“I think the secret is that it belongs to all of us – to us of the West. We’ve learned to think in its terms, and to live in its laws. It’s given us almost everything that our world has that is worthwhile. Truth, straight thinking, freedom, beauty. It’s our second language, our second line of thought, our second country. We all have our own country — and Greece.”
I remember this book as not being a favorite, not coming near the high bar set by all of her other titles. Except for The Ivy Tree another of Mary Stewart’s books I wasn’t too fond of. It is precisely because of that, and because consequently, I had only read this novel twice before, that I decided to give it another chance and listen to it on Audible. Hopes were high, but I’m sorry to say that it lived down to my memories.
Of course, Mary Stewart’s prose and her descriptions of the countryside and attractions of the Greek precinct of Delphi were as masterful as ever. But I found the plot and mystery to be rather boring and uninvolving. Our heroine and our hero, the same. They share a lot of character similarities with her other creations, but there is nothing that sets them apart or makes them particularly engaging or interesting. Most of her other lead characters, especially the women, had something about them that stood out and made them uniquely likable or admirable. One of the problems may have been that Stewart’s usual teenage boy sidekick with whom our heroine can banter and look after is missing in this one. She is basically on her own, except for Simon, the hero, whom she barely comes to know. With no one to bounce off of, so to speak, Camilla remains rather one-dimensional. We learn hardly anything of her backstory other than she has recently broken off an engagement. The romance is so slight as to be almost non-existent. We only assume that they have growing feelings for each other. Nothing beneath the surface is shared with the reader. On a more shallow note, I found it distracting that Camilla was tramping and fleeing over the rough and rocky Greek countryside in a dress and presumably heels. I mean, it’s 1959 girl. Put on some trousers, Not to mention all of the cigarettes consumed.
One scene in this book that has always remained with me, did not disappoint. Camilla is being stalked by the ruthless murderer. She is hiding in plain sight but knows he will soon be able to see her and he is coming up the steep hillside after her. Instead of waiting for the inevitable she steps out, brushes herself off, and meets him instead of cowering in hiding without hope of escape. I could feel her terror and inability to deal with the suspense. Indeed, the last 20% or so of the book contains some of the most harrowing and tense action in a Mary Stewart book, culminating in a to-the-death fight between Simon and the villain.
I hate to give a Mary Stewart book any less than 3 stars, but the ending lacked closure regarding Simon and Camilla’s relationship, and how they were going to deal with a wondrous discovery that they found hidden deep in a cave.
“Judy, You weren’t talking to the mill girls?”“Why not? They are our neighbors, you know.”… “That’s all the more reason why you should be careful of your associates. Suppose you were classed as one [them]? You wouldn’t have a single friend in High School.”… Please Judy, for my sake, keep away from the mill girls. they’re not our kind.”
Picking up right where The Vanishing Shadow left off, this 2nd in the Judy Bolton series has plenty of mysteries and drama to occupy her as she settles into her new home in Farringdon. In addition, Margaret Sutton also explores class snobbery and the cruelty that popular cliques can inflict on outsiders.
After moving into the big rented house on Grove Street which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Vine Thompson, a sort of Ma Barker character, Judy starts to experience strange sightings and mysterious attic noises herself. The whole community thinks the house is haunted and this is affecting Dr. Bolton’s formerly thriving Roulsville practice as no one wants to come to his home office. Judy, who does not believe in ghosts, vows to solve the mystery in time for the big Halloween party she intends to throw. Along the way, Judy and her brother Horace discover hidden jewelry on the property, and a big trunk full of fancy vintage clothing and poignant love letters, not to mention a half-starved white kitten Horace adopts and names “Ghost.”
Meanwhile, Judy is having trouble fitting in at school despite her friendship with socially prominent and popular Lois Farrington-Pett. Lois gives her a friendship ring identical to the one she gave her friend Lorraine a long time ago but wants Judy to keep it secret. Judy’s confidence and optimism take a blow when she is not immediately accepted by the popular kids. She is not rich, is a stranger, makes more than one faux pas, and has become friendly with the wrong crowd who go to the high school on the poor blue-collar side of town. To make matters worse, Lorraine’s ring has been stolen by burglars and when she sees what she thinks is her ring on Judy’s finger the accusations start flying. As in The Vanishing Shadow, Judy’s refusal to break a promise results in all sorts of mayhem, and unfortunately, Lois is quarantined at home with Scarlet Fever and can’t come to Judy’s defense and straighten things out. Things get a lot worse before they get better which makes for a very exciting and dramatic book.
And that’s not even the end of it! In addition to ghosts of dead criminals, the discovery of stolen loot, and teen drama, we have the mystery of Judy’s friend and supporter, Peter’s, parentage which has been kept secret from him by the Dobbses, whom Peter calls his grandparents. All finally gather at Judy’s Halloween Party (which is a story in itself!) where all of the mysteries are solved, ghosts uncovered, and criminals caught. It is truly a party for the ages, the likes of which surely had never been seen before in sophisticated and staid Farringdon. We even have social progress made with somewhat of a truce between social factions and Judy accepted by both the popular kids and the factory girls. The third book in the series will continue to build on the secrets of Peter’s past and the criminal Vine gang in very unexpected and shocking ways.
