Bel Lamington & Fletcher's End by D.E. Stevenson ☺️💙💚

Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday! 🥳🎉

Can I tell you how happy I am that Dean Street Press has republished TWO MORE of D.E. Stevenson's warm and wonderful novels?? Yipppeee! I'm in heaven! 

Not only do these books have gorgeous covers, but now there are over 100 Furrowed Middlebrow titles. Unbelievable! 😱

So far, I've read 65/103 of the FM books. I'm slowly making my way through and looking forward to the rest with happy anticipation!

Okay, back to Bel! 

I've read this duology three times and now I also have three different editions—so fitting, right? Wooo! 

Here are my thoughts on each... 

1. BEL LAMINGTON

RATING: 4.5🌟 A delightfully cozy novel!

Bel hated taking a firm line with anyone, but sometimes it was essential. It will be alright once Mr. Brownlee comes back, thought Bel as she made ready for bed. Mrs. Brownlee's faith in her son was infectious. 

WHAT I LOVED: 

💚 Cozy descriptions of homes, food and nature (especially once Bel goes to Scotland)
💚 Kind and competent Bel 
💚 Dependable, interesting and handsome Mr. Ellis Brownlee
💚 The caring Mrs. Brownlee and dynamic Young Jim Copley
💚 Lively Louise and her wonderful father
💚 Another “glimpse” of James and Rhoda!

WHO I DIDN'T LOVE:

❊ Horrible and jealous Mr. Wills
❊ Scheming, dishonest and nasty Miss Goudge 
❊ Self-centered Mark Desborough

NOTE: The quote above is at the end of Chapter 12 and is my favorite passage. My thoughts and emotions (in general) are very similar to Bel’s, so I’m very sympathetic to her character. I also adored the section of Bel's lovely visit to see Mrs. Brownlee! In my vintage paperback edition, this was on pages 127-130.

2. FLETCHER'S END 

RATING: 4.75🌟 A terrifically charming and romantic sequel to Bel Lamington! 

...all the things she loved about Fletcher's End;...the friendly feeling when you came in (as if it were welcoming you home)...the old oak beams...the curve of the staircase and the smoothness of the banister-rail beneath your hand...the morning sunshine pouring in through the windows and shining on the polished floors...the singing of the birds at dawn...the clock on the tower of St. Julian's striking the hours...the crackle of logs burning in the big stone fireplace...the gentle creaks and sighings as the old house settled down for the night...

Bel thought of Mrs. Warmer—nice kind Mrs. Warmer; and Mr. Carruthers, talking about 'chimbleys'; and little Mr. Fuller, walking about the 'garding' and enjoying the 'luverly flowers'—invisible to everyone except himself. They were all part of Fletcher's End. She thought of the aspen tree outside the staircase window and the rustle of the wind among its leaves; she thought of the roses, Ellis' roses, which would bloom for him next year.  She thought of the 'apricocks' on the south wall—not next year, but perhaps the year after, their branches would be bowed down with little golden globes. 

WHAT I LOVED:

💚 Bel and Ellis' loving and supportive relationship
💚 Fletcher's End itself (I want to live there!)
💚 Steady, practical and hardworking Ellis
💚 Lovely and energetic Louise along with her understanding (and patient) father, Dr. Armstrong
💚 Cozy and old-fashioned Mrs. Warmer (I would love a home helper like her!)
💚 Reading about all of the home repairs to Fletcher's End
💚 Bel's friendship with Margaret Warren (from Bel Lamington)
💚 Descriptions of the garden, rose bushes, and violets
💚 The stunning painting of Mrs. Lestrange (with I could see it, if it existed!)
💚 Mini mystery concerning the wardrobe bought from Roy Lestrange
💚 Learning more about Alec's character and his struggle to get his life in order

Although I didn't love this DES novel quite as much as the first time I read it in 2019, I still consider it one of my top favorites.

!CAUTION: SPOILER AHEAD!

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ANOTHER PART I LOVED:

"Happiness filled her heart to overflowing—for Fletcher's End was safe. It belonged to her and Ellis; it was their very own. They would live here and enjoy its peace and beauty all their lives...Presently Bel became aware of the scent of violets, it was faint at first—perhaps it was just imagination—but gradually it grew stronger until the delicious fragrance filled the room. Bel glanced up at the picture and it seemed to her that Mrs. Lestrange was smiling."

