Wednesday, December 18, 2024

A Winter Away (1957) by Elizabeth Fair #DeanStreetDecember




💜 Maud left her overbearing stepmother to stay with her relative in the countryside: cousin Alice and her companion Miss Conway or Con. Her cousin had arranged a job for Maud, as secretary to an old eccentric miser: Mr. Feniston, or Old M.

💜 Maud herself is a shy and 'delicate' girl. The kind that unfortunate incidents often befall onto. I think the center of her problem is her stepmother; she grew up lacking of confidence, and this makes her shy. Maud is actually a quite smart girl, albeit naive, and competent secretary.

💜 Settling into her new job, Maud begins to meet more interesting characters. Charles and Oliver Feniston are the most important, as they provide possibility for romance. At first Maud was more drawn to Charles, the son in exile, so to speak. Old M had quarreled with him, and broke the relationship. The temperamental Oliver seemed to be Old M favorite, though he couldn't seem to stay for more than a few days until another quarrel would break.

💜 The love plot is dragging on until almost the end. It's funny but sometimes frustrating how Maud is struggling to recognize her own feeling, and what's really happened. However, the second characters (and their background stories) are mostly interesting. From the jealous Con with her mischievous pranks aimed to the unwitting Maud, to Maud's friend Ensie with her selfish father to her love of a vicar lover. It should have been a totally charming book, but it gets rather boring near the end. And the end itself felt rather too abrupt and less neat. But in general, it's a warm and comforting story.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

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Dean Street December #DeanStreetDecember


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