Out of the Rain by Elizabeth Cadell

Title: Out of the Rain
Author: Elizabeth Cadell
Publication: William Morrow, hardcover, 1987
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Late 20th-century Britain

Description: Edward Netherford is a quiet London lawyer who inherited some difficult clients from his father and is forced to go to Yorkshire in an attempt to retrieve some paintings they inherited. When all the hotels are unexpectedly full, he winds up staying with an eccentric family, headed by an attractive young widow with three young sons. It turns out his closest friend is in love with her, so Edward, also smitten, tries to stay distant and this is easy because her household is the opposite of the orderly life he has chosen.  Against his better judgment, he is intrigued:

He paused. “If you ever go to London, I hope you’ll let me know. I should like to see you again,” he ended.

He deplored her untidiness, her lack of method. He considered her devotion to her children excessive, unwise and short-sighted. He thought her good looking, but he was disconcerted by the way she presented herself to the world just as she was, without adornment or assumed social graces. One part of him regretted having to leave this unusual household, but on the whole, he thought, it would be a relief to get back to people who conformed to what he thought of as normal behavior.

Pursuing his clients’ paintings which are being held hostage by their quirky stepmother, Mrs. Brockman, requires several more trips to Yorkshire where Edward gets to know Estelle and her family better. He also becomes unexpectedly appreciative of Mrs. Brockman, although he disapproves of her determination to repay her adult stepchildren for their condescending treatment of her. As always, the author treats her readers to a lighthearted plot and vivid characters.

My Impression: Cadell is always charming but in this book I couldn’t help feeling the juxtaposition of a hero who is used to an orderly life in a service flat in London (“I would have thought rooms were a bit dreary – but if they’re service rooms, they do everything for you, don’t they?” “Everything,” he said, and tried to keep the pleasure out of his voice.) and a woman who can’t make toast without burning it and three unruly children may be doomed to failure when they set up house in suburbia. Luckily, Cadell realized this and provided them with a housekeeper!

I am always intrigued by the description of service flats in books. I suppose in the days before take-out was common, having meals provided, not to mention maid service as needed, would have been very appealing for those who had not been brought up to care for themselves and did not need or could not afford full-time staff.

Estelle is an attractive free spirit but in real life, it is hard to imagine she would have encountered or attracted four such eligible bachelors as those in this book. She lives in a tiny village which she rarely leaves, so how would she meet them; she has three small children; she has barely enough money to live on – this is a lot for anyone to want to take on! I remember a divorced friend in New York being rudely told on a blind date that she was lucky she didn’t have children or no one would have wanted to date her.

Source: Library. Not the most memorable Cadell – I had no recollection of reading it several years ago – but certainly entertaining.  I am happy to say most of her books are back in print.