D.E. STEVENSON

One day we had been well-off and secure; the old grey London house had been 'home' and we imagined that our lives . . . would continue to run smoothly forever. The next day it was all gone. For Anna Harcourt and her three daughters-lovely Helen, who always gets what she wants, young Jane, who makes the best of what she has, and Rosalie, the middle daughter who wavers somewhere in between-the world is turned upside down by their father's death and the discovery that they will have to sell their London home. The girls are shocked when Anna buys a cottage in Ryddelton, her home town in Scotland, but they soon settle in to Scottish life, each in her own way. As time passes, the three girls must contend with love and tragedy, hope and despair, laughter and tears, all unfolding with D.E. Stevenson's incomparable storytelling and knowledge of human nature. First published in 1958, Anna and Her Daughters is a compelling, poignant, and ultimately joyful tale of family, romance, and healing. This new edition includes an autobiographical sketch by the author. "Miss Stevenson has her own individual and charming way of seeing things." Western Mail

Anna and Her Daughters

"Life is like looking out of a lot of different windows." So says Malcolm, shepherd and boyhood friend of David Kirk, and the words linger in David's mind as he reflects on his life so far. He recalls the window of his parents' home in rural Scotland, where he acquires the moral code which will guide him and begins to realise his flair for writing. There's the window of his uncle's house in Edinburgh, where he attends school, and the rather dingy window of a boarding-house in London where he learns the darker side of life while beginning his work life. A much brighter fourth window, over a London bookshop, dramatically shifts David's direction, and a fifth window . . . well, you'll need to read the book to find out about that one! In Five Windows, first published in 1953, we have one of D.E. Stevenson's warmest and wisest tales, infused with her acute knowledge of human nature, her flair for characters both likable and not, and an irresistible blend of nostalgia, wit, occasional melancholy, romance, and ultimate happiness. It also features a cameo from two characters we'll meet again in The Tall Stranger. This new edition includes an autobiographical sketch by the author. "Miss Stevenson has her own individual and charming way of seeing things." Western Mail

Five Windows

Yes, her job was the loneliest in the world. No king, no dictator set high upon a pinnacle, was as friendless as the headmistress of a girls' school. Charlotte Fairlie loves her position at the illustrious St. Elizabeth's, but it's not without its challenges-first among them her trouble-making maths mistress Miss Pinkerton, who yearns for Charlotte's job and spares no effort to complicate her life. Then there's the charming Lawrence Swayne, headmaster of a nearby boys' school, who has plans of his own for Charlotte's future. But it's the arrival of Tessa MacRynne, desperately homesick for the Scottish isle of Targ and distraught about her parents' impending divorce, who really stirs things up-giving Miss Pinkerton fresh ammunition, helping the unfortunate Eastwoods, who cower beneath their father's snide, critical personality, and inspiring Charlotte to spend an unforgettable holiday on Targ. Adventures, pleasures, misunderstandings, and tragedies follow, told with D.E. Stevenson's inimitable sensitivity and humour, and Charlotte's loneliness is soon forgotten . . . First published in 1954 and long out of print, Charlotte Fairlie is the irresistible, sometimes poignant tale of a talented professional woman gaining a new lease on life. This new edition includes an autobiographical sketch by the author. "Miss Stevenson has her own individual and charming way of seeing things." Western Mail

Charlotte Fairlie

Sometimes she wished she could stick up a large notice saying: "FOUR CHILDREN ARE NOT TOO MANY" . . . Raising four young children on her own in the years of postwar rationing, widowed Dinah tends to be the subject of sympathetic murmurs. But though she has little money, is perpetually tired, and remains haunted by unresolved issues from her troubled marriage, Dinah rejects all offers of pity. When her twin brother Dan returns from the military, he sends her and the children on holiday among the scenes of their childhood, staying with their unflappable Nannie at Craigie Lodge, their old family home, in a beautiful coastal town in Scotland. There, amidst happy memories, old friends, and new acquaintances, Dinah and her brood weather delightful adventures, awkward misunderstandings, and, perhaps, the tentative beginnings of new romance. First published in 1949, Young Mrs. Savage is a charming holiday story, a perceptive tale of overcoming past unhappiness to make a fresh start, and one of D.E. Stevenson's most irresistible novels. This new edition includes an autobiographical sketch by the author. "Miss Stevenson has her own individual and charming way of seeing things." Western Mail

Young Mrs. Savage

"There's something . . . I mean we simply must see Miss Fortune now. She isn't in bed, is she?" "No, she ain't," said Nannie grimly. "She ought to be, but she ain't, an' you shall see 'er. Ho, yes you shall! Both of you shall see 'er before you're any older." The village of Dingleford is all aquiver with the arrival of lovely young Miss Fortune with plans to open a tea house. Captain Charles Weatherby, just back from India, has "no use for bright little creatures no matter how long their eyelashes might be," but his perspective shifts when they actually meet (much to his mother's secret delight). The interest of Harold Prestcott, perpetual doormat to a smothering mother, is also piqued, much to her bitter chagrin. And when Miss Fortune's sister arrives in the village, soon pursued by an irate Frenchman, confusions bloom, passions flare, and hilarity reigns, all in classic D.E. Stevenson style. The Fair Miss Fortune, written in 1938, was originally (rather bafflingly) rejected by D.E. Stevenson's publisher. It only finally appeared in print in a limited edition from Greyladies in 2011, and Furrowed Middlebrow and Dean Street Press are delighted to make it more widely available with this new edition. It also includes archival letters between the author and her agent, and an autobiographical sketch by D.E. Stevenson. "Miss Stevenson has her own individual and charming way of seeing things." Western Mail

The Fair Miss Fortune

"Do you know anything about her, Richard?" "Nothing except that she lives in London, is obviously well off and very impulsive. . . . She bought the house as if it were-a bun. She bought it straight off without seeing it." "She must be mad!" The arrival of novelist Kate Hardy at the lovely Dower House in Old Quinings, with her staunch ally and housekeeper Martha, has the whole village talking. But Kate is not in fact mad, merely in need of escape from her selfish sister Milly and spoiled niece Minty. Though welcomed warmly by Richard Morven at the Manor House and the charming, widowed Mrs. Stark, Kate likewise finds herself taken for a witch and is then one of the targets of a poison pen campaign-not to mention the rumours that her new home is haunted by its past inhabitant. With the arrival of Mrs. Stark's son Walter, back from his wartime triumphs and finding readjustment to village life difficult, Kate may find that the country allows her as little time for writing as London! First published in 1947 and providing a fascinating glimpse of English life in the immediate postwar years, Kate Hardy is an irresistible tale of village life, challenging family relations, romance, and D.E. Stevenson's incomparable storytelling. Also included in this edition is an autobiographical sketch by the author. "Miss Stevenson has her own individual and charming way of seeing things." Western Mail

D.E. STEVENSON

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