30+ years ago, when I first read it, I would have given this book a solid 5 stars. But the older cynical me has dropped one. Why? There were too many things that just jarred with me as wrong. Penelope, the heroine, is seen by everyone, including herself, as old. She's 64! Did we really think of 64-year-olds as old in the 1980s. Two of her children are set up as "baddies", just after her money, but they are largely two-dimensional characters, and whilst their motives are understandable, they do seem rather two-dimensional characters. In contrast, the sympathetic characters are almost too good to be true. Particularly Antonia. If any 18-year-old was ever actually that self-c0ontrolled and adult it would be scary.
BUT - I did enjoy this book. The atmosphere of the different settings - particularly Cornwall in the War years - was perfect and evocative; I loved the to-and-fro in time structure of the book, and the story kept me interested to the end. (Even if the end was predictable.)