Audio Book

My Dear Aunt Flora

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By Elizabeth Cadell

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I hope I have this right, but I listened to this on Audible so there is no way I can realistically check my facts. Our narrator, Jonquil, “Jonny” and Phyl grew up together in the same home headed by Aunt Flora along with Phyl’s brothers, George and Hugh. Flora was Jonny’s mother’s best friend and was taken in by her when her parents died. Jonny ended up marrying Hugh, and Phyl married Hugh’s best friend, Tom. Phyl and Jonny both were widowed at the same time due to an automobile wreck, and Jonny was left with two young children. Phyl and Jonny live together and the book begins when they decide to escape their dreary cramped apartment and move to “Rushing” a large but old and dilapidated cottage (it doesn’t even have an indoor toilet!) in the middle of nowhere.

This is what is known as a “slice-of-life” novel, which is a type of novel I read a lot of. It focuses on the largely unremarkable happenings and relationships of everyday life. Gentle humor, unusual characters, and the joy of living are key. At least in the novels of this type that I read. Needless to say, there is usually a satisfactory if understated romance which provides closure and a happy prospect for the characters we have come to feel invested in. Atmosphere and ambiance are key. The ones I read are usually set in the English or Scottish countryside and set at least 50 years ago. True to form, nothing much happens in this one until the previously mentioned George comes to stay at Rushing Farm. It’s not specifically stated what’s wrong with him, but he has been ordered by his doctor to “rest.” So I’m guessing nervous breakdown. George is a famous actor and something of a babe magnet. He is also spoiled, entitled, and a prima donna. The family loves George, but they don’t like him very much. They are confident that as soon as he gets a load of Rushing’s primitive conditions, he will quickly leave for less spartan accommodations far far away.

At first I was somewhat entertained by George and his angry incredulity over what he was asked to put up with at Rushing Farm. The women pretty much just take him in stride. They don’t know how to “just say no” but they are not complete doormats either. They know that George will not be able to stand being in the middle of nowhere for long and are not majorly inconvenienced by George’s whims and megrims. The stage is set on the first day when George confiscates Jonny’s son Paul’s bedroom for his own. To meet his standards, he then hijacks various pieces of furniture and decor from Phyl, Jonny, and Flora’s rooms. When they object, he bosses them and manipulates them into agreeing. But the more George complains, the happier the family is because the sooner he will leave. That is, until Angela ,the aunt of a summer guest of Jonnie’s daughter, comes to visit. She is gorgeous, sweet, down-to-earth and couldn’t be less interested in George, despite his glamor and fame. George, on the other hand, falls head over heels for the first time in his life.

All of the main characters were likable but boring. There are two romances involved, one was a foregone conclusion with no “will they or won’t they” tension to be had. George and Angela’s story had a little more suspense, but Angela deserved better even if the reader comes to understand and be reconciled to George a little more by the end. Jonnie, who I guess is our main character because everything is seen through her eyes, is the most boring of all. Her primary personality traits are competence, quietude, and inarticulateness. Phyl is charmingly lazy and Aunt Flora is wise, no-nonsense, and caring. A romance for Jonnie is threatened but is nipped in the bud by her disinterest. The book just kind of ends with the wedding of one of the characters which is a hair’s breath from ending in disaster. Or what would pass for disaster in this gentle world. There were some unanswered questions which are not my favorite. Why was Flora’s cousin so anxious to talk to her, what secret will he impart that threatens the family’s equanimity? We never know. If there ever was one. There were some amusing bits where I kind of chuckled. The most exciting and funniest part was near the end where Jonnie finally loses her temper. It was all very low-stakes. The quirky characters were not quirky enough. After I read this, I found out this was Cadell’s first book and I readily believed it. It explained a lot. Still it was lovely and charming enough to earn 3 stars from me.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Shuttle

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By Frances Hodgson Burnett

This was just a terrific book with an indomitable heroine who should be as famous and celebrated as…well, I can’t think of a universally famous one who is comparable to Bettina Vanderpoel. Not that there aren’t plenty of brave, cool-headed, perspicacious, kind-hearted, and public spirited heroines in literature, you understand. But I just can’t think of one that embodies all of those qualities at once. I reckon Hermione Granger comes closest. Except Bettina (Betty) is also beautiful, charming, charismatic and a gabillionaire. I could compare her with Philippa Somerville of the Lymond Chronicles but Philippa is as unfamous as Betty. Neither would make an official top 10 list of most admirable fictional female characters how ever much they deserve to. If Betty sounds like a heroine who is flawless and therefore not your cup of tea, I wouldn’t blame you. But let me assure you that she is up against a villain so repulsive and dastardly and is fighting for causes so righteous, that you will root for her every step of the way. Not to mention she has to live in a world (late Victorian England) in which the deck was stacked against women who dared to not suffer in silence. I did not begrudge her one ounce of her power whether it came from her beauty, character, or wealth. Because she needed it all. And even then all of her gifts may not have been enough to save a woman of substance’s most precious commodity of that or almost any era: her reputation.

