Review
Although this book sounded somewhat appealing I’d been putting it off. I guess I assumed that it really couldn’t be all that good since I’d missed out on it all these years. Will I ever learn?? What a truly delightful read from start to finish! It delighted my little anglophile heart, not to mention my inner romantic. Ah to live in genteel poverty in the English countryside! I just love how Cassandra is as delighted in her Englishness as I am! And I love it all even more when the English characters co-mingle with Americans as they do in this novel.
Cassandra is a combination of all the best literary heroines - Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennet, Jo March, and Anne Shirley but she’s also completely fresh and modern (well, as modern as one can be in 1930s England living in a crumbling old castle!) My only mark against this book is that the father really is a Grade A Douchebag. I’m sorry, but he is. I couldn’t stand him, but then again even Cassandra who adores him knows he’s far from perfect and struggles over it quite a bit. There’s also a lot of English class snobbery and ridiculousness going on which I can’t elaborate on too much with out giving away essential plot details. But even this isn’t really a detractor because it all seems very authentic.
Finally, I like to think I’m pretty good at predicting plot elements in books and while I had one thread figured out from the start I really didn’t know how all of it would turn out until the very end. And, even though it didn’t go quite the way I would have liked, it felt very real and was, therefore, very satisfying. This is a witty and charming coming of age story. Highly, highly recommended!
Cassandra is a combination of all the best literary heroines - Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennet, Jo March, and Anne Shirley but she’s also completely fresh and modern (well, as modern as one can be in 1930s England living in a crumbling old castle!) My only mark against this book is that the father really is a Grade A Douchebag. I’m sorry, but he is. I couldn’t stand him, but then again even Cassandra who adores him knows he’s far from perfect and struggles over it quite a bit. There’s also a lot of English class snobbery and ridiculousness going on which I can’t elaborate on too much with out giving away essential plot details. But even this isn’t really a detractor because it all seems very authentic.
Finally, I like to think I’m pretty good at predicting plot elements in books and while I had one thread figured out from the start I really didn’t know how all of it would turn out until the very end. And, even though it didn’t go quite the way I would have liked, it felt very real and was, therefore, very satisfying. This is a witty and charming coming of age story. Highly, highly recommended!
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