I’d like to be a surgeon,’ said Jane shyly. ‘And why not? But I wonder what happens when you get married—I mean, could you go on being a surgeon and running a house and a husband and children too?’ Jane blushed. ‘Well, I don’t suppose so.’ She added ingenuously: ‘I suppose being a surgeon’s wife is the next best thing…’ ‘I daresay it is,’ agreed Polly kindly, ‘and being married to someone who’s interested in surgery would make it awfully nice for him to come home to.’
A sense of humor is essential if you are going to read a Betty Neels novel. I’ve read only one before that I know of and liked it pretty well. Like this one, it was an undemanding sweet, and simple placeholder while waiting for a book I really wanted to read to become available. I was spurred to try another one when I read a review on Goodreads, and I saw how many were available on Kindle from my local library. She is mostly known for being the queen of “nurse romances.” I started reading some more reviews to narrow the field down a bit. I was struck by the affection and dedication that many readers hold for this author. She is definitely one of the most beloved, if not the most beloved, of all of the old-timey Harlequin (Mills and Boon in the U.K.) authors. There are other authors that people love, but not with her output -134 separate novels. That’s a lot of books! And she only started writing when she was 60 years old! In the process, I kinda went down a Betty Neels rabbit hole and I ran across a delightful website dedicated to Betty, The Uncrushable Jersey Dress . Her fans have their own language. They refer to the RBD (Rich British Doctor), the RDD (Rich Danish Doctor), and have figured out the ratios of couplings by RBDs and RDDs with nurses or non-nurses. Or nurses and non-medical heroes (of which there are only 6.) They call the author “The Betty” or TGB (The Great Betty), or “The Divine BettyN”. They call fellow Betty fans Betty-real first name. Betty Keira, Betty Madeleine, Betty Debbie, etc. That just scratches the surface. There is even a spreadsheet for all 134 books, including such things as Hero’s car, Names of family retainers, pets, descriptions of the other women (brainy, wispy liar Marcia Jason (recovering from polio), for one, etc. The books are all rated. “Lashings of whipped cream” being a 10 out of 10 and the lowest being “tinned soup.” It is a whole world out there, possibly equaled only by Georgette Heyer devotees. This book, I rated 2 stars (beans on toast?). Betty is 3 stars, and her fans are 5 stars.
Anyway, for a variety of reasons, I chose Polly, written in 1984. One reason was that it didn’t appear to be a nurse romance. Plain, plump, but smart Polly is fluent in ancient Greek and Latin, though she has only attained her A levels in the field, and has not gone to University. She is hired to type out a book manuscript by icy, rude, but good-looking professor Sam Gervis upon the death of the author. He is engaged to an absolute witch but has a nice about-to-be-married sister whom Polly becomes friends with while she is doing her typing at his home, Elmley Castle. We spend a good deal of time with Polly’s nice supportive family, her “learned schoolmaster father” her nice stay-at-home mother, her two dumb but nice sisters, and a little brother.
Cora and Marian had no need of brains; they were so pretty that they would marry just as soon as they could decide which of their numerous boyfriends would make the best husband.
As she comes to the end of her work, she realizes that she needs to get another job.
She couldn’t teach, she would be hopeless in a shop and the idea of sitting at a desk typing all day quite sickened her, which left only one other thing she might be able to do. She could train as a nurse.
Nothing like a true calling. Going on to University and getting an advanced degree in the field she truly loves and is good at never crosses her mind. She goes to train for her newly chosen vocation in a hospital where she does candy striper-like duties and goes to class. She is glad to escape the company of the uncomfortable professor with whom she has fallen in love. Much to her shock, one day, she runs into the professor in the hospital! It turns out he is a professor alright-a professor of Pediatic Surgery! So I ended up with a doctor-nurse romance after all. Sigh. He takes to driving Polly home and back on weekends. One day he tells her she will “never be a nurse”. Of course, the reader knows this means that Dr. Gervis is going to marry her and she can’t be a wife and a nurse at the same time. But Polly’s confidence is undermined and after a rough day, she ends up going to the head nurse’s office to quit. He follows her home to confess his love and propose marriage but he is called away on an emergency. Meanwhile, his nasty fiance comes to her house to tell her they are getting married in two days and Sam is not coming back. Polly flees to her aunt in Scotland, and Sam follows her there and finally clears up all of the lies and misunderstandings.
He put an arm around her and held her close and kissed her thoroughly.
‘Sam,’ said Polly weakly, ‘we’re in the middle of Crewe Station.’ He looked around him. ‘So we are. I thought it was paradise. Such a satisfactory answer that she kissed him back.
The end.
I gave this book a low rating because of the many WTF moments. First off, He kisses Polly “soundly” once and lightly a second time, when he is definately still engaged to Deirdre. That is not acceptable behavior. And about that engagement. First, as far as we know he is engaged to be married to Deirdre who is making wedding plans, throughout the whole book while he is sniffing around Polly. Later he claims that they broke off their engagement before his sister Diana’s wedding, which occurs well over halfway through the book, but kept it a secret from everyone in order not to “spoil her day.” I call bullshit on that. Firstly Diana makes it perfectly clear she hates Deirdre, and having her beloved brother call off his engagement would have made her day, not spoiled it. After the wedding is over and done with, Deirdre crashes his fiesty grandmother’s little private tete-a-tete with Polly and Sam. Granny also loathes Deidre and tells her off, but…
Deirdre stalked to the door, then turned to put a hand on Sam’s arm. ‘Oh, Sam, I know I’ve been naughty, but you’ll forgive me, won’t you? After all, we’re to be married soon. You haven’t forgotten that?’ She spoke beguilingly and smiled up at him, no trace of bad temper allowed to show. He moved away so that her hand fell to her side. ‘I haven’t forgotten, Deirdre.’