It’s been 12 years since Bettina had seen her older sister, Rosalie, after her marriage to an English Lord, Nigel Anstruthers. Bettina was 9 years old when Rosalie left New York City and went to live in England on his estate and virtually vanished from her and her loving parents’ lives. The first 4 chapters of the book are Rosalie’s. Thank God it wasn’t more, because reading of her life with Nigel was painful indeed. Debt-ridden Lord Anstruthers of course married naive and sweet Rosalie not for love, but for her considerable fortune. He starts to manipulate and gaslight the poor girl on the ship over as soon as she leaves her family’s protection. By the time we mercifully leave her and start to focus on Bettina, Rosalie, systematically crushed and isolated for years, is lying on the floor, a victim of a violent attack, fearing for her unborn baby, and about to lose control of her money to her scheming and merciless husband and his malignant mother.

Bettina never liked or trusted Nigel and had long planned, when she was old enough, to find Rosalie and make sure she was OK. Unlike her parents, Betty never believed that Rosalie had turned her back on her family after she became a grand titled English lady. We get a recounting of Betty’s maturation from a formidable child to a beautiful young woman and her formal and informal education. In addition to being educated at elite academies all over Europe, her father, seeing her intelligence and good sense, had her accompany him all over the United States while looking over his business concerns. She gained an invaluable education from him and he in turn came to trust her judgement and even seek out her advice. So when Betty finally feels she is in a position to rescue Rosy (if she even needs rescuing) she not only has her own gifts at her command but the respect and trust of her father, one of the most powerful and wealthiest men in America.

When Bettina gets to Stornham Court, Nigel’s estate, things are even worse for Rosalie and her disabled son than she imagined. Nigel has taken over control of Rosalie’s money and is living it up in the fleshpots of Europe. Both Rosalie and his estate are in shambles. During Nigel’s lengthy absence, Bettina sets about putting things in order on the estate and in the community at large. Under Bettina’s tender care Rosalie starts to recover her former bloom and what little spirit she had before her marriage. Her sister makes friends with both the high born and low born in the county, and prepares for Nigel’s inevitable return, which I began every chapter dreading. It happens in Chapter 33 (of 50). Now one would assume that Nigel would slither away without a peep in the face of Bettina’s powers. But he is clever, arrogant, entitled and kind of insane. Also he holds some powerful cards in his hands. Not the least of which is his position as a man and a titled one. And Bettina is secretly in love with the poor but proud owner of the neighboring estate, which makes her vulnerable. To extricate Rosie and her son Ughtred (why, Frances, why???) while preserving their reputations and futures as well as those of various innocent bystanders, the battle between Bettina and Nigel must be conducted with subtlety and finesse. A war of attrition rather than a no holds barred onslaught.

In its unabridged form this book is over 500 pages. In addition to the chess game between Nigel and Betty, we go into the background and character of Lord Mount Dunstan, the love interest, their beautiful romance, various country people on the estate or in the village, an American typewriter salesman, society balls and parties, and an outbreak of typhoid fever. Everything ties together and ends in a rousing climax, resolution, and fates well earned. I’ve focused on the plot in this review, but we also are treated to FHB’s descriptive passages and reflections, insights into the Gilded age and dollar princesses, and the qualities of America v. England. America wins. Great movies have been made of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved children’s books A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. I even enjoyed the film based on one of her other adult novels, The Making of a Marchioness. Why not this one? This book has everything. Is it the title? I listened to this book on Audible read by Katherine Brooks who was very good.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Catch of the Day

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by Kristan Higgins

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I enjoyed re-listening to The Perfect Match so much that I looked for another KH novel I hadn’t read or listened to in a while. This is one of her first books, and one of the first by the author I read. I was surprised to see that I hadn’t already done a review of it. Or maybe Goodreads swallowed it before I could get it on my blog. Although our heroine Maggie is straight out of the Kristan playbook, her hero is one of a kind. Many of her readers would say, “ Thank Goodness!” But I liked him when I wasn’t periodically shaking my head at the same things that drove Maggie up the wall. The two were complete opposites and in some ways served as antidotes to each other. When Maggie got too puppydogish for me, Malone was there to provide balance, and vice versa

Maggie, as many of her heroines are, is a warm and generous “giver.” She cuts her elderly tenants toe nails, she employs a developmentally disabled teen to help in her diner, babysits her niece at the drop of a hat. She pays her head cook more than she, as the owner of a diner, makes herself. She is a good deed doer and she is devoted to her dog. Kristan Higgins never describes her characters’ personalities but shows us what they are about by their words and actions. And almost all of the characters are layered with good and bad qualities like real people. One example is Maggie’s difficult mother. She is very unlikable and insensitive. Yet, she has a kind of endearing malapropism quirk. She’s always full of advice and helpful platitudes: “When the Lord closes a door, a window breaks,” and “A rolling stone gathers no dirt” come to mind. Later we find out there is more to her than meets the eye, although she will always be more Mommie Dearest than Marmee. You can’t hate a person too much who also makes you laugh. And their relationship at the end is in a good place. But I digress.

