Rhys Bowen is a publishing phenomenon. Churning out bestseller after bestseller, her homespun novels cover a wide range of topics that keep her readers coming back for more. MRS. ENDICOTT’S SPLENDID ADVENTURE surely will delight the masses and have the streaming services fighting over who makes the film version (my money is on Netflix). After all, a woman conquering hardship to march stalwartly into a new phase of her life with renewed independence and fortitude is a sure thing, no matter what era one is reading such stories.

"MRS. ENDICOTT’S SPLENDID ADVENTURE surely will delight the masses and have the streaming services fighting over who makes the film version... A book like this can transform an ordinary day into something truly spectacular."

Ellie Endicott is a kind, gentle person who has never hurt a fly. She always has dinner ready, has nary a hair out of place, and lilts about her life, putting everyone she knows in front of her --- especially her husband, Lionel, an upstanding English gentleman. However, while Ellie is keeping everything just so, Lionel is at the bank falling in love with a twentysomething hire who he has decided he must marry. Therefore, he does not ask but tells Ellie that her wifely services are no longer needed. She has to go off on her own as he must make space for his new love.

This is Surrey, England, 1938, not exactly a time when women who were cast out of their homes had much in the way of options for restarting their lives. Ellie allows Lionel their beautiful country estate but decides to load up the Bentley with housekeeper Mavis and elderly friend Dora --- both of whom also need to start anew --- and head towards the South of France, primed for adventure.

Their journey ends in the fishing hamlet of Saint Benet when the Bentley breaks down. Ellie finds her makeshift family a home in a villa on a hill and quickly adjusts to their new environment. The friendliest among the residents is Nico, a good-looking fisherman who finds Ellie interesting. However, as the ladies settle in, the war is moving towards them, offering a taste of danger and uncertainty into what seemed like an almost miraculous saving grace.

Bowen is very wise about her ladies. There are no wee biddies in her books --- only resilient, inquisitive, caring women with strong minds, hearts and souls for whom an abandoned child or an unjust war cannot keep them down. There are so many sweet moments in the novel, especially as Ellie tries to explain her life with her difficult and diffident Lionel to the freewheeling folks she encounters. Although her disappointment is clear, it is not going to undo her “splendid adventure.” She is determined to break off from her old life and, carrying no regrets, take on the French countryside, which is so alive with character, food, beautiful flowers and the delicate pretense of new love.

If you are just taking your summer holiday now, MRS. ENDICOTT’S SPLENDID ADVENTURE is the perfect accompaniment. It will hold sway over all your decisions and turn cloudy, humid skies into the brightest blue swath possible. A book like this can transform an ordinary day into something truly spectacular. So make sure this one is in your suitcase, ready to go.