Temples of Delight

Temples of Delight by Barbara Trapido, published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA on April 14, 2015, is a reprint edition comprising 368 pages. This literary fiction follows the story of Alice Pilling, a timid young girl whose life is transformed by the arrival of the enigmatic Jem McCrail. As Jem introduces Alice to a vibrant world filled with culture and humor, their friendship blossoms amidst the backdrop of school life and literature, leading Alice on a journey that challenges her perceptions and expectations.
Readers will find a narrative rich in whimsical elements and emotional depth as Alice navigates her formative years, marked by the fleeting presence of Jem. The story explores themes of friendship, self-discovery, and the impact of extraordinary experiences on ordinary lives. With references to literature and music, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute, this edition invites readers to delve into a world where the mundane is infused with enchantment and adventure.
Official synopsis Publisher
Jem McCrail is a fantastical godsend to the timid young Alice Pilling. “Like a dropped acorn,” she appears halfway through the week, halfway through the term, and halfway through Miss Aldridge’s Silent Reading Hour. Through the doorway she barely clears, wearing clothes like the urchin she encountered in her favorite P. G. Wodehouse story, Jem leads the stammering Alice into a world of culture, truancy, and bizarrerie–a world far beyond the dull lessons of school. The girls cultivate a steadfast bond based on a wicked and encircling sense of humor, an impish joy in indelicate literature, and Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Then, as abruptly as she came, Jem disappears.
The years and schools that follow, as well as the lovers, do not dim the image of the wondrous Jem. The disheartened Alice is almost ready to settle into an ordinary life when an accident and the intervention of a latter-day fallen angel impel her to go on one more wild and extravagant journey. Like the opera it echoes, the result is pure enchantment.
“Why did it take me so long to discover the singular joys of Barbara Trapido’s novels? Why, for so many years, had I missed these witty, soulful, heartbreaking, expansive, brilliant tales? I have become a literary evangelist on her behalf. On account of my badgering, all my friends now love her, too.I won’t rest until everyone in America has read (and fallen in love with) this fabulous author.” –Elizabeth Gilbert
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