Maggie is a single 33 year old who longs for a husband and family of her own like her twin sister Christy. Three things have gotten in the way of this. She was rudely and publicly dumped in front of her whole town by her longtime boyfriend after they graduated from college. (Yet Skip and his sweet wife are a happy family with three daughters-so as always, KH doesn’t take the obvious path). The pickings of good eligible men in her home town of Gideon’s Cove are pretty slim. And she is in love with the local parish priest. And unfortunately he is Roman Catholic, not Episcopalian. After a series of disastrous and funny blind dates (which were to become a KH mainstay in her future books), she finally meets her destiny in Malone, “Maloner the Loner”, a local lobster man. This happens not until almost a third of the way into the book. Maggie has lots of other things to talk about to the reader. That’s another of her character traits. She is a blabbermouth. Not a gossip, but an over-sharer who starts to babble when she feels uncomfortable, which is rather a lot of the time. Malone is completely opposite to Maggie: very unsociable, brooding, and mysterious. He gives new meaning to “the strong silent type” hero. Neither Maggie nor the reader even know his first name till the very end of the book. Yet he is a very hard worker, is genuinely respected, even liked by the community, and has a daughter he loves and is seen to unbend with when she visits. Every so often Maggie thinks she detects a quirk in his lips that might be a smile and that he just might have a sense of humor behind his dour exterior. Also Maggie’s dog likes him, and he has come to Maggie’s rescue twice: Once on an 10 mile walk home after a bike crash, and once from social humiliation when she is stood up by one of her blind dates. After that incident, Maggie and Malone finally start seeing each other.

Most of the rest of their relationship consists of Maggie trying to get two words in a row out of Malone. He is very uncommunicative and Maggie has no idea what their relationship really is. The reader is similarly in the dark about what is going on in his head. Meanwhile Maggie is the opposite of that. For the most part, I loved this tension of their completely opposite personalities. Something had to give. Malone was very much an enigma and this fostered a lot of anticipation of what was going on. We know him and his feelings by his actions not his words. At one point, Maggie dresses up as her twin to confront Father Tim about something and no one sees through her disguise except Malone. From across the street.

On this re-read, there were some things that bothered me more than before. I don’t really have a major problem with Embarrassment Humor as such, as long as it’s funny. But there was an incident with Maggie getting drunk and hurtling towards public doom that was really yikes. I didn’t like it when she hears part of a conversation (while sneaking around and eavesdropping no less) and jumps to an insulting conclusion about Malone. She does not handle it well. I really did not like her for this part of the book. But Malone’s reaction when she finally comes to her senses was just as frustrating. I didn’t know which one to be more disgusted with or side with. Another character that bothered me this time was Father Tim. He was described as such a good, kind, and compassionate man and the perfect priest. But he takes advantage of Maggie’s generosity and willingness to volunteer her services to the church in the name of friendship. She wasn’t even an active member. He should have been doing his best to keep his distance, but he did just the opposite. It kind of gave me the creeps at times, although no lines were crossed. In the end, we see his loneliness and it’s a bit sad. Thankfully, although she still had a soft spot for him, her crush on Father Tim was pretty much at an end as soon as she gets together with Malone.

Maggie has a more clear-eyed view of herself and Father Tim by the end of the book. As lovable as she is, Maggie had some work to do on herself as well. As does Malone who has also learnt some things and changed for the better. I thought it was a nice touch that though she is far from religious, she realizes that church may have something to offer her besides a handsome priest. We get a peek at Gideon’s Cove and Joe’s Diner in a subsequent book and all is well with Maggie and Malone.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

A Fair Barbarian

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By Frances Hodgson Burnett

This early novella by Frances Hodgson Burnett of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess fame, was very much in the tradition of those stories that feature a visitor from afar whose different outlook on life transforms a person, a family, or even a whole town for the better. In the stories (or films) I am talking about, the transformation is not mutual. The visitor remains steadfast, it is the people around her that change. Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter, Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. It’s been compared to Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, but I haven’t read that one. And Maybe Silas Marner by George Eliot. Heck, what about Footloose or Sister Act?

I love the title of this book. Octavia Bassett is anything but a “barbarian.” If a little dashing and open-mannered, she is also well-behaved, kind, beautiful and classy. But she is from America, and in Slowbridge, “It was not considered in good taste to know Americans.” For sure not ones from “Bloody Gulch,” a small mining town in Nevada, where Octavia’s father made his fortune. She is a bit different from the young ladies in the small English enclave: she is self confident and unintimidated by the disapproval she encounters, particularly in the person of Lady Theobald, who rules insular Slowbridge with an iron hand. All of society must bend their behavior to her idea of what is gentile, proper, and correct. Particularly her sweet granddaughter Lucia. When Octavia arrives to stay with her meek and mild Aunt Belinda her effect on the town is much like a “tremor in the force.” Not that she does anything so shocking even by the standards of most of Victorian England, but it is how this town reacts to her. She wears beautiful gowns and jewelry, her hair is worn stylishly (curls on her forehead!), and she doesn’t just speak when she is spoken to but actually tries to have two-way conversations. She is not only seen but heard.

There is not a lot of action. The big climax occurs when a garden party is arranged without Lady Theobald’s blessing. Meanwhile Lucia has found some backbone thanks to Octavia’s example and influence. She has fallen in love with an unsuitable suitor while Lady Theobald is arranging a more conventional marriage for her. Unfortunately her first choice seems to have fallen under Octavia’s inevitable spell. The writing, descriptions, and the Austen-like satiric and humorous tone are the attraction here. I was also reminded of The Miss Buncle Books by D.E. Stevenson.