What is he playing at? Whatever his game was, I didn’t like it one bit. And if their engagement had been broken for weeks, Why would Deirdre bother to go to Polly’s home to tell her a pack of lies about marrying Sam in two days? Apparently, She is not only a bitch, but a psycho bitch.
When Polly tries to quit nursing, the head nurse tells her to go home to talk with her family about it but be back the day after and if she hasn’t changed her mind, they can arrange matters then. But Polly totally blows off her promise to Nurse Brice and runs off to Aunt Maggie in Scotland. She just leaves her in the lurch and essentially is a “no call-no show”. Not in character for Polly and quite careless of the “The Betty.” Still another piece of careless writing is that Polly’s family calls Professor Gervis “Sam” right from the beginning because they all get along great from his first meeting with her family (on page 18). But much later in the book, after Diana’s wedding, he comes to pick Polly up to take her back to the hospital, it’s as if he is meeting her family for the first time. “…he instantly became one of the family…he was ‘Sam’ withing ten minutes…”
So I could overlook the patronizing, mocking behavior of Professor Sam towards Polly and the outdated attitudes towards women and careers. Betty was just stuck in the 1950s and that’s sort of why people love her. But I was disappointed that I had to overlook careless writing as well. I’m going to give her another chance though partly because I’m curious to see if this is part and parcel of a typical Betty Neels novel. I am determined to crack the mystery of her appeal, but time will tell if I can become a fan.
“Don’t be frightened of life, it’s good. Make friends with life…”
I swear, every time I read a D. E. Stevenson novel I declare it’s the best one yet. And this one is no exception. This was an Audible so I don’t have all of the facts or details at my fingertips and some things are a little fuzzy. It is another journey of a young city girl who is too shy, too easily dominated, and too insecure who stiffens her spine enough to live a normal happy life in the Scottish countryside.
We follow Tonia (our heroine) and her beautiful, spirited, and charming sister Lou through their childhood. Lou is everything Tonia is not, and as a result, Lou protects and does everything she can to make Tonia’s life as stress-free as possible. In addition to her diffident personality, Tonia has weak hands so is always dropping things and appears awkward and clumsy. In addition, when things get too much for her, she sometimes goes into a kind of trance, which Tonia calls her “listening valley”. On the outside, when she does this in front of people, it looks like she is not quite all there mentally (to put it kindly). But the two sisters love each other very much. Their well-off, unshakeably respectable, but uncaring parents ignore the girls and particularly belittle Tonia constantly. They are just terrible parents (which DES writes so well). The mother particularly never lets an opportunity go by to let them know what a disappointment they are. It’s hateful, especially since they are totally oblivious to the fact that they are the ones at fault for their odd ways. Lou escapes first when she shockingly elopes while still a teenager. Luckily she picks a good guy from a good if rather nonconformist family (his mother was divorced-horrors) and they are happily married. Unfortunately, this leaves poor Tonia at the mercy of her mother with no support, especially after her beloved Nanny is laid off. Fortunately, she soon catches the eye of a colleague of her father and despite the 40-year age difference, they marry. Marriage to Robert proves to be Tonia’s salvation. Wealthy and brilliant, he sees through to Tonia’s beautiful soul (I cringe when I write that, but it is perfectly true) and loves her devotedly. He dedicates himself to her development and to making her happy. They are married for about 5 years, before Robert, who is a great character, dies from stress and overwork as a vital contributor to the war effort in London.
Tonia is alone again, but thanks to Robert, she is a different person and is well able to handle herself, while still remaining kind, gentle, and rather unworldly. She also is now very very wealthy. She escapes London, her dominating sister-in-law, and her mean and shallow daughter who only want to take advantage of her wealth. Because of an old act of generosity to her old Nanny, she has inherited a country “cottage” in Ryddleton, a popular setting for several of Stevenson’s novels. And there, summarizing half the book in one sentence, she makes friends and finds love with an old childhood schoolmate who is now a dashing R.A.F. squadron leader. And just to add a touch of intrigue, he is engaged to a two-faced French baggage who turns out to be spying for “Gerry.”
Stevenson has a gift for drawing you into her world and making every ripple in her characters’ rather calm lives totally engrossing. She makes me care about everything that happens no matter how trivial. She often creates situations that could lead to dramatic juicy scenes, but unfortunately, she tends to avoid big drama and confrontation, though some do sometimes sneak through. Many scenes do stand out in this book, but I will mention only a few.
Robert questioning Tonia on what the doctors had said about her hands, and what treatments they had recommended. He is disturbed to find out that her parents had never bothered to look into what was wrong. Too self-involved. Too busy with their own lives and concerns. It is then that Robert realizes he has to marry Tonia, get her away, and start repairing the damage.