Although I love Fletcher’s End a tiny bit more, I still adore Bel Lamington. I enjoyed it even more this time around! I highly recommended this series!

Once again, I have Victoria of Dean Street Press to thank for these gorgeous new paperback editions! She truly chose the perfect artwork for these covers. I'm in love! Thank you, thank you, dear friend! 😍❤️📚

Let me know in the comments if you've read these books and which (if any) you love more.

What are you reading this weekend, book friends? 

Much love and summery hugs! 💛☀️🤗☀️💛

P.S. Sharing a couple of photos of a couple of bouquets from my little New Hampshire garden, too! The mixed rose bouquet includes David Austin roses (the pink and yellow). The next has peach roses and day lilies (about to bloom). All of the roses smell amazing! (Once my rose bushes grow a bit bigger, I hope I'll have more than a few roses per season. Right now, they're about 1-2 years old at most.) The last photo shows two kinds of daisies and a pretty sunflower type that's new to me! Hope you like them! 

 

Susan Scarlett Book Collection! ❤️

Happy Sunday Shelfie! 😍📚✨

Helllooo friends! I don't usually share Sunday Shelfies on my blog, but I am today! Yay! 🥳🎉

This photo only a shows a small portion of my bookshelves, but still…you can count that...right?

You might be able to catch a small glimpse of books by some of my favorite authors such as Rosamunde Pilcher, Ruby Ferguson, Margery Sharp, Louise Platt Hauck, and Maysie Greig on these shelves. (Also, a few by authors I'm excited about like Margaret Pedler and Anya Seton.)

I'm sure you already know that I'm a huge fan of Noel Streatfeild (check out my Noel Streatfeild Book Collection!), but I also ADORE her YA books written under the name Susan Scarlett 🥰 

I wanted to share my current book collection because I just added some gorgeous new vintage editions! Woo-hoo! (So much thanks and love to my parents, my sister Kim, and my in-laws for the birthday money! And, tons of love to Caro (@carosbookcase) for buying me Poppies in England and Ten Way Street! She is always incredibly generous and thoughtful! 🥰💕📚🎁)

 

[See my Susan Scarlett Instagram Post for better photos!]

 

Why Do I Love Susan Scarlett Books?

 

💖 Lively and fun to read

💖 Addictive 'gotta-get-to-the-end' stories

💖 Easy and enjoyable writing style

💖 At least one male and female character (not necessarily the main characters) to love

💖 Cozy details (especially about food and clothing)

💖 Light romances that don't leave you feeling over-emotional or sickly sweet

 

What I Find Frustrating about Susan Scarlett Books:

 

❊ Horribly annoying female characters who are lazy, self-centered and absolutely unlikable

❊ I find myself sometimes sighing (possibly loudly and deeply) when there is lack of communication between characters or if the ending feels like it was rushed and I have to go back and see if I'd missed something.

❊ Sometimes the characters' names get confusing because they're similar in some way and I have trouble keeping track of who's who. (Does this happen to you, too?) 

BOOK RATINGS:

The Man in the Dark 5🌟
Under the Rainbow 5🌟
Murder While You Work 4.75🌟
Sally-Ann 4.5🌟
Babbacombe’s 4.5🌟
Peter and Paul 4.5🌟
Summer Pudding 4.25🌟
Pirouette 4🌟
Clothes-Pegs 4🌟 

TBR:

Poppies Over England
Ten Way Street
Love in a Mist 

 

I adore my new vintage book collection but I love the covers on my Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow editions more! 😜 (FUN FACT: I just counted and I only have 36 more DSP FM books to read! I've read 67/103 so far!) 

Do you love vintage editions OR modern reprints? (Or both?) 

Which cover do you like best? Let me know in the comments! 🤔

Happy Sunday, Beautiful Friends! ☀️💛🤗💛☀️ 

 

Noel Streatfeild Book Collection! ☺️💝📚

Happy March, Friends! 