Satisfactory outcomes were had by all including an unhappy one for Lady Theobald. There was a slightly unexpected twist in the quickly wrapped up end. Or maybe it just seemed too quickly wrapped up because I just wanted more of Octavia Bassett. The narrator, Anne Hancock, of this Audible book perfectly voiced our main character. It reminded me of the raspy distinctive tones an old movie star, Jean Arthur, whose voice, as described by Edward G. Robinson, “grated like fresh peppermint.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Northanger Abbey

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by Jane Austen

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Although I had never read this novel before, I knew the plot backwards and forwards thanks to the two BBC productions I have watched numerous times. Also I listened to an abridged version several years ago. I had started Val McDermid’s modern re-working of Northanger Abbey and it was not going well. It started me to thinking, “why am I reading this, when I still haven’t actually read the real one”? I decided to listen to it again since I have had the unabridged version in my Audible library for years. It was very funny right from the the start. It did go well. Of course I knew all the ins and outs of the plot. But I probably would have enjoyed it more if it were the first go round of any kind. Also, I suspect I would have picked up even more of the humor if I had read it on the page.

The book begins with Jane Austen informing the reader of all reasons why Catherine Morland, our heroine, is not suited to the role. In fact, The Narrator (Austen) pulls no punches in eviscerating Catherine and detailing her lack of heroic qualities. Brains? Nope.

She never could learn or understand anything before she was taught; and sometimes not even then, for she was often inattentive, and occasionally stupid.

Beauty? Nope

…and Catherine, for many years of her life [was] as plain as any. She had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features…” No mention of “speaking, twinkling, intelligent, or laughing gray eyes, you will notice. But… At fifteen, appearances were mending…she had now the pleasure of sometimes hearing her father and mother remark on her personal improvement. “Catherine grows quite a good-looking girl-she is almost pretty today.”

Talents and accomplishments? Nope.

Her taste for drawing was not superior. though whenever she could obtain…any…odd piece of paper, she did what she could in that way, by drawing houses and trees, hens and chickens, all very much like one another. Writing and accounts she was taught by her father; French by her mother: her proficiency in either was not remarkable, and she shirked her lessons in both whenever she could. What a strange, unaccountable character!—

I laughed aloud at the idea of a house, a tree and a chicken looking very much alike. After being assured that Catherine’s father “is not the least addicted to locking up his daughters” we read that her mother was a woman of useful plain sense, with a good temper, and, what is more remarkable, with a good constitution.”

So having assured us that Catherine does not fit the mold of a Gothic heroine she eventually plops her in the middle of a plot worthy of any respectable gothic romance. In her own mind. For Catherine is a little obsessed with gothic novels. Taken to Bath by well off family friends, Catherine is drawn in and befriended by the manipulative Isabella Thorpe and her crass brother who tries to worm his way into her affections. She also meets the upstanding and witty Henry Tilney and his nice sister Eleanor. Catherine develops a tendre for him and he seems to reciprocate her feelings. Eleanor invites her to their ancestral home, Northanger Abbey, for several weeks, and Catherine is in a state of shivery delight that the Tilney’s ancestral home is an actual Abbey.


Her passion for ancient edifices was next in degree to her passion for Henry Tilney…With all the chances against her of house, hall, place, park, court, and cottage, Northanger turned up an abbey…long damp passages…narrow cells and ruined chapel…the hope of some traditional legends, some awful memorials of an injured and ill-fated nun.”

Although unlike the films, the Abbey does not live up to her imagination, (not an “antique chimney”, dirt, or cobwebs in sight-Neither “awful forebodings of future miseries” nor “sighs of the murdered” either) she finds plenty of fuel for her fantasies. She convinces herself that Henry and Eleanor’s intimidating, strange-acting, and hot-tempered father murdered their mother (or possibly has her imprisoned somewhere in a secret cell.) When she is caught snooping in a place she should not be by Henry, he sets her straight and makes no bones about what he thinks of her deluded fantasies. In the face of his disdainful take-down she comes to her senses with a decided ker-plunk. (But he still likes her.) Ironically, it is after her wake-up call when General Tilney genuinely does her a shocking cruelty and even puts her life in danger by his rude and heartless actions. So maybe not so detached from reality after all.

Although Catherine Morland is not the crispiest chip in the bag, I grew to like her very much. She is kind and good-hearted, and if she is sometimes silly it stems from naivety and innocence rather than brainlessness. I was completely won over by this passage:

[Henry Tilney] looked as handsome and as lively as ever, and was talking with interest to a fashionable and pleasing-looking young woman, who leant on his arm, and whom Catherine immediately guessed to be his sister; thus unthinkingly throwing away a fair opportunity of considering him lost to her forever, by being married already… he had never mentioned a wife, and he had acknowledged a sister. From these circumstances sprang the instant conclusion of his sister’s now being by his side; and therefore, instead of turning of a deathlike paleness and falling in a fit on Mrs. Allen’s bosom, Catherine sat erect, in the perfect use of her senses, and with cheeks only a little redder than usual.

And she shines in comparison to two other women in the story: Isabelle Thorpe and Mrs. Allen. Mrs. Allen makes Catherine seem sensible and resolute and Isabelle highlights Catherine’s virtues by being her opposite. That Catherine has been able to attract the friendship and liking of such a role model as Eleanor Tilney also speaks very well of her. And how can one be too hard on someone who is such a voracious reader of novels? Unfortunately, although witty and tolerant, I found Henry a bit prosy and self satisfied. Not as likable as the Henry Tilney of the films.


