II to find their world in flux. Eldest brother Jack, always the life of the party, has brought along Edie Rose, a famous wartime singer. Youngest brother Harry, nicknamed Fox, is a collector of old English folk songs. Throughout England, stately homes are being demolished or sold. The Fox-Talbot brothers decide to try to save Hartgrove Hall, and Fox reluctantly gives up his dreams of music. Meanwhile, all three brothers fall in love with Edie, a situation that leads to betrayal, heartbreak, and estrangement. Interspersed with the events of the postwar years is Fox's life in the present day. He's a famous composer mourning the death of his muse, Edie. A visit by his four-year-old grandson, a piano prodigy, reawakens the music in Fox's heart, and he begins a new composition. But when the music stalls, he realizes that he must confront the past in order to finish his symphony.