I hope you're not sick of seeing another book collection post - lol! I couldn't resist sharing the (current) Noel Streatfeild books in my little home library. (Pssst...if you want to see my Susan Scarlett book collection, CLICK HERE! I'm almost done reading all 12 Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow editions—woo!) 

There's something very special about Noel Streatfeild stories...they're heartfelt, family-rich, cozy, real, and full of authentic characters you feel like you know (or want to know). Sometimes I feel frustrated with the "baddies" (usually selfish, pompous, close-minded individuals), but things always seem to turn out alright—and that's why I love her books. 

I would love to say that I know a great deal about this lovely, spirited and incredibly talented author, but I only know the smallest amount (at the moment!) You should definitely check out her Wikipedia page to learn more about her fascinating life!

Today, Liz (@pony.books) and I are so excited to do a collab post on Instagram sharing all of our updated Noel Streatfeild treasures for Book Friday Friday!

I really loved my collab last year with Sue (@myownbookjourneys) last year, too! She has the BEST vintage editions—I'm still drooling over them in a serious way! 😍❤️📚

I also wanted to thank Beth of Small Home Comforts for inspiring me to keep reading more NS books this year! Her hashtag of #yearwithstreatfeild2026 is so fun and includes a wonderful variety of titles. I'm following along this year and I hope you will, too!

BOOK RATINGS:

(These are listed in the order that I read them. Only one book I've read as a child. The rest were read in my late 40s until now. Also, you can also find my full reviews of these books on Goodreads!) 

Ballet Shoes 5🌟 (child), 3.5🌟 (adult)
Saplings 3🌟
The Bell Family/Family Shoes 4🌟
A Vicarage Family 4.5🌟
Caldicott Place 3🌟
Apple Bough 4🌟
Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories 4🌟
The Growing Summer 3.5🌟
Thursday's Child 4🌟
New Town/New Shoes 4🌟
Noel Streatfeild's Holiday Stories 4🌟
Christmas with the Chrystals 3.5🌟
The House in Cornwall 4.5🌟
Skating Shoes 5🌟
Theatre Shoes 5🌟
Movie Shoes/The Painted Garden 3.75🌟 
The First Book of Ballet 4.75🌟
Dancing Shoes 4🌟 
Ballet Shoes for Anna 4.75🌟 

Aunt Clara 4.25🌟   

2026/2027 TBR: 

• Mothering Sunday
• Circus Shoes
• Tennis Shoes
• Party Shoes/Party Frock 
• The Children of Primrose Lane 
• The Gemma Series (two of the books gifted to me by Sue @myownbookjourneys!)
• By Special Request 
• The Years of Grace  
• Birthday Book

 

WISHLIST:

• Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Annual
• It Pays to Be Good
• The Winter is Past 
• Noel Streatfeild: A Biography 
• Judith
• Caroline England
• The Whicharts 
• I Ordered a Table for Six
• Tea by the Nursery Fire
• The Maitlands  
• Parson's Nine
• Grass in Piccadilly  

NOTE ON FIRST PHOTO IN POST: The photo in top left picture frame was printed out from the National Portrait Gallery website. (Photo by Bassano Ltd.) The photo in the lower right gold picture frame was printed out from Getty Images website. This photo features Noel Streatfeild as she autographs a copy of her book 'The Years of Grace' for actress Barbara Murray (1929 - 2014), circa 1950. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)

HELPFUL LINKS: 

•  Royal Literary Fund 
•  Story Mole 
•  Streatfeild: The Story of a Life by Susan Peak 
•  Books for Keeps
•  Persephone Books
•  Encyclopedia.com
•  Dean Street Press (for Susan Scarlett)

 NOEL STREATFEILD MOVIES:

• Ballet Shoes (2007)
• Ballet Shoes (1975)
• Thursday's Child (1972)
• The Growing Summer (1968)
• Aunt Clara (1954) 

Wishing you the most wonderful weekend, sweet friends! Let me know your favorite book(s) by Noel Streatfeild in the comments below! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕

D.E. Stevenson Book Collection (and Readalong)! ☺️📘💕🌸

Do you love D.E. Stevenson as much as I do? 😍📚❤️ If so, I'm co-hosting a DES Read-Along with Sabine and Niki on Instagram and we would be so happy if you'd join us! 

