Rating: 
Summary: Good, Not Great
Review: This was my first Eileen Goudge book, and I think the general premise and story is pretty good. I also liked most of the main characters, but I also got frustrated with the repetition and indecisiveness of those characters. I believe this could have been an equally good, or better, book and been two-thirds as long. (I do hestitate to say something like that because I have great respect for writers' autonomy and integrity.) Eileen Goudge is particularly good at descriptions--her house and garden descriptions here are wonderful. Her character development of Cordelia Truscott is also excellent. Cordelia is ultimately the strongest and bravest character in this book, and it is fitting that it ends with her.
Rating: 
Summary: A Deeply Felt Story!
Review: This was one of the most interesting books I have read, and my first I've read of Eileen Goudge. I wasn't disappointed.
The story is really very sad as the father had had an affair long ago that he had never talked about; and in that affair, he'd had a child, unbeknownst to his wife until after he died. The beginning of the book captures your attention right away with a tragic event, and moves forward from that point on. A lot of family difficulties and situations arise in this book that make it great to read and hard to put down.
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