The Shell Seekers is pleasant escape reading. The kind of book good as an airplane or beach read in the summer or with a cup of tea by the fire in the winter. I recognized the stereotypes of siblings that Pilcher describes as being representative of my own family members. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting -- a few places in England. The story was fairly predictable yet I was compelled to keep reading to see if it turned out as I expected. It did. I don't feel I was a better person for having read this book, but I did enjoy it and appreciated the escape.

I just love Rosamunde Pilcher, and this is probably the best and most popular of her books. Old fashioned sensibilities, but appealing to the most modern of us. A beautiful story.

This novel is an all-time favorite in my much-loved collection of Rosamunde Pilcher books. I first read this book in the late 1980s and loved it.
The book centers around Penelope Keeling who is sixty-four and the daughter of an (now famous) artist whose work went for pennies while he was alive. Penelope has a few pieces of his work left including The Shell Seekers. Two of her three children, selfishly, want the painting sold and the third wants her to be happy doing with the artwork as she pleases. However, there's so much more to this beautiful story that is truly entrancing. The interactions between Penelope and her adult children are interesting and believable. Each chapter focuses on a different character (family, friends and loves) and their relationship with her.
Then Penelope's need to return to her childhood home is intense and she invites each of her adult children to go with her. Each refuses for one reason or another, so she takes two cherished young friends on a pilgrimage into her past that changes their destinies. The lost love, friends and family are so real, with their powerful emotions and everyday problems that we all encounter.
I was incredibly moved by the end of this book and found it even more warm and heartfelt than the first time I read it.

I read this book in the late 1980s and loved it. I went on to read all of Rosamunde Pilcher's work. The Shell Seekers is an all time favorite. When I think of it I think of pulling on a well loved soft sweater on chilly day or sipping a flavored tea on a gray afternoon. It is a just a wonderful read. I think I am going to read it again - almost 20 years later and I'm sure it will bring the same joy. I hightly and often recommend "The Shell Seekers".

I found this book while rifling through my best friend's library. As an avid reader of the classics, I was amused to find what I thought to be a romance novel hidden away in the back for no one to find. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. What a truly entrancing book. Ms. Pilcher's writing made me feel as though I was standing right next to Penelope as we went through her sad yet wonderful life. This is more than just a "vacation read", it is a book I want to have around for my daughter to discover some day.