Strip the Willow Author:Sybil Marshall At Benedict's their childhood home in the East Anglian village of Old Swithinford, Fran and William's love remains fervent and unchanging, but with the advent of wealthy developers, the ancient place seems set to face its greatest threat yet. — William is beginning a year's sabbatical and preparing to study, but in the close-knit community where ... more »so many people depend on Fran for help and advice, the peace and tranquility he needs are hard to find. Friends, neighbours and relatives are all beset by problems that only sympathetic Fran and diplomatic William can help resolve.
When the church, the heart of village life, fails to hold the community together to withstand the corrupting values of Arnold Bailey the property developer, Fran and William must inevitably be drawn into the fight to protect the land that has been their home for half a century.
"It is her deep, unrivaled knowledge of country life, and her sharp eye for character and situation that give her work its charm"
--Mail on Sunday
"The brilliance of Marshall's writing lies in her complete understanding of... the closed world of a village. Wonderful stuff, magically written."
--Norwich Evening News
"Sybil Masters has a good ear for local dialects and a good eye for observing individuals, but it is the intensity she brings to the plight of her narrator which makes this fictional debut so impressive."