Book Description

This is a domestic tale of country gentlefolk, between the Wars, and their families, friends and acquaintances, mostly in their beloved Scottish Borders, but occasionally in London. Jane’s Parlour is the cosy sanctum whither Katharyn, wife, mother of 5 and writer, retreats for peace and re-invigoration; though mentioned sparingly, it serves as a symbol of a settled fulfilling country life, centre of a web of connections in the family’s wider circle. Characters are sympathetically portrayed, both from their own and others’ viewpoints, from family members of all generations (and dogs) to treasured (or provoking) servants and the needy on the estate (with use of Scots dialect). There is an accepted social order – daughter Caroline is expected to stay at home until matrimony, only grudgingly allowed to study drama and live in London, and her student friend is considered ‘common’. The losses of the Great War and economic stringencies have had their effect, and there is a feeling that life is on the cusp of change. Despite few momentous happenings, the interest lies in the characters’ lives, their concerns, friendships, jealousies, loves rejected or fulfilled, against a background of evocatively described Tweedside, in every season – and a romantic ending for some!