Robert’s conversation with Lou when he and his new bride travel to visit her and her husband in India. Lou, though seeing how happy Tonia now is, can’t help but be a little suspicious and standoffish with Robert. She gets him alone to probe his motivations but the tables are turned. He is obliged to explain that he married Tonia not only because he loves her, but to undo the harm that she, Lou, did to her. Lou is flabbergasted. Robert explains that her over-protectiveness and then her abandonment was almost Tonia’s undoing. Lou thinks about it, and replies, “What a beast I am!” I love that she got it.
Tonia’s night in a London bomb shelter where she helps the doctor who becomes a family friend, and makes tea for everyone with the help of a young boy. We are anxious and on edge worrying about how Robert is faring with the bombs raining down all night. But Tonia remains strong throughout.
I immediately loved Bay, a mischievous and carefree school friend who teasingly calls Tonia “butterfingers.” Tonia senses he does not mean it unkindly but in an affectionate way. He disappears from the book for a stretch when he is expelled after being framed for pulling a particularly nasty prank on the whole school. It turns out that the guilty party is Nita, who will turn out to be Tonia’s unlikable and avaricious niece-in-law. Tonia is the only one in the school who believes that he is innocent and tells him so. It is no surprise (but greatly hoped for) when Bay comes back into her life as an adult, never having forgotten her insight and faith in him.
And finally, Nita showing up without warning in Ryddleton to get her to come back to London to ‘share expenses” with her and her mother (Even though Tonia has virtually given the two her London house to live in rent-free). She is shortly followed by one of her trustees wondering why she hasn’t used any of the money that her late husband left her. Nita is horrid as usual, but the trustee proves to be savvy, understanding, and very approving of Tonia’s choices and friends.
As always with D.E.S’s novels written and set during WWII, there is a certain poignancy and intense immediacy about them. They must be read in the context of their times. We should try to forgive the unconscious classism, where the “lower orders” are always happy to serve “their betters.” But we should also respect that when she wrote about rationing and deprivation, the bombing, and getting to know the young American pilots as well as the British ones, she didn’t know, despite the bravery and optimism, what the future outcome of the war would be. The book has a “happy ending” but it is a shaky one. Yes, Tonia marries her squadron leader, but is another tragedy looming in her future? As the readers of 1944 closed the book, I’m sure they thought, “Well, I hope they will be OK.”
The family had long been prosperously settled in Huntingdonshire. If they were notable at all, it was for a habit of not distinguishing themselves; and as no firmer warrant for respectability could be imagined, they continued to enjoy the widespread esteem of their acquaintance, to be buried with due formality in the vault at Wythorpe church when they died, and to be absolutely forgotten straight afterwards.
Caroline did not lack for partners in the succeeding dances, and one flushed young man who had drunk too much wine repeatedly informed her, with more gallantry than exactitude, that she was a magnificent Tigress. It was partly to escape the attentions of this zoological gentleman that she withdrew to the card room.
This definitely started off slowly and it took me some time to get reconciled to the idiosyncrasies of the writing. Obviously influenced by Georgette Heyer’s incorporation of the dialect and words of the era, it seemed a little try-hard.
Mrs Catling’s personal maid— a little pinched comfit-chewer with a look of settled, not to say lifelong discontent.
It took me a bit to get used to the cadences and the wordsmithing, but once I did, I appreciated the quality of the writing, for sure.
Mr Leabrook seemed to find nothing in her silence or awkward looks to disconcert him, however; and proceeded in his soft yet precise voice, like the purposeful padding of cat’s feet.
He still tended to speak too partially of his own feelings, and to suppose that his idiosyncrasies were of necessity interesting; whereas she could not be convinced, even by ever so emphatic a manner, that a violent dislike of onion-sauce called for any special comment, still less admiration. But he was sincere and well-meaning, of that she was sure; and she felt for his difficult situation. Indeed, it was this that made Caroline his partisan.
He was one of the few men she had seen who suited the fashionable Windswept style that his thick black hair was dressed in— perhaps because he seemed always caught in a gust of emotion.
He never uses a common word when a more obscure one will do, but that didn’t bother me and my vocabulary appreciated it.
We follow in our 20-year-old heroine Caroline Fortune’s wake as she navigates through three distinct spheres of the Regency World, always doing so with grace, humor, kindness, and common sense. We first meet her as the loving but frustrated sole companion of her father and living in a seedy section of London. They are devoted to each other but are destitute thanks to her handsome father’s irresponsibility with what little income they have from his military pension. Her mother is eight years dead. She came from a respectable and well-off family but was disowned when she followed her heart and married Captain Fortune, itinerant actor, and former military man.
One step ahead of Debtor’s Prison and desperate to save his daughter, Captain Fortune secures a paid position for her as the companion to the widow of his old Colonel, Mrs. Catling, an old battleaxe if ever there was one. He escapes to Bath as Caroline settles in Brighton with her new employer. She meets and becomes friendly with Mrs. Catling’s niece and nephew who visit her frequently and are dependent on her financially to maintain their semi-fashionable lifestyle. She also becomes friendly with their friend, Mr. Leabrook, a handsome and smooth wealthy landowner who shows every indication of admiring Caroline very much. Unfortunately, he eventually proves to be not the paragon he first appears to be. Our heroine rubs along very well thanks to her composure in dealing with Mrs. Catling’s ways. Her situation changes once again about a third of the way through the book when she receives word of her father’s reconciliation with her late mother’s sister and her husband but also his unfortunate sudden demise. When Mrs. Catling refuses to allow her time off to attend her father’s funeral, she quits, and we follow her to the third and last stop on her journey: her life with her loving Aunt and Uncle in the country parish where he is the rector. It is at this point that the book really picked up for me. It was just such a relief to have the deserving Caroline find a safe haven.
