Coming Home

Massive in size and vast in scope, Pilcher's latest entertainment seems destined to equal the extraordinary success of her previous novels (September, etc.) as it follows young Judith Dunbar through the tumultuous years before and during WWII. At 14, Judith is sent to boarding school in Cornwall when her mother and sister leave England to rejoin her father in Ceylon and then Singapore. Facing bleak holidays with her widowed, golf-obsessed Aunt Louise, the girl is overjoyed and a bit overwhelmed when she's often invited by classmate Loveday Carey-Lewis and her glamorous and wealthy family to spend time at their estate. When Aunt Louise dies in an auto accident, Judith finds herself an unexpected heiress with the funds necessary to move easily through the world of the Carey-Lewises and their friends, such as young physician Jeremy Wells. As Europe moves toward war, Judith embarks on a disastrous affair with Loveday's rakish brother, while Loveday falls for Gus Callendar, a Cambridge-educated engineer who longs to be an artist. War finds Judith enlisting in the Wrens and dealing with both an unfinished romance with Jeremy and tragic news about the fate of her family in Singapore; meanwhile, Loveday works her family farms and makes a rash decision about her future with Gus. War's end will bring unexpected tensions as well as a suitably romantic fate for both women. This is classy, lavish entertainment from a writer whose unpretentious prose always flows smoothly, never offends and offers literate pleasure. 850,000 first printing; $800,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections; Readers Digest Condensed Book Club selection. (Aug.)