“Henry,” said Miss Tilney, “you are very impertinent. Miss Morland,…He is forever finding fault with me, for some incorrectness of language, and now he is taking the same liberty with you. The word “nicest,” as you used it, did not suit him…”Very true, said Henry, “and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything. Originally perhaps it was applied only to express…”

And blah blah blah.

But that aside, I found myself chuckling at the wry humor, admiring Austen’s characterizations, and the skewering of the gothic novels of her day. Even though I am an old Gothic reader myself, I am not at all tempted to read one of the many of Catherine’s reading list based on the little snatches we are favored with in Northanger Abbey. I now have read all of Jane Austen’s books except Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice several times. I guess you could say I’m saving it.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Sarah’s Cottage

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By D. E. Stevenson

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This was a perfectly enjoyable DES which pretty much picks up where Sarah Morris Remembers leaves off. Sarah and Charles are married and have built a cottage near Sarah’s grandparents on some land that they gifted to them.  I listened to this on Audible and the new narrator made the choice of losing Charles’ Austrian accent which was so much a part of his personality in “Remembers.” Sarah’s father who was so important in the preceding book stays in London and is very much on the back burner which was A-OK with me. At the end of Sarah Morris Remembers, the good vicar made me very angry by discounting Sarah’s frantic and confused insistence that she had seen her beloved Charles whom she feared dead. No matter how passionately she tried to convince him, he refused to believe her, which added to her pain and confusion. After Charles and Sarah are reunited at her grandparents house in Scotland (where she was sent to basically recover her sanity), I thought it was pretty significant that her father was not included in the joy of their reunion, nor even told, at least on the page, of Charles’ miraculous return.

A lot happens in this book, which spans, as near as I can make out, around 13 years. But there are two main plot threads. Sarah and Charles take Lottie and Clive’s neglected child, Freddy, under their wing. Lottie never wanted her (in SMR she wanted an abortion!) and treats her accordingly–only concerned with her own pleasure-seeking. Her father is not a bad man but  a non-entity in his daughters’ life whose only concern is running his business. Sarah and Charles only see Freddy  on some holiday breaks from her boarding school (Saint Elizabeth’s of Charlotte Fairlie!), but it is enough to guide her, give her safety, security, and what she most needs, love. A lot happens with Freddy, including her transformation from an ugly duckling to a swan and her almost falling victim to a cad and a fortune hunter.

The second is Charles becoming obsessed with writing a fictionalized account of his life. It totally takes over his life for about 6 months  and frankly he behaves like an asshole, neglecting and ignoring Sarah. To my relief, although she is vexed and frustrated, Sarah makes the best of it by developing friendships and having an adventure or two on her own. One of the friendships that she develops is with Deb and Mark of Celia’s House. And Celia herself to a lesser extent. Their children becomes Freddy’s playmates when she can come to them at Craignethan. (Although the title of this book is Sarah’s Cottage, The final almost half of the book is set at her grandparents’ large home, the cottage largely forgotten). Once his manuscript is finished, Charles gets back to normal (the book was basically therapy for his difficult life in Austria). But once he got everything out on the page, he refuses to have anything to do with it, giving it to Sarah. “ Do what you like with the wretched thing—burn it if you like!” What she does with it forms another satisfying story line.

Sarah didn’t always do or act the way I wanted her to. At times she came across as a little, as the British say, “wet.” She often excuses Lottie’s destructive and manipulative behavior and the harm she is doing to Freddy. There was a lack of insight and urgency to act. After 18 year old Freddy finally lays all of Lottie’s cruelties over the years on the line, and explains to Sarah why she wants nothing more to do with her mother, it’s “Oh Freddie, she does love you! I know she seems neglectful but that’s just her way. She cares for you, darling.” Uh No, Sarah, she does not. Honestly, I wanted to throttle her.  Freddy recounts even more horror stories, and finally Sarah gets it. I wanted a more dramatic and cathartic resolution, but in the end Sarah and Charles acted with wisdom and restraint in regards to Freddy. 

All in all this was almost equal to Sarah Morris Remembers. Sarah and Charles rarely disappointed me. I often feared how they would react to certain challenges, but if they let me down, it was only briefly and they always did the right thing in the end. It was quite episodic and I was often confused as far as the timeline. Sarah’s never having any dearly wanted children was never addressed sufficiently.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Sarah Morris Remembers

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By D. E. Stevenson

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Although I did anticipate enjoying this very much, the real reason why I chose this one, in the still many Stevenson titles I have left to read, is that it leads up to Sarah’s Cottage, one I have reason to believe might be a favorite. Fingers crossed.

Sarah Morris Remembers traces our heroine’s life as a child growing up with her loving parents, her two brothers, and a younger sister in their country vicarage home. It starts some years prior to WWII and takes us through the end of the war and Sarah’s reunion, after their separation, with the love of her life. We see her family and the world through her eyes as she is writing down her memories with help from her diaries.

