The Books That Changed My Life: The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

One of the questions authors are often asked is some version of, “What books changed your life/shaped you as a writer/influenced your work?” As an avid reader long before I was a writer, I love this question. I think it gets at a fundamental truth: authors are like sponges, absorbing everything they read, watch, and encounter.

Today, I thought I’d share one of the books that—quite literally—changed my life.

Published in 1987, The Shell Seekers tells the story of Penelope Keeling’s life, weaving back and forth between present day and her past. You learn of her somewhat bohemian upbringing with her artist father and her French mother, her time during the war, her loves, and raising her children. Meanwhile, in the present day storyline, Penelope’s son Noel discovers that his grandfather’s paintings are now worth quite a bit of money and his obvious greed leaves Penelope faced with difficult decisions.

Why I love it

The Shell Seekers is one of those books that came to me at exactly the right time and place in my life. I had just moved from New York City to London, and I was living with my parents while I got my feet under me. To say I was at a crossroads in my life and my career would be an understatement.

As soon as I landed in London, I began looking for work as I also finished writing what would be the last historical romance novel I ever published. When I wasn’t working or job-hunting, I had little more to do than explore the city I’d just moved to and read.

One day, my mother suggested that I might like to read Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers. I had never heard of the book before, but I’m always up for a recommendation so I gave it a try.

I proceeded to devour the book, finishing it in record time despite it’s chunky length.

Thinking now about what it was about this book that grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go, I believe there were several factors at play:

• I have always loved dual timeline novels, which satisfy my itch for historical and contemporary fiction in equal measure when they are done well

• Pilcher’s depiction of Penelope’s life in Cornwall with her garden and her beautiful home and beautiful meals was like catnip to me, especially given that I had just left a charming but tiny studio apartment in New York City

• I felt very invested in the characters early on. Almost immediately, I knew that my dislike for Noel and his sister Nancy was strong and it only grew stronger throughout the book. My love for Penelope and Olivia (the good daughter with a fabulous job and lifestyle) too would only increase

• I was happy to find that Pilcher broke my heart and made me happy in equal measure throughout the book

• It’s just a rolicking good read that rattles along beautifully as good stories should

I finished the book and thought, “What if I could write a book like that?”

Immediately, I began to think about what I loved about the book—a dual timeline historical novel that focused on a woman’s journey through some of the most formative, difficult periods of her life. Around this time, I also started and finished Elizabeth Jane Howard’s incredible five-book Cazalet Chronicles¹.

Influenced by those two books and a fortuitous visit to a Westminster Public Library branch where I picked up The Girls Who Went to War by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi, I began dreaming of historical fiction. That dream eventually became The Light Over London, my first historical novel and the first book I wrote that without a doubt changed my life.

What is one of the books that changed your life? Leave a comment and let me know why it was so influential on you.

1. What a summer reading project that would be!