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Rising To The Occasion
Rising To The Occasion
Jan 2, 2026 7:46 PM

Author:Linda Taylor

Rising To The Occasion

Cathy Gordon has made a discovery. Adopted at birth, she finds out at the age of twenty-eight that she has a grandfather. But when she arrives at a cricket match to meet Frank, there is no trace of him - only an alarmingly sexy man called Nick.

Heading off to Frank's home in leafy Oxford, she encounters a grumpy old man who only takes pleasure in two things. Cricket, and arguing - especially with his lifelong friend, Barbara.

Determined to bond with her only living relative, Cathy takes up the challenge - a challenge which means her path crossing with Nick's once again. But as the summer heatwave continues, Cathy realises that there is more at stake than family ties. Will any of them - including Frank's beloved England team - rise to the occasion?

Reviews

Flesh-creeping

—— Daily Telegraph

Intensely suspenseful, powerfully underplayed, subtly authoritative

—— New York Times

Quite, quite different... eerie, horrific, brilliant

—— Guardian

The pleasure of Mapp and Lucia is summed up, surely, in Alice Roosevelt's bon mot. "If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come and sit right by me."

—— Philip Hensher

Oh the joy of seeing Lucia again! These magic books are as fresh as paint. The characters are real and therefore timeless

—— Nancy Mitford , The Times

His glorious prose captures ephemeral glamour magically

—— Independent

His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings

—— Ernest Hemingway

Read it again, forever

—— Boston Globe
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