Two elderly sisters are trying to get on with life as well as possible. They have rented part of their house to Lindley, a young man looking for tranquillity to write a book. The ladies then fetch a young boy from an orphanage to help them in the garden and the house. In the beginning, all is well. Lindsey can write and the boy is good at his tasks. But old bitterness, criticism, and complaints between the two sisters bring the story slowly to a sad and tragic ending where no one comes out untouched. I like the writing and feel I might even consider reading the Jalna novels for which Mazo de la Roche is best known.
“A breath, a feeling, as of Lindley’s own childhood came to him. He raised his face to the swiftly moving clouds and drank the wind and freedom.”