Very enjoyable story about a girl named Elfrida Jane, an actress of mediocre talent who finds herself alone in the world after the death of her mother. A friend sees an advertisement in the newspaper from someone who is looking for Elfrida or her mother. When Elfrida answers the ad, she finds that a lawyer stands ready to help her claim her inheritance-- her mother's family's ancestral home, an estate called Mountain Cross. Because of a family disagreement, Elfrida never met her grandparents and never visited their home. Now when she goes to survey it, she falls in love with it and determines to keep it, give up her career on the stage, and live there. This begins her journey to greater self-confidence and contentment. Along the way, she becomes responsible for a darling little boy, falls in love with a man of the nicest sort, and gains a feeling of belonging within her neighborhood. Extremely pleasant and relaxing read. More plot than some of D.E. Stevenson's books. ( )

A mild, completely predictable and really very sweet romance. I enjoyed it much more than I thought it would. Lovely "comfort reading" - sometimes needed to balance the more deep, dark and complex novels which require our full engagement! ( )

This is an uncharacteristically formulaic effort for D. E. Stevenson. It hardly misses a cliché of 1960s romance: when I set it down, I absentmindedly expected to pick up a vintage Harlequin paperback. Orphan girl, no relatives: check. Grandparents wealthy, quarrelled with mother over unsuitable marriage, now deceased: check. Ancestral home in romantic windswept setting, faithful retainers, benevolent elderly lawyer: check, check, check. Attractive, sexy, shallow and caddish love interest versus virile yet sensitive protegé of benevolent lawyer - all present.

D. E. Stevenson being who she is, she does a good job of it and there are many interesting secondary characters, amusing situations, and sufficient drama, but this is far from her usual standard. ( )