Enjoyed the book although go on for a bit at times

Haven't read any BTB in ages and have completely forgotten how good she is. Really liked this book and empathised with the characters in it. Love all the description of the clothes and houses - BTB is very good at that and I like being able to imagine what the characters are wearing or how the houses look. It was a bit cheesy at some points but not too distracting. Must read some more!

An old but good book.

I really enjoyed this book; following each generation working hard to reach their goal.
I love Barbara Taylor Bradford's style of writing and her books always make me feel good.

I haven't read a Barbara Bradford book in many years but it was a reminder of how her stories were family sagas filled with humanity and how ordinary people can rise and do good in the world.

Bradford, Barbara Taylor

Lacks depth, does not hold attention midway through Audra's story.

I really enjoyed this book, but felt that I'd read it before. As usual Barbara Taylor-Bradford writes a wonderful story.

Three generations of women: Audra; left with nothing when orphaned, her daughter, Christina; as talented as her mother and the grandchild, Kyle. All you might expect from B. Taylor Bradford, she doesn’t disappoint. Descriptions of the times (1920’s - 1960’s) are educational but, I’m afraid, the sex scenes don’t need bearing out so graphically for me - at least they are few and far between. Generally enjoyable.

This is a three generation story of different "Acts of Will" done by daughter to mother or mother to daughter. Audra married a man below her class and almost divorced him, but something kept them together, for fifty years, They produced a wonderfully talented artist Christina. Audra gave up everything to give her daughter a future as an artist/landscape painter. Christina grew up to adore her parents but also to feel guilty that her mother was still working so hard to support her non-guarantee of a promising future. Christina took her future into her own hands and opens a "clothing store" chain, which becomes world known. Christina gets married and has a child, a girl, and before she realizes it, her daughter Kyle, want to be a landscape painter, not clothing designer. Christina is forced to remember, your life is your own.

Favorite quotes and moments:

"She had come to the realization that love was not necessarily enough to sustain a relationship. A couple had to be able to live together in harmony if a marriage was going to be successful. Seeming she and her husband could not seem to do that. They were tearing each other apart with angry, hurtful words that were sometimes hard to retract later."

"If she did ask him, he would consider it, might even do it. but one day he would regret it, and she would regret it even more. To ask this man whom she loved so desperately to sacrifice his career would mean that she did not love him at all."

"She reaps the benefits of all that we sacrificed for each other, and that's not such a bad thing...and in letting her go, you have kept her for always."

It's been a while since I've read a well-written novel after ploughing into the young adult world of today's authors. As soon as I saw the name Barbara Bradford, I knew I had to have this because it had been a while since I read any of her work.
Act of Will tells the story of three generations of women, beginning from Audra who lost her parents at a young age. Audra wasn't necessarily poor but she lived a comfortable life with her two brothers until her mother passed and she was forced to live with her evil aunt.
Her brothers move to Australia and she takes up a job as a student nurse at an infirmiry. This is where she meets her best friend, Gwen and her life improves somewhat when she is hired by Mrs.Bell as a nanny. The Bell family were filthy rich but they were kind-hearted and took to Audra immediately.
During a function with the Bells, Audra meets Vincent and promptly falls in love with him, marrying him after 5 months of dating.
Three women who succeed their mothers dream until it becomes an empire. They challenge their role in society as dedicated working women while holding their own as wives and mothers.
Art was Audra's greatest talent but she chose nursing much to the chargrin of her husband, to pay for her daughter, Christina's tuition for art. Christina however makes her own path and becomes a succesful business woman using her creative talents, to make her parents proud. Third in generation is Kyle, as strong-willed as her mother and grand-mother, she's determined to make her own future.
The novel has strong similarities with Love-Makers  by [Author: Judith Gould] which is another one of my favourites.
What a great read! I'd recommend it to anyone tired of today's badly-written hogwash.

3rd one, liked it