Showing results by author "D. E. Stevenson" in All Categories

The scene of this entertaining story is laid in a charming English village. The plot centres round Miss Barbara Buncle, a maiden lady who was obliged to write a book because – as she naively explained – her dividends were so poor. Unfortunately, Miss Buncle had no imagination, so she wrote about her friends – quite kindly and truthfully, of course, for she was a benevolent and veracious soul.

In name and by birth, Celia was a Dunne. She had inherited the beautiful old family home by the Rydd Water – but was she bound to live her life by the principles of her predecessors? Was there some hidden restraint that compelled her to heed the past? Celia’s house is a moving and poignant story of the struggle between old and young: the older generation anxious to preserve the values they have helped create while their children are determined at all costs to make lives of their own.

Marriage to her publisher, Arthur Abbott, has done nothing to stop Barbara Buncle from involving herself in the lives of her neighbours. After leaving Silverstream and moving to London, Barbara and Arthur are enjoying their newly-wedded bliss, but not the city life. The only solution to their problem? Returning to the country. Silverstream is out of the question, but Barbara eventually finds the perfect candidate in the town of Wandlebury.

Franz von Heiden, son of a Nazi official and an English mother, comes to England early in 1938 to visit his English cousins - and study them. He is both accepted and entertained by Wynne Braithwaite's family and friends. But the peace and abundance which he finds about him are not what he had expected. These people are not the decadent enemy; their casual talk and happy lives betray no weakness. Franz is disturbed - his reports to his father at home are not what had been expected there. Finding himself in love with Wynne, he is troubled at the thought of his mother's broken life in Germany.

The four Grace sisters love their quiet life in the country village of Chevis Green. To some, their insular world might seem dull, but the sisters never seem to run out of conversation, jokes, and pleasant ways to pass the time together. They truly are the happiest of families. That is, until Aunt Rona comes to town. Rona intends to stay with the Graces indefinitely, and her meddlesome attitude immediately sets the sisters' teeth on edge. Throw in another unexpected houseguest, some potential suitors and a case of mistaken intentions, and the members of the Grace family suddenly find themselves quite out of their element.

On a beautiful spring day, Julia Harburn sat on a seat in Kensington Gardens enjoying the sunshine. She was wearing a white frock and a large straw hat with a sapphire-blue ribbon which exactly matched her eyes - a strange coincidence, as it turned out, for the blue sapphire was to have a far-reaching influence upon her life. So far, her life had been somewhat dull and circumscribed; but quite suddenly her horizons were enlarged. She began to make new friends.

With the help of her old diaries, Sarah Morris recounts her life story. The daughter of an English vicar, she begins by telling of her happy childhood with her brothers and sister in their country village. As a teenager, Sarah’s brother brings home a friend - Charles, a charming Austrian to whom she quickly becomes close. Over the years they fall in love, but when war breaks out Charles must return to Austria. While she awaits his return, Sarah quietly continues working hard and caring for her family. But she can’t stop wondering if she will ever see her sweetheart again…

Mrs Abbott is flustered at the thought of putting up a lady from the Red Cross, but is happily surprised when she turns out to be an old friend from her previous life as Miss Buncle, infamous writer. Of course, she’s now far too busy with her children to write, not to mention helping out in the lives of the villagers. And with a possible spy in their midst, evacuated families, potential love matches and a visit from a famous writer, she’s got her work cut out for her.

Elfrida Jane, accustomed to the energetic life of a small-part actress, finds life at Mountain Cross very different. At first her mother's old cliff-top house seems lonely and bleak, compared to the glitter and bustle of the theatre. But Elfrida has plenty of courage and soon settles down to enjoy herself. Then, suddenly, her peace is shattered. To the house on the cliff come unexpected visitors from the world of the theatre - a world Elfrida thought she had left behind forever.

At short notice, Gerald Burleigh Brown is asked to take a deer-stalking holiday in place of his brother-in-law. The old hunting lodge where Gerald stays is miles from the nearest village and surrounded by the forest with its high rocky hills. Apart from getting to know the other people in the house party, Gerald gradually begins to understand and make friends with the local inhabitants. Then suddenly an outburst of violence changes the whole nature of his holiday.

