When Viola learned of her husband Humphrey's affair, it seemed obvious that she must divorce him so he could be with the woman soon to bear him a child, but now she must deal with her highly-strung and sensitive son Hilary and her sister Frances' sudden move to London alone, without Humphrey's steadying presence. And while Humphrey tries to deal with the fact that his romantic choices have ended his marriage, his family is also living through numerous personal upheavals. His twin aunts Harriet and Hester are heading for a breakdown, with Harriet looking after all aspects of her sister's life...

Aged just seventeen Hermione is passed from the hands of an inattentive mother into an engagement with a young man she barely knows. Glad to have her pretty daughter married and celebrated by their social circle, Hermione's mother gives little thought to the fitness of the match. Hermione now finds she must grow up, and grow into a life with a man who is not her natural partner. Following Hermione and her family from the late eighteen hundreds through the First World War and the changing society of the post-war era, Crompton explores the strains and joys of an imperfect marriage with a warm...

Aged just seventeen Hermione is passed from the hands of an inattentive mother into an engagement with a young man she barely knows. Glad to have her pretty daughter married and celebrated by their social circle, Hermione's mother gives little thought to the fitness of the match. Hermione now finds she must grow up, and grow into a life with a man who is not her natural partner. Following Hermione and her family from the late eighteen hundreds through the First World War and the changing society of the post-war era, Crompton explores the strains and joys of an imperfect marriage with a warm...

""She glanced at her watch. They would be in Merlin Bay in less than half an hour now. Her heart began to beat more quickly. Something was waiting for her at Merlin Bay. She didn't know what it was yet, but she would know soon-in a day, in a week, perhaps. Certainly, when she passed this spot again at the end of the visit, she would know why Michael had wanted her to go there."" So begins Mrs. Paget's month-long holiday as she journeys with the rest of her family to visit her grown-up daughter Pen and her grandchildren, who have moved to Cornwall to reap the benefits of the fresh Cornish air....

""She glanced at her watch. They would be in Merlin Bay in less than half an hour now. Her heart began to beat more quickly. Something was waiting for her at Merlin Bay. She didn't know what it was yet, but she would know soon-in a day, in a week, perhaps. Certainly, when she passed this spot again at the end of the visit, she would know why Michael had wanted her to go there."" So begins Mrs. Paget's month-long holiday as she journeys with the rest of her family to visit her grown-up daughter Pen and her grandchildren, who have moved to Cornwall to reap the benefits of the fresh Cornish air....

""I don't think that people are people to her any longer. They're just mirrors. If she can see the right picture of herself in them, she likes them. If she can't, she dislikes them." " Stella Markham is the apple of her aunt's eye: gentle, kind, beautiful and accomplished - the model of a perfect child. Her guardians love her and her playmates worship her. Sensitive and thoughtful, she is the very image of nineteenth century loveliness - that is, until things don't go her way. From the bestselling author of the Just William stories, "Narcissa" follows Stella from childhood through courtship...

""I don't think that people are people to her any longer. They're just mirrors. If she can see the right picture of herself in them, she likes them. If she can't, she dislikes them." " Stella Markham is the apple of her aunt's eye: gentle, kind, beautiful and accomplished - the model of a perfect child. Her guardians love her and her playmates worship her. Sensitive and thoughtful, she is the very image of nineteenth century loveliness - that is, until things don't go her way. From the bestselling author of the Just William stories, "Narcissa" follows Stella from childhood through courtship...

Richmal Crompton's adult novels are an absolute delight and every bit as charming as her beloved Just William series. "The Old Man's Birthday" is both a nostalgic treat for fans of the gentler brand of interwar fiction, and a dry satire of British village life. Matthew Rowston is turning 95. A lovable rogue approaching his dotage, he has very little time for the high moral standards and rigid ideas of propriety espoused by his spinster daughter. Things get interesting when he invites his estranged son, the bright and lively Stephen, and his beautiful partner to his celebratory dinner. Over...

Richmal Crompton's adult novels are an absolute delight and every bit as charming as her beloved Just William series. "The Old Man's Birthday" is both a nostalgic treat for fans of the gentler brand of interwar fiction, and a dry satire of British village life. Matthew Rowston is turning 95. A lovable rogue approaching his dotage, he has very little time for the high moral standards and rigid ideas of propriety espoused by his spinster daughter. Things get interesting when he invites his estranged son, the bright and lively Stephen, and his beautiful partner to his celebratory dinner. Over...

Happily married for thirty years with three children that have long since grown up, Christopher Mainwaring finds himself at a total loss following the death of his beloved wife, Susan. Yet the joyful marriage he remembers may not have been all it seemed, for no one in the family knows of the troubling words his wife uttered to him from her death bed. . . Alluding to a possible affair that took place many years ago with a close family friend, the grieving widower is haunted by visions of Susan's infidelity and seeks to find out the truth. In his quest to unearth his wife's potential duplicity,...