HELPFUL INFO:

❊ March 2026: Kate Hardy
❊ April 2026: The Musgraves
❊ May 2026: Five Windows 
❊ June 2026: The Tall Stranger
❊ July and August 2026: Bel Lamington and Fletcher's End 
❊ Hashtag: If you want to tag us (@babsbelovedbooks, @nikilovestoread @sabines.literary.world and @dean_street_press_ltd) in any read-along posts you share on IG, please use the hashtag #BuncleAndBeyond so we won't miss it!
❊ To Join: Simply read along with us and, if you'd like, join our IG discussions at the end of the month. No pressure to do anything else. We will share all information about the date of discussions on our IG posts. 

Lucky for us, Dean Street Press has republished 19 of D.E. Stevenson's novels for readers to enjoy! The paperback covers are gorgeous! But, if paperbacks are hard for you to read, it's so awesome that they offer e-book versions, too. Yay! (Isn't it awesome that two more are being published this summer! Check out the covers for Bel Lamington and Fletcher's End!)

HELPFUL LINKS: 

• The website, Book Series in Order, also has additional (and interesting) information on Dorothy Emily Stevenson.  
• Michelle (@myeclecticshelf on Instagram) also shared this very helpful 'The World of DES" website with our readalong group—thank you!
• Alison's D.E. Stevenson's Characters, Links and Locations page 
• Fantastic Fiction D.E. Stevenson page 
• The Captive Reader's D.E. Stevenson Extravaganza
• BookSeries.Org for D.E. Stevenson
• The D.E. Stevenson Book Checklist by F.R. Martin 

So far, I've read 48/53 books by D.E. Stevenson...according to the lists I've found. If you see any books I'm missing—please share the title(s) below or send me a DM via Instagram! 

I'm really excited to share my vintage and republished DES editions with you! Here they are, along with titles and book ratings!

MY BOOK RATINGS:

The English Air 5🌟
Blow the Wind Southerly/The Enchanted Isle/Charlotte Fairlie 5🌟
Rochester’s Wife 5🌟
Katherine Wentworth 5🌟
Katherine’s Marriage/The Marriage of Katherine 5🌟
The Fair Miss Fortune 5🌟
Green Money 5🌟
Young Mrs. Savage 4.5🌟
The House on the Cliff 5🌟
Blue Sapphire 5🌟
Alister and Co./It’s Nice to Be Me 5🌟 (poetry)
Sarah Morris Remembers 4.75🌟
Sarah's Cottage 4🌟 
Bel Lamington 4.5🌟
Fletcher's End 4.75🌟
Vittoria Cottage 5🌟
Music in the Hills 3🌟 
Winter and Rough Weather/Shoulder the Sky 4🌟
Anna & Her Daughters 4.5🌟
Kate Hardy 4🌟 
Golden Days 4🌟

Mrs. Tim of the Regiment 5🌟
Mrs. Tim Carries On 4🌟
Mrs. Tim Gets a Job 4🌟
Mrs. Tim Flies Home 4.5🌟
The Baker’s Daughter/Miss Bun, The Baker's Daughter 4.5🌟
Miss Buncle’s Book 4🌟
Miss Buncle Married 4🌟
The Two Mrs. Abbots 4.5🌟
The Four Graces 4.5🌟
Gerald and Elizabeth 4🌟 
Amberwell 4🌟
Summerhills 4🌟
Celia's House 4🌟
Listening Valley 5🌟
Smouldering Fire 4.5🌟
The Empty World/A World in Spell 4.75🌟
Five Windows  5🌟

The Young Clementina/Divorced from Reality/Miss Dean's Dilemma 4🌟
Still Glides the Stream 4🌟
Spring Magic 3🌟
The Musgraves 4🌟
Peter West 3.5🌟
Emily Dennistoun 4🌟
The Tall Stranger 4.5🌟
Rosabelle Shaw 3.75🌟
Crooked Adam 3🌟
The House of the Deer 2🌟

TBR:  
Found in the Attic 
Jean Erekin’s Secret 
Portrait of Saskia
The Starry Mantle (poetry) 
Meadow-flowers (poetry)

(Note: Some of the books in the TBR list above were also republished by Greyladies or Lume Books and, if you're lucky, can be found online via Ebay, Abebooks, ThriftBooks, Mercari, Etsy, Biblio, World of Books, or Amazon.) 