When I started this story of my life I unpacked the diaries which I had kept in a large tin box and, as I turned over the pages, all sorts of things came back to me – things I had forgotten – and I realised I had plenty of material for a family chronicle. I had intended to write the story to amuse the family but I hadn’t got very far before I saw that I was faced with a difficult choice: either I could write a story about the family, suitable for the family to read, or else I could write a true story about everything that had happened to us all.…I saw quite clearly that the story would be no good unless it was true in every detail. I would write it for myself, for my own satisfaction; no eye but mine should ever see it and perhaps when I had finished it I should be able to see some sort of pattern in my life.

Although not a beauty like her kind and gentle mother and her little sister, Sarah is smart and spirited. And, nurtured by her parents, she has a very highly developed sense of morality. She is a very good girl. Sometimes a little too good to my liking, to be honest. But that is true of all DES heroes and heroines. It’s part of their charm and the comfort and joy of the books. Sarah, at least, is spunky and sensible to the last page. She and her siblings have an idyllic childhood: Lewis, the oldest, is handsome, smart, and their parents’ fair haired boy. Willie, like Sarah, is a bit of a rebel, and her little sister Lottie is pretty like a little doll and cossetted as the baby of the family. As the children grow up, Lottie becomes friends with a wealthy schoolmate whose family has her for weekends and vacations and she ends up more influenced by them than her own family. Although Lewis has a hankering to choose a military career, he complies with his mother and father’s wishes (especially his mother) and goes to Oxford. Willie and Sarah stand up against their well-meaning parents and fight for and follow their own dreams. One day, when Sarah is a young teen, Lewis brings home a good friend, Charles, who is Austrian. Although nothing untoward happens or is even hinted at, Sarah is drawn to him and, though he is 5 years older (possibly more), it is mutual. WWII is still a few years away, but Hitler is on the rise. We follow Sarah as she makes her way through her teens, while keeping tabs on the rest of her family and their highs and lows.

Sarah and Charles’ connection eventually leads to an engagement, but before they can be married Charles must come to the rescue of his noble and wealthy Austrian family who are threatened by the Nazis. He mysteriously and alarmingly disappears. Sarah bravely carries on with her father in war torn London, doing their bit, while waiting for her beloved Charles to return to her (hopefully).

This Stevenson is very romance-forward even though Charles and Sarah are separated throughout much of the book. Their love and passion (yes, passion in a D.E Stevenson!) are consummated before Charles leaves for Austria albeit with the belief he will return in a few weeks in time for their wedding. That has got to be a first for DES, and I thought it was worth mentioning. True to her original intent, Sarah tells the truth regardless of the foibles and weaknesses of herself, her parents, her brothers, and especially Lottie (Hoo Boy!). Even Charles comes across as a bit of an ass in one part, even though Sarah worships the ground he walks on. And Sarah rarely let me down.

Of course, because this is D.E.S., we spend some time in Scotland where her grandparents live near good ol’ Ryddelton. And yes, a certain ghostly carriage can sometimes be heard by certain people on certain nights. I’m hovering between 4 and 5 stars, so I’ll go with 4 1/2, leaving some room in case I like Sarah’s Cottage even more.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Language of the Heart (The Toy Sword)

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By Elizabeth Cadell

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This was Elizabeth Cadell at her finest. In most ways, it is a perfect example of the amusing old-fashioned English stories she writes. Everything typically revolves around a romance of varying importance to the plot, but there are always plenty of side stories and characters to entertain.

In the usual Cadell story, a nice, good, and attractive hero or heroine has somehow lost the plot and is not living his or her best life. They are often dominated by the wrong romantic partner. They leave the city for the country and find what is missing in their life. Usually, they are shown the way by getting involved, against their will, with someone who seems totally wrong for them, but turns out to be the right romantic partner after all. And throw in an eccentric character (usually elderly) or two that also contribute to our main character starting to see things in a different light. But this one set itself apart in more than a few ways:

  1. A more deliciously nasty than usual fiancé for our hero to escape from. After Edmund gets back from his little life-changing vacation in Portugal, he is (cluelessly) looking forward to reconnecting with his beautiful, dignified, and sensible Angela again. To his befuddlement, he is greeted by her horrible mother who returns Angela’s engagement ring. He has committed the ultimate sin of doing something counter to his strong-willed fiancé’s stated wishes (orders). She will not even speak to him until he fixes what (she thinks) he did. Edmund handles the situation with grace and dignity. Unfortunately for Angela, Edmund has started to get a new perspective on life in general and doesn’t come to heel immediately as she expected. This is thanks to meeting…
  2. Fran. And her little family while at his little farm in Portugal, Montebarca. She is a real charmer and the complete opposite of everyone he is used to: openhearted, kind, talkative, and spontaneous. To top it off, she loves and appreciates the primitive Montebarca, unlike his luxury-loving fiancé. She is made even more likable by …
  3. The narration by Anna Guerrier. She gave our heroine Fran a real Hayley Mills vibe, and I can’t imagine the rest of the characters any other way but how she interpreted them. I love the way she gave Edmund a quietness that was an intriguing contrast with Fran’s garrulous personality.
  4. Portugal. The author obviously knows and loves this country, and, as in many of her books, it becomes almost a third character. A metaphor exposing everything that is wrong with “London” Edmund and his normal life there. Edmund’s love for the country and his Montebarca reveal that he is a man worth saving from himself and his poor taste in fiancés.
  5. There was one really great confrontation between Fran and Edmund after Edmund finds out how Fran interfered in his life behind his back. Edmund really lets fly, telling her off, and as much as I loved Fran and her generous heart, I was like, “He’s right! How dare she!” Then Fran had a go defending herself and eviscerating his character, and I changed my mind again.
  6. There were some real surprises towards the end. Everything looked like it was wending its way predictably towards a lovely happy ending, but wait. Not so fast. There is a little secret that is revealed that puts a surprising new slant on Edmund’s two eccentric relatives he has given a home to and his supposed act of generosity towards them. And then all of our friends are confronted with scandal and infamy and end up in court. London is rocked. Didn’t expect that at all!

