I find myself delighting in the writing of Ms. Stevenson. She is by turns amusing, gentle, and ruthless. This story reminded me of both Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The first because of the failed marriage, I think, and the second because Charlotte’s attempt to accept the upset of her future plans reminds me of Elinor in S&S. At any rate, Dorothy Stevenson proves that her relative Robert Louis Stevenson was not the only good writer in the family.
Now, if you're like me, you've got a pretty shrewd idea of where the problem lies between Charlotte and Garth. Charlotte chalks it up to Garth's WWI experience, not an unreasonable conclusion. She's pretty sure that Garth asked her to wait for him, which she did, only to watch, heartbroken, as he marries her shallow, pleasure-seeking younger sister, Kitty. Charlotte lives in a shabby flat in London, works at a dead end job in a bookstore, and tries to forget that she ever had any dreams of her own. She has mostly managed to tamp down her disappointment (she does, after all, really love books) until her manipulative sister arrives on her doorstep, demanding her assistance to fight a divorce from Garth. Char feels the responsibility to family of a Victorian heroine, despite the more modern setting.
Needless to say, things do not work out to Kitty's liking and she disappears from Char's life once again. But Garth needs a responsible adult to look out for his daughter, Clementine, while he adventures in Africa. He is bound and determined that Char, Clementine’s godmother, will be that adult. Char is uncertain that a childless spinster is a good choice for the self-possessed young woman or for running a country house ecosystem. She also wonders why her brother-in-law, who has been dismissive and cruel to her, has suddenly decided that she is his choice of guardian.
Love is the answer to most childrearing issues. Love and honesty bring aunt and niece together. They share horseback adventures and school lessons, plus they run the gauntlet of disapproving neighbours who feel the need to separate themselves from a home tainted by divorce. They lean on each other as they learn of the deaths of Clementine's parents.
I saw the book's conclusion coming from a mile away, but I found myself unable to hold that against the author. It was a good ending, despite its predictability. I will definitely read more titles by D.E. Stevenson.
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