FAVORITE QUOTES FROM DES:

"I write all my books in longhand, lying on a sofa near the window in my drawing room. I begin by thinking it all out and then I take a pencil and jot it all down in a notebook. When that stage is over I begin at the beginning and go on like mad until I get to the end. After that I have a little rest and then polish it up and rewrite bits of it. When I can do no more to it I pack it up, smother the parcel with sealing wax, and despatch it to be typed. I am now free as air and somewhat dazed, so I ring up all my friends (who have been neglected for months) and say, 'Come and have a party.'"

"Friends are like windows in a house, a what a terribly dull house it would be that had no windows.  They open vistas, they show one new and lovely views of the countryside. Friends give one new ideas, new values, new interests. Thank God for friends!"

"Someday I mean to write a book of reminiscences; to delve into my cupboard of memory and sort out all the junk. There is so much to write about, so many little pictures grave and gay, so many ideas to think about and disentangle and arrange. Looking back is a fascinating pastime; looking back and wondering what one's life would have been if one had done this instead of that, if one had turned left at the crossroads instead of to the right, if one had stayed at home instead of going out or had gone out five minutes later."

I hope February treated you well, book friends! I would love to hear your favorite DES titles! Let me know in the comments! 

I'll leave things here with a photo of the snow (at least a foot and a half and more on the way!) at our place in New Hampshire. Crossing my fingers that you'll join our D.E. Stevenson read-along for March, April and/or May! 🥰📕

Happy Reading and Tons of Hugs!! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕

My Favorite Autumn Books 🤩🧡🍁📙🍂

Happy Almost-Autumn Equinox, Book Friends! Before I leave for Prince Edward Island (yippeee!), I wanted to share my favorite books for autumn—by title, season and/or book cover. Autumn is my all-time favorite season (with spring being 2nd) and I love getting cozy and cuddly with these fall-ish books, movies and activities. 

Let's get started on the lists! (Note: See if you can spot the handmade crochet pumpkins and hand-carved fox in these photos—both such thoughtful gifts from my dearest friend Caro of Carosbookcase.com!)

Lots of lovely autumn books on my new kitchen tablecloth with pumpkin place mats!

AUTUMN-TITLED BOOKS: 

🍁 Autumn by Susan Branch 5🌟
🍁 Autumn Story by Jill Barklem 4.5🌟
🍁 Cranberry Autumn by Wende & Harry Devlin 4🌟
🍁 Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym 3🌟
🍁 The Autumn Rose by Fiona Hill
🍁 Tangled Autumn by Betty Neels 
🍁 The Autumn’s Brightness by Daisy Newman
🍁 Autumn Term by Antonia Forest (a gift from Caro!) 4🌟

Autumn-Titled Books in my Current Collection

AUTUMN BOOK COVERS: 

🍂 True to You by Viola Rowe 3.5🌟
🍂 Diana Takes a Chance by Catherine Christian 4.5🌟
🍂 Buttered Toast by Marjorie Stewart 5🌟
🍂 He Went for a Walk by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
🍂 A Flute in Mayferry Street by Eileen Dunlop
🍂 Scarlet Royal
🍂 September by Rosamunde Pilcher 4.5🌟
🍂 A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater
🍂 Golden Books' Trees of North America 

My Favorite Autumn Book Covers

FAVORITE COZY FALL ACTIVITIES: (not Halloween-related)

🧡 Picking apple and pumpkins
🧡 Cracking bonfires in the backyard
🧡 Sunset walks in nature
🧡 Hot apple cider
🧡 Homemade soups and stews (with oyster crackers!)
🧡 Chilly nights and snuggling with Ian
🧡 Colorful leaves and leaf pressing
🧡 Moonlight hot tub nights
🧡 Sitting my my comfy chair with tea, book and handmade blanket 

(If only someone made vegan-friendly apple cider donuts!! Maybe someday!) 