I can’t remember if justice is ever served to the meanies offstage in any of Cadell’s novels. But the comeuppances are front and center here. It was classic Cadell, but extra. An absolute delight.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sylvester, or The Wicked Uncle

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By Georgette Heyer

“Do you mean that I am redoubtable? Oh, you are quite mistaken!” “Am I? Then let us say intrepid!” She sighed. “I wish I were! The case is that I am a wretched coward.” “Your father gives you quite another character.” “I don’t fear fences.” “What, then?” “People – some people! To – to be slain by unkindness.” He looked at her with a slight frown…

Sylvester, or The Wicked Uncle has always been right on up there with my favorite Heyers. I think it’s because of the unusual heroine and the complex hero. Most of her heroines have charm to spare and are, if not extremely beautiful, at least attractive with some outstanding feature or another. Phoebe is a drab little “sparrow” who is only at home and comfortable in a stable. She has been bullied and dominated her whole life by a rigid and cold stepmother whose mission in life seems to be to beat every spark of Phoebe’s own unconventional personality out of her and into a model of perfect but insipid behavior. As for our hero, although a large percentage of Heyer heroes are formidable and proud, very few, like Sylvester, have to undergo growth and change in order to find their happy endings. Of course as in all romances, Heyer included, one or both individuals must change towards each other, but not their actual mentalities. In this novel, although Phoebe comes into her own to a certain extent, It is Sylvester’s journey to self awareness that is the significant one.

The Duke of Salford has decided it is time for him to do his duty, get married, and perpetuate the House of Rayne. He has prepared a list of five candidates for the honor of his hand each more well born, well behaved, charming, and beautiful than the next. It makes no difference to him, so he takes his list to his beloved mother to see if she has any input as to which of the fortunate ladies to favor with a proposal of marriage. His wise and gentle mother’s suspicions are confirmed: Although always open, loving, and warm with her, (and his 6 year old nephew and current heir, Edmund) to all others he has closed himself off from any emotional attachment. He is considerate and well-mannered to his servants and his peers and is popular with all. But his exemplary behavior to others is not out of any empathy or warm feeling but because it is what is due to his proud family name and station. He says and does the right things always, but beneath this surface he is cold and aloof. Encouraged by his mother and godmother, on a whim he decides to meet one other candidate for the position of the Duchess of Rayne: Phoebe, the daughter of his mother’s long-deceased best friend and his godmother’s granddaughter. He is not impressed. And neither is Phoebe. To add to her discomfort, she has secretly written a novel which is about to be published and she has based the villain of the bloodthirsty gothic tale on Sylvester. She had met him at a ball once and she noticed his distinctive satanic-looking eyebrows and was hurt by his haughtiness and boredom with her. Of course Sylvester doesn’t remember her at all. Due to a misunderstanding, she has been told that he has travelled to her family’s country home with the intent of actually proposing marriage to her and she better accept him, or else. Horrified and panic-stricken by the prospect, she decides to run away to her grandmother in London (yes, that same one) escorted by her loyal friend Tom. Sylvester is considerably peeved, as well as incredulous, that such a plain and vapid chit of a girl would hold the idea of a proposal of marriage from him in such abhorrence that she would flee from home in a snowstorm. He leaves as well, and inevitably the 3 fugitives meet in a small inn and are marooned together for several days. As they get to know each other, Phoebe learns that Sylvester is actually a pretty good guy beneath the arrogant facade, and Sylvester learns that out from under her stepmother’s thumb, Phoebe is a clever, funny, and forthright original. She is mortified and guilt- stricken that she has made Sylvester her villain in a novel that will potentially hold him up to ridicule and suspicion. And Sylvester is embarrassed to realize that Phoebe’s initial poor opinion of him may be justified.

Adventures, escapades, and misunderstandings ensue. Despite its romp of a plot, there is a serious undertone to this book. Sylvester’s aloofness is self protection and is due to a terrible tragedy in his past. Before he is shaken off his high horse by Phoebe (and the down to earth Tom) he is on his way to a loveless marriage and, except for his care for his invalid mother and his little nephew, an emotionless half-life. The emotional abuse Phoebe has had to endure her whole life is the source of her hypersensitivity and fearfulness in society. Other than her writing, her future is bleak and lonely.

