From Ann Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth, comes a powerful, richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.
From Ann Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth, comes a powerful, richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Find The Dutch House Ann Patchett in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find The Dutch House Ann Patchett in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
6 books in catalog
Acclaimed contemporary fiction and memoir often explore complex human relationships, family dynamics, and unexpected bonds, as demonstrated in the international bestseller Bel Canto. Ann Patchett has built a wide-ranging literary career featuring award-winning novels, personal essays, and memoirs that examine empathy, community, and domestic life. Her works, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Dutch House and the #1 New York Times bestseller Tom Lake, frequently highlight acts of kindness and the intricate connections between people navigating hardship and change.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Ann Patchett moved with her family to Nashville, Tennessee at age six. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and later earned her M.F.A. at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. In 1990, during a residential fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, she wrote her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars, which was named a New York Times Notable Book for 1992. She followed this success with her second novel, Taft (1994), which was awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction. Her breakthrough came with her fourth novel, Bel Canto (2001), which won both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction while selling more than a million copies in the United States. Alongside her fiction, she published Truth & Beauty in 2004, a memoir chronicling her long friendship with author Lucy Grealy during Grealy's struggle with and death from cancer. Patchett served as the guest editor for Best American Short Stories 2006 and went on to author novels such as Run, State of Wonder, Commonwealth, The Dutch House, Tom Lake, and Whistler. In addition to her writing, she is an independent bookstore owner in Nashville and was awarded the National Humanities Medal.
Patchett's narrative approach centers on deep character development, interpersonal warmth, and the emotional complexities of human nature. Her fiction often brings disparate groups of people together in confined or unusual settings, testing their resilience and capacity for empathy. Rather than focusing on cynicism, her storytelling emphasizes kindness, moral choices, and the subtle ways individuals form unexpected communities. In her memoirs and personal essays, including Truth & Beauty, she reflects candidly on friendship, mortality, artistic devotion, and the craft of writing. Her expansive fiction and reflective prose offer readers intimate examinations of family secrets, memory, and the enduring power of human connection.
6 books in catalog
Acclaimed contemporary fiction and memoir often explore complex human relationships, family dynamics, and unexpected bonds, as demonstrated in the international bestseller Bel Canto. Ann Patchett has built a wide-ranging literary career featuring award-winning novels, personal essays, and memoirs that examine empathy, community, and domestic life. Her works, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Dutch House and the #1 New York Times bestseller Tom Lake, frequently highlight acts of kindness and the intricate connections between people navigating hardship and change.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Ann Patchett moved with her family to Nashville, Tennessee at age six. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and later earned her M.F.A. at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. In 1990, during a residential fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, she wrote her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars, which was named a New York Times Notable Book for 1992. She followed this success with her second novel, Taft (1994), which was awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction. Her breakthrough came with her fourth novel, Bel Canto (2001), which won both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction while selling more than a million copies in the United States. Alongside her fiction, she published Truth & Beauty in 2004, a memoir chronicling her long friendship with author Lucy Grealy during Grealy's struggle with and death from cancer. Patchett served as the guest editor for Best American Short Stories 2006 and went on to author novels such as Run, State of Wonder, Commonwealth, The Dutch House, Tom Lake, and Whistler. In addition to her writing, she is an independent bookstore owner in Nashville and was awarded the National Humanities Medal.
Patchett's narrative approach centers on deep character development, interpersonal warmth, and the emotional complexities of human nature. Her fiction often brings disparate groups of people together in confined or unusual settings, testing their resilience and capacity for empathy. Rather than focusing on cynicism, her storytelling emphasizes kindness, moral choices, and the subtle ways individuals form unexpected communities. In her memoirs and personal essays, including Truth & Beauty, she reflects candidly on friendship, mortality, artistic devotion, and the craft of writing. Her expansive fiction and reflective prose offer readers intimate examinations of family secrets, memory, and the enduring power of human connection.