The end papers to The Autumn's Brightness by Daisy Newman—so pretty!

MY FAVORITE MOVIES/TV SHOWS TO WATCH IN AUTUMN: (not Halloween-related)

🎬 When Harry Met Sally
🎬 Wolfwalkers
🎬 Persuasion
🎬 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
🎬 Harry Potter Series
📺 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
📺 Doc Martin 
🎬 Over the Garden Wall
🎬 Kiki’s Delivery Service
🎬 Mystic Pizza 
🎬 The Trouble with Harry
🎬 Mermaids
🎬 St. Elmo’s Fire
🎬 Coraline
🎬 Bedknobs and Broomsticks

My signed copy of September by Rosamunde Pilcher! Love!! 😍

Oops! I forgot to add a few books! The first is...The Willows and Beyond! I loved buddy reading this series by William Horwood with Caro last year! I hope we'll do this again soon (if only my TBR wasn't so huge! lol!) I was so lucky to receive three of these books as gifts from Caro. I love them! 

My William Horwood Book Collection...3/5 books gifted by Caro! 

These two books are also MUST READS for September and October! 

🍁 Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts 5🌟

This is a gorgeous book, even if you're not a crafty person. It's SO good and very cozy!

🍁 October, October by Katya Balen 5🌟

A very touching book that had me crying at the end!

My vintage Sears Pioneer Woman kitchen canisters from the 1970s. I love them so much and I use them every day! 😄

I would LOVE to hear your favorite autumn books, movies and activities—please comment below!  Many, many warm and cozy hugs until my next post! 🍁🧡🤗🧡🍁

Pink Sugar by O. Douglas👱🏻‍♀️💖🌸✨🏡

Oh, the beauty of this book!! I loved it SO much! 😍❤️

Rating: 5000🌟! 

I bookmarked at least 20 wonderfully cozy passages as I read—and it's a small book! This is hands-down my favorite O.Douglas book so far. I only wish I had read Penny Plain right before reading Pink Sugar...some of the characters from the first book in this trilogy were not quite fresh in my mind. But, even with that forgetfulness on my part, I absolutely fell in love with this wee Scottish novel about Kirsty Gilmour as she settles into her little cottage, named Little Phantasy, in the town of Muirburn (near Tweedside.)

A quote from Merren Strang (a character in Pink Sugar who is a writer): "I read a review the other day which began, 'This is a book about good, gentle, scrupulous people who live on the bright side of life.'" 

This is exactly how I feel about Pink Sugar. It's chock full of cozy descriptions (about food, clothing, nature, etc.), charming people (both good and bad) and simple, everyday life in a small village in Scotland.

WHAT I LOVED MOST:

💖 Kirsty herself (so thoughtful, motherly, sweet, kind and interesting)
💖 Endless cozy descriptions
💖 The warmth and loveliness of Little Phantasy
💖 Bright, light, family-oriented tone (with a subtle romance)
💖 Supportive little village community
💖 Blanche Cunningham (Kirsty's fabulous friend, though she isn't in the story very much)

FAVORITE SECTIONS/QUOTES: (Be prepared...so many!)

"...had first met Kirsty and her stepmother ten years before at an hotel in Mentone where she was recruiting after an illness in India. She had been interested at once in both of them, the pretty fragile mother and the young daughter with a cloud of pale gold hair and grave green eyes. They made a charming picture, she thought..." - thoughts of Blanche Cunningham

'Miss Fanny had now been a week in her haven, and sitting this afternoon by a bright fire (the April wind was cold), knitting one fleecy white shawl and wrapped in several others, she smiled happily to herself. She was really a very contented woman. Given a comfortable chair well out of draughts, a bright fire, good regular meals, plenty of light but pure literature for week-days and the life of a missionary or philanthropist for the Sabbath, she asked little more of life. All these she found at Little Phantasy.' 