The book contains Heyer’s usual humor and comedy and the light tone is there. But although some of her comic set pieces involving Edmund’s flighty, shallow, and selfish mother and her silly fop of a husband are amusing, there is a potentially a very sad side to even them. When the couple actually kidnap Edmund from the guardianship of his Wicked Uncle (inspired by the plot of Phoebe’s unexpectedly successful novel) Edmund’s life is actually in danger due to their inattention and thoughtlessness, and he is exposed to the cruelty of neglect. Luckily for him, it is Phoebe and Tom to the rescue. And luckily for Sylvester and Phoebe, it is Sylvester’s lovely mother (and Phoebe’s eventual kindred spirit) who will save the day for them. The Duchess of Rayne’s cleverly engineered and tender reconciliation of the two soulmates continually at odds is one of my favorite endings in all of Georgette Heyer’s works.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Dear Mrs. Bird

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By AJ Pearce

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Despite a slow start, this turned out to be a charming and delightful novel very similar in style and substance to D.E. Stevenson. I expected something of the sort, set in England during the Nazi blitzkrieg of London, but I didn’t expect that long swaths could almost be mistaken for her writing. The characters could have stepped right out of one of Stevenson’s wartime novels (except they mostly are not set in London). Our two young heroines are kind, pretty, spunky, bursting with moral fiber, and determined to do their bit in the war. And the young men are their equivalent. If they are not in the military, they prove their bravery by contributing in some way to the war effort. There is at least one thoroughly obnoxious character to challenge them, a daunting parental figure/mentor and a wise protective one. Sad and bad things happen but the overall tone is light and comfortable and sprinkled with gentle humor.

Emmy and her life-long friend Bunty are living in London during the blitz. Fired up by the idea of being a lady war correspondent, when Emmy sees an employment advertisement in the London Evening Chronicle, she applies for the position, and she gets it! To her dismay she soon finds out that she is nothing more than a junior typist for Henrietta Bird, the “Acting Editress” and advice columnist for Women’s Friend magazine. Worse, one of her duties is to read the letters to Mrs. Bird and cut up the letters that request help regarding anything “unpleasant” according to her very rigid lights.

Topics That Will Not Be Published Or Responded To By Mrs. Bird
(NB: list is not exclusive and will be added to when required)
Marital relations
Premarital relations
Extramarital relations
Physical relations
Sexual relations in general (all issues, mentions, suggestion, or results of)
Illegal activities
Political activities and opinions
Religious activities and opinions (excl. queries regarding church groups and services)
The War (excl. queries regarding rationing, voluntary services, clubs, and practicalities)

Words and Phrases That Will Not Be Published Or Responded To By Mrs. Bird For further references see Girlhood To Wife: Practical Advice By A Doctor (1921)
A–C
Affair
Amorous
Ardent
Bed
Bedroom
Bed jacket
Berlin
. . . The list went on for pages.
In other words, the Women’s Friend problem page only wants to be friends with women who have no actual problems or dilemmas. And in the England of 1941, those women are few and far between. And the magazine’s subscriptions and advertising revenue show it.

But as Emmy reads the comparatively few letters that she and Kathleen, her co-worker, receive, her heart is rung by the sometimes desperate cries for help with real world difficulties exacerbated by wartime. Finally, she starts to respond to the most heart-wrenching on the sly if they include a stamped self-addressed envelope. Emboldened by her success (and the fact that she doesn’t get caught) she even starts to sneak a few letters into the magazine (Since Mrs. Bird never reads it.) Meanwhile she tackles her own challenges with her volunteer work as a phone operator for the Auxiliary Fire Service and her personal life, along with her friend Bunty, who is engaged to be married to their childhood friend, William.

Needless to say, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” for our heroine on more than one front, and all Hell breaks loose all over the place for poor Emmy who tries her best to Keep Calm and Carry On in the face of several disasters.

*A few spoilers you would probably guess anyway*

It wasn’t quite a 5 star read for me. There were things that didn’t seem right. Emmy was too wishy-washy about trying to help the women who were desperate for advice and support. Of course she should try to help them! Not to do so would have been practically unpatriotic! And her supposedly super-plucky friend Bunty is horrified and scared at the very idea when Emmy feels her out on her dilemma. This didn’t track either. I was kind of shocked at her attitude. In one incident, Emmy lays into Bill for endangering his life and the lives of his crew to rescue a little girl’s doll that was buried in the rubble following a bombing. While on the surface this was kind and brave of Bunty’s fiancé, it was also very dangerous and foolish. She is wracked with guilt for scolding him and the incident has far-reaching consequences. It was frustrating because I thought she was absolutely right and she had nothing to apologize for. I had problems with Bunty and her actions v. what we are told about her character. Lastly, it turns out that the one mistake that Emmy made in writing back to the desperate women was signing Henrietta’s Bird’s name to the letters. That was really dumb, dumb, dumb. She didn’t have to sign them at all.

Naturally, Emmy triumphs in the end. Thankfully, her response to the final letter of the book is very courageous. Her nemesis, Henrietta Bird, one of the most obnoxious and “unpleasant” women I have fictionally experienced in recent years, is summarily disposed of. But unfortunately with more of a whimper than the bang I was hoping for. Still, If you liked the final courtroom scene in Miracle on 34th Street, you will get similar vibes with the dramatic showdown in this book. I’ll probably read one more in this series of four books and then see how it goes. But, like with D.E. Stevenson, I have to take a break and wait for the right mood to hit me.

Rating: 4 out of 5.