She had moved amongst many circles in her life, some clever, some stupid, some moneyed, some threadbare, but all more or less sophisticated, and not inclined to expect much virtue in others, or to cultivate it in themselves. It came as a revelation, not quite commensurate with the proven existence of the fairies, but almost as charming and bewildering, that all the time there had been this other race of beings: kind, gentle, reliable, unworldly.
It is there that she meets and becomes close to the aristocratic Milner family particularly Isabella, of her own age, who becomes her good friend. Besides Isabella’s bossy and abrasive stepmother and her Navy Captain cousin, that household also includes Isabelle’s free-thinking and unconventional younger sister Fanny and her eccentric brother Stephen who would rather be exploring archaeological sites than staying home tending to his business there. To Caroline’s dismay, she also learns that Isabella’s oft-spoken-of but temporarily absent-from-home fiance is none other than the morally suspect Mr. Leabrook.
The book is dense with intrigues and subplots, but the main strength of this book is the characterizations. All of those who revolve around Caroline were extremely well drawn with many layers and complexities and amusingly described.
She was a garrulous woman who had long been listened to with rather too much indulgence, and who was a little too inclined to consider herself a Character, on no greater evidence than a continual compulsion to talk about herself, and some large rings.
Many turned out to be quite different from what they at first seemed. Mrs. Catling first came across as a prototypical curmudgeonly old dragon: tough and demanding but admirable in her own way. By the end of our time with her she has proven to be just nasty and mean.
As to why Mrs Catling should play this unpleasant game, perhaps no further reason needed to be sought than that it gave her pleasure to meddle, mar, and hurt: this human propensity not being so uncommon as ever to excite surprise when detected.
Two of the characters owe a good bit to Jane Austen’s Colonel Brandon and Lydia Bennett. But they don’t start out that way. Another character starts out to be very unsympathetic and cold but proves her mettle when the chips are down. The character of the hero surprisingly was a problem for me. He was obviously intelligent, even intellectual, yet his conversation, particularly with Caroline was often silly and prattling with no purpose other than to amuse himself and call attention to his “wit” and famous quirkiness. But then, perhaps he was nervous around her? Even our heroine has to tell him to just shut up at one point near the end despite her love for him and their mutually enjoyable banter.
I definitely recommend this book to those who have read and re-read Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, but crave some fresh delights. But a modicum of patience might be required and a few weaknesses overlooked. Lord, I guess a bit of Jude Morgan has rubbed off on me.
45 years after the Judy Bolton series was abruptly canceled and 11 years after Margaret Sutton’s death at the age of 98, this final book appeared in 2012. It finally put a fitting end to the beloved series. It was written by Kate Duvall, president of the Phantom Friends, and Beverly Hatfield, a devoted Judy Bolton fan since childhood and who has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Judy. The book, sanctioned by her estate, was based on an outline by Margaret Sutton and incorporated Margaret Sutton’s final wishes for the conclusion to the series. It is illustrated by one of Margaret’s daughters, Marjorie Sutton Eckstein, and was edited by another daughter, Lindsay Sutton Stroh. So yes, this book is the real deal, totally legit, and no doubt would have had Margaret’s Seal of Approval if she had had one.
It begins with Honey and Judy doing their final holiday shopping on Christmas Eve in Brandt’s department store. Judy sees her husband Peter shopping at the jewelry counter while gazing down at the hectic scene from the escalator. While another shopper creates a diversion, Judy thinks she sees Peter shoplifting a necklace. Of course, this cannot be. FBI agent Peter is either working undercover trying to infiltrate a gang of criminals or it’s not really Peter. She remembers that a month ago her car was almost hit by another driver who bore an uncanny resemblance to her husband. Later he confided to her that a man who resembled him was being investigated by the FBI.
Meanwhile, Honey has gotten a returned “address unknown” letter from her adopted brother Mike whom she grew up with before being returned to her real family, brother Peter and her grandparents (The Invisible Chimes Judy Bolton #3). Peter’s double keeps popping up and one night, Judy and Peter’s house is burgled. Once they learn Mike is in New York City safe and sound the two girls go there to find him, give hopeful mystery writer, Horace’s, manuscript to literary agent Emily Grimshaw and employer of old friend Pauline, and also attend Irene and Dale Meredith’s New Years Eve open house party. While Honey reconnects with Mike and her troubled past, Judy searches for her stolen Wedgewood china and antique doll collection in the NYC antique stores. And she keeps seeing Peter’s suspicious double who is referred to as the “UnPeter” throughout the book. The mystery of the “UnPeter,” his identity (could he actually be related to Peter?), his involvement with the break-in, and his other nefarious activities really take a backseat to Honey’s attempt to deal with her past, and questions regarding the criminal family that raised her. Only after she has come to terms with her emotions regarding her early history and had her questions answered will she be free to become engaged to Judy’s brother Horace with a clear conscience.