'First, Aunt Fanny. Blanche, she's a dear. If I could have my pick of a world of elderly aunts I am sure I would have chosen her. She might be described as a perfect specimen in the Aunt World. I am remembering how we were once buying rugs the man said as he fondly stroked a choice one, "I assure you, madam, in the Rug World we consider this an almost perfect piece." What a delicious place a Rug World must be, so soft and warm and cosy!) But to continue, Aunt Fanny is the sort of person that makes a room look comfortable...by the mere fact of their presence make the place look home-like...' - Kirsty to Blanche Cunningham

She sat by her window, and saw the world all shining with dew, and watched when the sun first struck the ripples of Tweed as it flowed to the old grey bridge. She heard the first stirrings of life in the village—the tinka tinka tink from the smiddy, the lowing of the cows going to be milked, the clatter of cans as they were brought to the back door...all the cheerful morning sounds. She smelt the wood-smoke from the newly kindled fires, and the incomparable freshness of a May morning. The day seemed a long time begun when she went down to the nine o'clock breakfast.

'And he tells how every now and again he would rise from this book and pull aside the blind, and see the snow and the glittering hollies in the garden, and the moonlight on the white hills, then he would turn back to the crowded field of life on the page of his book.—Somehow that gives me a most happy feeling. It's so lovely to think of all the sunshine and laughter that can lie between two boards of a book.' - Kirsty to Robert Brand, the minister

'I don't know what it is, but even a book which I didn't think much of by the light of day, when read in bed reveals all sorts of excellences. I read in bed every night for half an hour by the clock, and every book I read seems a masterpiece.' - Kirsty to Merren Strang

'Few people have such a gift for living as Barbara. She just seems to fling herself headlong into the sunshine and joy of these summer days.' - Kirsty in letter to Blanche Cunningham

'Surely we want every crumb of pink sugar that we can get in this world. I do hate people who sneer at sentiment. What is sentiment after all? It's only a word for all that is decent and kind and loving in these warped little lives of ours...' - Kirsty to Colonel Home

She tossed about and thought of the blue and white room at home, with its wide windows letting in the hill air, the garden so gay with autumn flowers, the woods of Phantasy, still green but touched here and there with flame, the sound of running water which put her to sleep at night and welcomed her waking in the morning. 

September over, October burnt itself out in blazing trees and golden bracken, misty mornings, and still, star-filled nights...Every day as Kirsty wandered by Tweed and saw the trees shadowed orange and red in the blue depths she thoughts, "This must be the last: to-morrow the winter storms will break;" but day followed day in beauty...Every hour, from early morning until she wakened and watched the mist drift before the sun from the scarred face of Ratchell, to the drawing in of chairs in the lamplight and the scented blaze of the wood fire, seemed to bear something precious, precious and unforgettable.

"He describes a child wakening from a frightening dream, to find a mother's hand drawing aside the curtains and letting in the sunshine of a spring morning, and he goes on to say that death is like that, a morningwhen God's hand shall draw aside the curtains and we shall see the Sun of Righteousness. That is all it is, just sleeping to wake where everything that frightened us and vexed us will be finished with..." - Kirsty to Aunt Fanny

Kirsty was all sweetness and grace; she was like a flower garden, something fair and pleasant to delight all comers—something fragrant to be remembered. - thoughts of Rebecca Brand 

My O. Douglas Collection - I love it so much! 😍❤️

All I can say is that, the more O.Douglas books I read, the more I adore her writing and stories. Bundled with the fact that my pocket Nelson editions are extremely adorable and the perfect size to read from, I cannot be happy without an O.Douglas book by my bedside. Again, many, many thanks to Arpita (@bagfullofbooks) for recommending this author to me! She is always the best vintage book inspiration!

Although I chose this book for my Bookstagram Besties Facebook group for August (please join our group!), I was late starting the book and read most of it in early September. So, luckily, it also fit in with Nora's (@pear.jelly) Spinster September read-a-long. Yay!

I only wish I had an easier time reading the Scottish dialect sections (usually conversations between local servants/villages), but I hope that these will become effortless as time goes by. Otherwise, her novels are a JOY to snuggle down with at any time of day. 

Many thanks to Gina (@gina.stanyer.books), Michael (@michaelmccarty62) and Penny (@veganpen) for buddy reading this book with me!

Highly, Highly Recommended!! ☺️💖💓🌸