Gretchen

De: Mary Jane Holmes

Narrado por: Celine Major

Rich and sophisticated Arthur Tracy returns to Tracy Park after several years abroad confused and mentally unstable. Initially claiming that Gretchen accompanied him on the boat and train back he then expects her to arrive at any moment. Meanwhile a child is found at the side of a woman frozen to death in the Tramp House nearby. Arthur's brother Frank believes he knows the child's identity but keeps it a secret fearing that his elaborate lifestyle could be in jeopardy. This is a heartwarming story with just the right mix of suspense and romance.

©2023 Erika (P)2023 Erika

Imagine the audience for which it was written

A touch of Austen/Bronte, a tiny bit of Gaskell and T. Hardy, but a lot more like Alcott, Not likely to be found in the hoity-toity reading lists for 19th cent. lit majors. But their loss, Holmes plot is not filled with subtle, gothic twists. Just straight forward story of how basically good people with faults surround Gretchen. Death, yes, but life must go on. Deceit, yes, but aren't we all touched with a little. Poverty, yes but let's imagine life that has escaped it. Fatigued? Holmes tells the story straight so that in a few restful moments at day's end, the weary reader can dip into the story and imagine how the story will unfold, then nod with approval when it turns out just as one might expect, or in a fanciful moment, wish for.

I found this author (but not this novel) in a trunk inherited from a forebear who straddled 19th and 20th century. A woman who toiled on the frontier, probably with no secondary education. I imagine she liked to read of a life she might touch, maybe her own or maybe one just beyond her state (as is the case of Gretchen growing up). The copy I received had been read so much that masking tape had been used to keep it bound.

I am glad for my encounter with this author.