This book ends the series on the strongest of notes. In some ways, Margaret Sutton, in some of her later books, had lost the way a bit. She sent Judy all over the country, and too much time was spent away from her roots, family, and friends in Farringdon. Margaret was very socially conscious and incorporated many of her concerns and causes in her books from the very beginning. But in the later books, in many readers’ minds, her agendas seemed to overwhelm the plots of some of her stories in ways that may have been too much for her younger readers. This one answers some questions and provides closure to aspects of Honey and her brother Peter’s past that were raised way back at the beginning of the series. And plus, it is just fun. We have humor, suspense, a tight plot, interesting side characters, old friends, romance (both new and long-established), and Judy at her smartest and most observant. There is even a scene at Dale and Irene’s New Year’s party that is almost too scary and disturbing. (Just icing on the cake, for me.) It is tight, well put together, and organized with no pesky plot holes or unanswered questions. By the end of the book, we see Mike settled near his adopted sister with a possible new romance with an old friend of Judy’s, Horace and Honey happily engaged, Horace soon to be a published author, and Judy’s stolen belongings well on the way to being returned. And best of all, Judy and Peter are expecting a baby(s?) with names already picked out. Just like Margaret wanted.
Thus endeth the Judy Bolton series. At least the ones written by Margaret Sutton. This one is pretty good. Even though I gave the last one 5 stars, it was not really for the story but for Margaret’s daring to tackle the issue of racial prejudice and right-wing hate groups. This one is almost 4 stars.
Roxy, Judy’s look-alike cousin we first met in #14 The Clue in the Patchwork Quilt, wants Judy to investigate a piece of property she inherited through her stepmother who treated her equally with her biological children. She will get a 24th share of The Sand Castle, a seaside cottage on Fire Island. Roxy knew that Judy will be visiting her great friend, Irene, on Long Island to celebrate her daughter, Little Judy’s birthday. Also joining them will be Pauline, another NYC friend I think we first met in #6, The Ghost Parade, and Flo, another friend of Irene and Judy that we met in #30 The Phantom Friend. Coincidentally Flo is a cousin of Roxy, but not a cousin of Judy, even though Roxy and Judy are cousins. This is because Judy’s mother was sisters with Flo’s dead biological mother and Flo and Roxy were related through her stepmother. This story could really have used a family tree because there are so many relatives involved and many of them have important roles to play. Also coincidentally the Sand Castle is the little cottage on the beach that Dale and Irene rented last summer, and Dale and Irene want to buy it. Also coincidentally, The shady lawyer handling the estate is Dale and Irene’s lawyer. There are a lot of coincidences in this book as there are in most children’s mystery series.
Instead of a quick day trip, the girls (and little Judy-because Dale, Irene’s husband is hopeless) the girls are stranded on Fire Island because of an impending storm and spotty boat service since it is off-season. While there, Judy encounters A mysterious Woman in Black (No not that one), who may or may not be one of Roxy’s relatives, a ghost, or someone else entirely. Also, buried jewelry, stolen loot, harmful family gossip, a jilted lover, an old bank robber fresh out of prison who is also a relative, and a plane crash that kills a father and maybe a 12-year-old child (not to mention a young pilot-Judy Bolton is not for the faint-hearted), a kidnapping, and a daring rescue (yay, Pauline!). Also, it turns out that Flo being on the expedition to Fire Island is not such a coincidence after all. Judy finds the Jewels and the warring family is semi-reconciled, although still difficult. As usual, Peter comes in at the end, if not to the rescue, at least to arrest the bad guys. The book ends with **Spoiler**Aggie, the little 12-year-old, who is not dead after all, reunited with her rehabilitated bank robber Grandfather and finding a home with Aunt Hazel, whom Judy got to know on the bus to Long Island (coincidentally). And Little Judy has her birthday party.
The book ends with a teaser for what was planned to be the next book, The Strange Likeness, but alas, it was not to be. The longest-running juvenile series by a single author was canceled. Based on conversations with Margaret before she died at age 98 in 2001, the book was completed 45 years after Sand Castle by 2 of Margaret’s devoted fans using Margaret’s own outline and with the full cooperation and participation of two daughters.
This one takes the typical Mary Stewart heroine(nice, sensible, spirited, smart, and attractive) to Austria. I think this is the only one of her books where the heroine is already married. Vanessa and her husband had been planning a second honeymoon to Italy when he puts everything on hold because his company is supposedly sending him to Sweden. Vanessa is not pleased, to say the least, and they part in anger. But then she sees her husband in a newsreel about a tragic circus fire in a small village in Austria! And, he has a protective arm around a pretty young woman! Despite her angry parting words, Vanessa and Lewis are happily married and her upstanding husband has never given her a reason not to trust him. What is going on? Coincidentally, A friend of her mother’s has asked her to chaperone her 17-year-old son, Tim, to visit his estranged father in Vienna not far from where the newsreel was filmed. What is a concerned and suspicious wife to do? Need you ask?
