Fletchers End by D.E. Stevenson #1962Club

Title: Fletchers End
Author: D.E. Stevenson
Publication: Ace Books, paperback, originally published in 1962
Genre: Fiction
Setting: 20th century Britain

my copy is a bit garish!

I read Fletchers End for the 1962 Club, which Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting this week.

Description: In Bel Lamington, Stevenson gave us an appealing heroine who was making her way as a secretary in London but yearned for companionship and peaceful life in the country (my review from last week). After much upheaval and worry, Bel’s boss followed her to Scotland and proposed. You would think all her troubles were over, and for the most part in this sequel, they are. However, a newlywed couple needs a place to live and Bel’s friend Louise Armstrong finds her friend a charming old house in the Cotswolds, complete with housekeeper/cook, near where Louise housekeeps for her father. The house has been empty since its elderly owner, Miss Lestrange died years ago, needs renovations, and restoring the garden to its former glory will take two strong men but Bel finds it delightful and her husband, Ellis Brownlee, likes it too and makes an offer to the naval officer who inherited it. The rest of the story focuses on Ellis and Bel’s settling into their first home and Louise’s romantic misadventures, despite her determination never to marry . . . .

My Impression: I was surprised to learn that one can commute to London from the Cotswolds as it seemed quite far on my visit but I can imagine the appeal, especially after Bel’s vivacious friend Louise finds a house just waiting to be restored, which her doctor father knows well from visiting the previous owner. The caretaker for the house is the sort of quirky character Stevenson does well: Mrs. Warmer has fallen in love with Fletchers End and is fascinated by its history of being owned by arrow makers. She gets on well with Louise until she realizes the house might be sold and she might have to leave. Bel solves this problem by hiring her as housekeeper and she stays in the house while renovations are done – Bel and Ellis live in Bel's tiny London flat until they can move in.

When the Armstrongs and Bel were on holiday in Scotland in the previous book, they met Alec Drummond and his sister, both ardent fishermen – or should I say, fisherpeople. Like most men, Alec fell in love with Louise but she found him too obsessed with fishing to be a satisfactory husband, even if she wanted to leave her father. However, he reappears in this book and Bel hopes her friend will soften toward him:

“You think it’s silly of me to mind about the fishing, don’t you?” demanded Louise.

“No, not really,” said Bel thoughtfully. “It isn’t so much his keenness on fishing that worries you; it’s his slackness about his business. That’s true, isn’t it?”

“It’s both. To Alec fishing is so much more important than business. You saw that for yourself when we were at Drumburly.”

“He was having a fishing holiday,” pointed out Bel.

Louise says she must marry a man she can respect, and who can blame her? Just as she seems adamant, a good-looking stranger appears, who turns out to be Roy Lestrange, the naval officer who inherited but neglected Fletchers End. He is impressed by what the Brownlees have done to the house, if a bit resentful:

Bel had an uncomfortable feeling that her visitor was regretting the sale of Fletchers End – or, more likely, he was thinking he ought to have got a better price for the place. Seeing it now, when so much had been done to it, you could hardly blame him.

“It was in terribly bad repair,” she told him. “We had to spend a lot of money on it, you know.”

Bel enjoys Roy at first because he shares what he remembers about the history of the house but, as she gets to know him better, she gets an accurate sense of his defects and is worried that he might sweep Louise off her feet. Fortunately, life throws some challenges at Alec and he is afforded the opportunity to mature and prove himself to Louise so she can get the same HEA as her friend.

The book features cameos from The Musgraves and Rhoda Dering-Johnstone from Shoulder the Sky who employed Bel briefly. Dr. Armstrong and Mrs. Musgrave seemed to hit it off at Bel's wedding so perhaps we don’t need to worry he will be too lonely without Louise.  Overall, a warm and affectionate story: not as strong as Bel Lamington and would not be effective as a standalone but satisfying to those who felt cheated of romance because Ellis was distant or absent in the previous book.

Source: Personal garish copy