Rosamunde Pilcher has had a long and distinguished career as a novelist and short-story writer, but it was her phenomenally successful novel "The Shell Seekers" that captured the hearts of all who read it and won her international recognition as one of the most-loved storytellers of our time. My favorite of Pilcher's 14 works, up until "Winter Solstice," was "Voices in Summer."

In a recent interview Pilcher, now 75 years young, stated that "Winter Solstice" may be her last novel, but that you never know what's going to happen. I laughed on that one as she is so right. Writers' never know when their muse will grab them by the hand and lead them back through the bramble bushes on yet another adventure.

"Winter Solstice" has all the warmth and wit her fans expect, but it has something fresh and surprising as well. The author will no doubt draw a whole new audience with her story of tragedy and renewal. The story contains something for all ages; from the winter loves of our lives through the "thirty somethings" and even a touch of young love just coming into spring bud.

First on the scene is one Elfrida Phipps, a retired actress from London with a bit of a checkered past who moves with her newly acquired dog Horace to Dibton, Hampshire. Elfrida (don't you love that name?) is so vibrant and alive you want to hug her. She tints her hair some sort of strawberry color that usually comes out orange, wears odd colors and styles of clothing, because she believes looking bizarre is the best way of boosting her confidence. She is also as warm as your own best friend. Elfrida walks into your heart and mind and sets up home.

The village of Dibton caught my fancy. Pilcher's colorful narrative extolling the virtues of this hamlet delight all the senses. When Elfrida's friends from her theater days in London visit her they need reassurance of the suitability of Dibton for their dear friend. With no qualms, Elfrida says, "This is where I'll spend the twilight of my years."

Sorry Alfreda, fate has a twist in a store for you: A twist of fate that includes Elfrida's new best friends Oscar and Gloria Blundell, and a raft of enchanting characters that take your breath away.

When tragedy strikes, and Gloria and her daughter Francesca are killed in a car accident, Elfrida agrees to go with Oscar to his northern Scotland estate. Actually he owns only half the estate house. His cousin, a real rascal, owns the other half. Nevertheless, the two friends settle into the austere Scottish village of Cregan, Sutherland. Oscar is not a naturally domesticated man who can do for himself and Elfrida is a major comfort to him.

The simple routine these two set up is soon disrupted by the arrival of Carrie, an attractive 30-year-old relative of Elfrida's, and Carrie's niece, 14-year-old Lucy. Christmas is almost upon them and both Oscar and Elfrida become embroiled in setting up an appropriate Holiday for the two visitors.

Sam Howard enters the scene when he is transferred to Scotland by his London firm to reestablish a well-known woolen mill. On the winter solstice--the shortest and darkest day of the year--these five people come together and are forever changed.

Pilcher combines eloquence and compassion to create realistic characters who truly reveal the way we all live and love, and in this captivating story, brings her readers into the lives of five very different, but equally intriguing people. The novel is engrossing and contains all the trademark Pilcher qualities that readers have come to cherish. This is done without the use of vulgar language or graphic sexual detail. Her elegant descriptions of the beautiful Scottish seaside are gracefully presented without undue elaboration.

"Winter Solstice" is indeed a heartfelt story of loneliness, sacrifice, romance, love, and finally, redemption. All of these qualities have all but disappeared from American fiction, and it is such a pleasure to have them all come together in this remarkable novel.

(Jones is a published writer & literary critic)