If I had to name a favorite Mary Stewart novel, this would be it. Tim and Vanessa become the best of friends despite their age difference, and their relationship is charming. When Lewis is tracked down, he has a very good if rather astounding reason for his deceptive actions and his many “business trips” to Europe. It turns out that there is a lot more to her husband than Vanessa was aware of. In most of Mary Stewart’s novels, the romance is tinged with darkness and suspicion with little room for humor. I loved that this one was happy and even lighthearted. The rapport and banter between Vanessa and Tim and Vanessa and Lewis and eventually Tim and Lewis was a highlight.
Of course, there is intrigue and danger involved, including a thrilling chase over the rooftops of a fairy tale castle and a terror-filled race by car and train to rescue Tim from an unthinkable fate. Yikes! Poor Tim. PTSD is definitely part of his future. And intertwined throughout is the small family-owned circus which proudly features a Lipizzan stallion. When Vanessa, a qualified veterinarian by the way, is called on to treat an old broken-down horse who was injured in the fire, it leads to two of the most touching and triumphant scenes in a Mary Stewart novel that I can recall.
The crime part is a bit pedestrian. I liked the romanticism and drama of what turned out to be the red herring much better. But that is just a quibble. There is another mystery that crops up in this one that is much more intriguing and involving than the mere breaking of international laws. I’ve never forgotten what I learned about the Lipizzan horses and their history when I read this for the first time. I listened to this one on audible, and as usual, this added even more enjoyment to this story that I last read many many years ago.
When a Muslim family is burned out of their store and Mosque, Judy gets involved. Who set the fires and why? And who pulled the fire alarm across town diverting the firefighters from the real fire? Suspicion has landed on 10-year-old Ken Topping because his hands now glow under ultraviolet light. The police had coated the alarm handle with a chemical to catch those responsible. But Judy thinks he is innocent partly because Ken is friends with the Muslim boy who was injured in the fire.
As Judy investigates, she discovers an organized international group of bigots that share more than a passing resemblance to groups who are operating today, almost 60 years after Margaret Sutton wrote this book. They are called The Wasps (John Birch Society?), and yes, they are against anyone who is not White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant. Their mission is to infiltrate high schools and church groups to spread their hate disguised as Patriotism and traditional Christian values. A number of Judy’s acquaintances, including the snobby trouble-making Vincent family, have found much to like in their agenda.
While trying to find the real culprits, Judy finds plenty of excitement, including riots in the streets of usually peaceful Farringdon. A house that the Muslim family, The Wards, was buying in an exclusive neighborhood is set on fire and burned. According to Lindsay Stroh, Margaret Sutton’s daughter, The issue of inclusion and diversity hit close to home for Margaret. Her nephew Victor married a Muslim woman and also converted to Islam himself. Margaret was also heavily involved in encouraging the integration of her community and joined Martin Luther King’s March on Washington. This book is based on an actual incident, as all of the Judy Boltons are. One of Lindsay’s schoolmates was Indian and when they moved into a wealthy white neighborhood, they were the victims of arson.
Unfortunately, Margaret’s message for her young readers was muddled somewhat by the introduction of the controversy of the local high schools becoming co-ed instead of Boys Only and Girls Only. The ”Anti-Wasps” who were protesting the segregated schools were almost as unsympathetic as The Wasps. Also, a number of loose ends were left untied, and we never really see if or how the original families who were against “Heathens” living in their exclusive neighborhood had a change of heart. We are told that the whole community banded together to welcome the Wards and their mosque to the neighborhood once the outsiders were arrested by Peter and the rest of the FBI. A little too pat and rushed.
According to a friend and fellow member of The Judy Bolton Discussion Group, William Land, Some of the problems with some of Margaret’s later books could possibly be laid at the feet of the publishers who considerably reduced the page count of the Judy Bolton books and other children’s series starting in the 1960s. Sometimes Margaret seems to have been trying to tackle too much in the fewer pages allotted to them. Also, the series was coming to an end and Margaret still had a lot to say (my speculation entirely).
Nevertheless, despite its lack of clarity and lingering questions, This book deserves 5 stars for the difficult and controversial issues that Margaret Sutton addressed in this particular volume. Especially for the time it was written. There are a lot of tense scenes, and Judy proves her moral and physical courage on more than one occasion. She was a real heroine in this. I’m sure many of Margaret’s young readers were influenced by her take on the integration and inclusion of those of different faiths and ethnicities. Although there is no doubt where Judy and her friends stand on the issues, it is not always easy, simple, and straightforward for all of the characters we meet in this book.
“Why don’t you settle down with a nice husband?” “Husband?” The horror in Rowena’s voice could have warmed the heart of any feminist. “Husband? My dear, I can’t afford one! Look what they cost to feed nowadays!”
“Kitty Long—you remember her?—is going to have yet another operation.” “Another! She’s had two!” “Yes. She says she enjoyed the last two so much that she’s looking forward to the third. I forget what they’re slicing off this time, but it’s coming off from her inside, but as I told her, there can’t be much left to hack off. The woman must be a mere shell. Doctors!” Rowena’s scorn filled the large kitchen. “I’ve told Kitty that every time this doctor of hers wants to take his family off for a holiday, he gets the money by advising all his women patients to have operations. How else do you think surgeons live in the style they do? By chopping up all these rich, idle and half-witted women like Kitty. Every time she eats something that disagrees with her, that man hacks out another bit of her inside. And diet! First he got her off decent meals and on to nuts and carrots and shredded horse-food. Then when all that chewing made her teeth wear out, he switched her on to fruit juices and disgusting-looking squashy vegetable mixtures. Then he put her on to bread that’s got nothing in it but cement and chaff. All between operations, of course.