Since being widowed, Caroline Dering has been content to live her life solely for her children. Then the mysterious Robert Shepperton arrives in the village. At first, Caroline's gentle heart is simply touched by his obvious unhappiness; until gradually she finds her sympathy turning into love. But the visit of her lovely younger sister, Harriet, to Vittoria Cottage, throws Caroline into a turmoil - because Harriet also falls for Mr. Shepperton....

Shortly before Bel's marriage to Ellis Brownlee, her friend, Louise Armstrong, goes house hunting for them and discovers a charming but neglected old stone cottage in the Cotswolds. Bel adores the house, called Fletchers End. Ellis buys the place from the absentee-owner, Lieutenant Commander Lestrange, and, after a picture-book wedding, the happy couple move in. As she embarks on her new life as a devoted wife, Bel loyally guides Louise through her own romantic tribulations.

Charlotte Fairlie is a successful, elegant career woman. Still in her 20s, she has landed a job as headmistress of her old school. She is admired and liked by both staff and pupils - but she begins to feel there is something missing in her well-organised life. Then one summer she goes to stay with a young pupil on the remote Scottish Isle of Targ. In the romantic atmosphere of the Highlands, anything can happen - and even the cool, efficient Charlotte surprises herself.

With husband Tim stationed in Egypt and her children at boarding school, Hester Christie -affectionately known as 'Mrs Tim' and based loosely on D. E. Stevenson herself - finds herself at a loose end, until her friend Grace takes her at her word and finds her a job with the formidable Erica Clutterbuck, who has opened a new hotel in the Scottish Borders.

Best-selling author D. E. Stevenson’s charming fictional alter ego, Hester Christie - or 'Mrs Tim', as she is affectionately known to friends of her military husband - was first introduced in Mrs Tim of the Regiment, published in 1932. In 1941, Stevenson brought Mrs Tim back in this delightful sequel, to lift spirits and boost morale in the early days of World War II. With her husband stationed in France, Hester finds plenty to keep her busy on the home front.

Vivacious, young Hester Christie tries to run her home like clockwork, as would befit the wife of British Army officer, Tim Christie. However hard Mrs Tim strives for seamless living amidst the other army wives, she is always moving flat-out to remember groceries, rule lively children, side-step village gossip and placate her husband with bacon, eggs, toast and marmalade. Left alone for months at a time whilst her husband is with his regiment, Mrs Tim resolves to keep a diary of events large and small in her family life.

Barbie France has known Edward Steyne all her life - indeed they were childhood sweethearts. Charming, spirited, debonair, he is the ideal companion. Everyone, especially Edward, assumes they will marry one day. But Barbie is uneasy. Edward sometimes behaves very oddly. There are his sudden, huge winnings on the racecourse and the strange affair of Aunt Amalie's emerald ring. And last, but not least, Barbie is puzzled by his reaction to the handsome stranger she meets at a wedding; for suddenly easy-going Edward becomes hostile and unfriendly . . . Can Barbie discover the truth?

Despite his passionate love for Ardfalloch, Iain has been driven to let his home and estate to Mr Hetherington Smith, a wealthy London businessman, and his kindly wife (who was, truth be told, happier when they were poor). MacAslan stays on in a cottage by the loch, aided by his devoted keeper Donald and Donald’s wife, Morag. But he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Linda Medworth and her young son, invited to Ardfalloch by Mrs Hetherington Smith.

Mrs Tim goes to the Highlands of Scotland and is involved in a plot to rescue a naval officer from the toils of a siren; but, alas, the best laid plans "gang aft agley". The characters are skilfully drawn, from the fierce Mrs London, with her heart of gold, to the garrulous Mrs Falconer, whose muddled stories of her girlhood make excruciatingly funny reading.

Bel, an orphan daughter of an Army colonel, is brought up in an English village and flung into the whirl of London life to earn a hard living as a secretary while attempting to navigate romance, unexpected friendships and urban life. Shy and sensitive, she is unaware of the pitfalls that surround her. When Bel is offered a chance to leave London and venture to a fishing hotel in Scotland for a much needed holiday with an old school friend, things begin to change. There she learns that you cannot escape from your troubles by running away from them....