In this, the second part of the trilogy Eustace and Hilda, the story resumes with Eustace a languid undergraduate at Oxford and Hilda running a clinic for "crippled" children. They are invited to a weekend visit with the upper-crust Stavely family who awed Eustace, the impressionable child, on the beach of Anchorstone. Hartley conveys the delicate class distinctions that fill the weekend with anxiety. Eustace is willing to see it through if it means a liaison between Hilda and Dick Stavely who go for a distressingly prolonged plane trip. The simple yet subtle story is captivating. ( )

This is the second of the trilogy which begins with 'The Shrimp and the Anemone' and concludes with 'Eustace and Hilda'. While I found the first book,which tells of the childhood of the brother and sister,fascinating,this one was much less so.In 'The Sixth Heaven' Eustace is in his first year at Oxford and thanks to his inheritance is leading a rather indolent existence there. Hilda however is running a clinic for 'cripples' and has a definite purpose and goal to aim for.
They are both invited to Anchorstone,a country house,by someone they both used to know as children. By the end of this visit their lives will be changed forever. ( )