That quote is long and has nothing to do with the plot, but was just one example of the delightful treasures that this book is full of. I think this may now be my most favorite Elizabeth Cadell, supplantingThe Corner Shop. The romance was better in TCS, but the mystery, character development, complexities, humor, family dynamics, and the quirky secondary characters were so good in this one.
Julian Hurst is from a very conventional background where the family law firm has provided a good and respectable living for generations. But he had a talent for art and eventually became an art dealer which he is very good and successful at. All of the characters in this novel are deftly drawn to a “T” with affection and humor. James is a pretty good guy, raised in a common sense manner, but he is very “cock-sure”. He is not used to being anything but successful and getting whatever he wants with a minimum of effort. Yes, things have come easily for Julian and he leads a very nice footloose and fancy-free kind of life and plans to continue to do so until he is 30, at which time he will find a wife and settle down. But, as John Lennon said, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” The family law firm asks him to go to Yorkshire to catalog a Mr. Randall’s art collection. He reluctantly complies when he hears that the collection reportedly includes some “good” Clauvals. Clauval is an artist who is experiencing something of a renaissance but is quite mysterious due to the lack of knowledge about him and because he is responsible for painting both masterpieces and valueless junk. He figures he will just suck it up, stop there for a few days, do his work, and continue up to Scotland to visit his godmother who is throwing one of her fun house parties.
Mr. Randall proves to be mean and hard and conditions at the rambling old house are spartan which Julian is not used to and does not like. But he does like the miserly client’s young, beautiful, and charming new cook. In fact, much to his surprise and consternation, he falls head over heels in love with her. She is the one. And she loves him too, despite Julian noticing that she sometimes looks at him, not as a knight in shining armor, but with secret amusement as if she sees all of his faults and foibles. Julian proposes and Alexandra, after a few kindly expressed reservations, accepts. He can’t wait to introduce her to his loving family. But first, he decides to take a kind of breather to get used to the idea that his well-laid comfortable plans for his life have been dramatically upturned. He might be just a bit unsure, despite his happiness. So he adheres to his original plan to visit his Scottish godmother and her house party, leaving Alexandra behind. He can hardly introduce his fiance to his godmother before his own mother, can he? She says she is fine with that. When his godmother sees how miserable he is without Alexandra she gets the whole story.
“Did she oppose the idea of your coming here?” “No. She was wonderful.” He found the grey, wise old eyes raised to his with what he saw, to his astonishment, was a look of worry. “She—? What did you say, Julian, my dear?” “I said she didn’t mind.” “She—” His godmother took off her glasses once more and polished them absently. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” she said softly. “Oh, my poor, poor Julian!”
She declares that no woman of intelligence and spirit would stand for such a “selfish trick” and throws Julian into a panic. The frightened and chastened Julian rushes off on a nightmare journey back to Alexandra while the Scottish winter decides to teach this “insolent Londoner” a thing or two, in a bit of whimsical and delightful writing. After Winter throws all its hostility and caprice at him, sure enough, when he arrives back at the old mansion he finds the mean owner dead of a heart attack, and Alexandra gone. With the 4 valuable Claudels that he discovered. The London address she gave him does not exist.
For the rest of the book, we follow Julian in his desperate search for his fiance. The Clauvals start to appear on the market one by one, but strangely, only in places that Julian is sure to hear about or see them. One is even brought to the Hurst family home when Julian is out. What is Alexandra up to? He (and we) know that she is incapable of stealing or doing anything bad. He follows clue after clue, and he learns that Mr. Randall’s deaf, frail, and scrupulously loyal and honest old butler of 40 years is involved somehow. As one step leads to another away from his old habits and ways, we travel across England with Julian, share in his adventures, and meet a number of amusing English eccentrics, each more entertaining and dotty than the last. Julian’s sister has a baby, he is thrown out of the hospital by an irate nurse, we attend a horrifying to Julian, but hilarious to the reader, lunch with 80 schoolgirls where he is the only male for miles around. We learn a lot about each member of his family and Julian. In one scene, he sweetly agrees to babysit his young nephew, who wants a bedtime story about “cheeses.” Julian cooperatively starts on about dairy maids and Gorgonzola only to be admonished by little Danny that he meant “Jesus,” not “cheeses.” It was an unexpected and funny scene. And Julian learns a lot and develops some much-needed strength of character. When the light finally dawns, we wonder what took him so long, as does Alexandra, and so she tells him.
“Could I help it,” asked Alexandra, “if you were stupid? Could I?”…“Are you really going to marry him, Alexandra? asked Rowena. “Yes, I am, I think,” said Alexandra. “He isn’t what I hoped for, but I’ve always heard that a clever girl can mold a man.”
But even the reader isn’t prepared for a couple of final twists. At least I was a bit blown away. The book is full of whimsical descriptions, lovely people, wisdom, and entertaining side trips. Julian and Alexandra are apart for 90% of the book, but I was never impatient or bored. But those who prefer one of Ms. Cadell’s more conventional romances or family stories might want to skip over this one. But don’t, you will love it.
