Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey (1857–1917)

Claire lives with her widowed mother in Brussels. Her mother is still extremely young-looking and has a taste for the finer things in life, which Claire never questions. Hence it comes as a real shock when her mother reveals they're practically out of money.

Claire is horrified by the possibility that, just to take care of her mother in the style she's grown accustomed to, she may have to marry an older, rich guy who seems attracted to her. Fortunately that option gets taken care of in a show more manner that satisfies everybody, and Claire is free to decide her own future.

She decides to take a job teaching French at a girls' school in London. She goes into it with rose-colored glasses, thinking she's going to have a jolly time, be best friends with her fellow school-mistresses, and generally be Independent and Fulfilled. It's not as simple as that. This chance to see how the other half lives is sobering.

Many of her colleagues have given up all hope of a future aside from teaching, scrimping and saving, and bare survival after retirement. Claire works hard to keep cheerful, but she realizes that with years and years and years of routine, one is likely to be worn down. This isn't going to be Claire's lot, because she has family in the background that she plans to eventually reunite with, but she's still sensitive to the plight of the other girls. In particular, there is her roommate, a chronic grumbler who dashes headlong into a courtship that she sees as her only escape, and another schoolteacher beginning to suffer terribly from rheumatism, but with no means of treating it. These two are never far from her thoughts, especially when she considers how invisible they are in society. She wants to help them, but at the moment she's barely any better off.

Claire does have an advantage because she's known to a couple of rich people, and she gets invited to a party and makes sort-of friends there, and also impresses everybody with her awesome whistling skills. (What!!!???)

And then there's Erskine Fanshawe. He's very dreamy. I love him. A lot. **sigh...**

But it's also satisfying to see how strong Claire is, and how she fights for her positive spirit. I related to her a lot. Sometimes good people can be written as Mary Sues who are just born seeing the sunny side. But that's not how Claire is written. She's just as capable of getting depressed as the next person, but she makes conscious decisions about what she's going to dwell on, and sometimes that's really hard to do.

This book also has some cool not-stock-characters, like the girl who could be written as Jealous Rival, but instead is written as Basically Nice Person With A Few Normal Insecurities. I just like the fact that everybody seems to have the potential for good, even if they're at different points of development. show less

Darsie Garnett stands out among her siblings. She has sparkle. It is that which causes her great-aunt to carry her off as a companion for a few weeks, much to Darsie's chagrin. But while there she grows up a bit, learns to see the value of even a crochety old relation, and makes some new friends.

Fast forward three years, and she's ready to realize her most treasured dream... going to Cambridge. Her friends, the bookish brother-and-sister Hannah and Dan, are going as well. Dan has been a show more quiet but steady friend to Darsie from their younger years, but Darsie is most drawn to Ralph, a charming neighbor of her great-aunt. He once saved her life, and she now feels bound to do whatever she can for him, especially when he starts getting a bit debauched. Can she really influence him to change?

I liked this, although I wanted the conclusion to be a bit more definite instead of just a hint of things to come.

The latter half of the book is a fun look at a turn-of-the-century girls' college. It really sounds pretty great.

As with "A Houseful of Girls," the tone reminded me of Louisa May Alcott, which means that there are morals to be gleaned, but they are handled with a better economy of words, and I do like the points brought out. show less

Really there's not much to distinguish this book from many others like it, but I'm a sucker for a happy story where decent, hardworking people get the good things they deserve. You know, the warm fuzzies.
In this book a bunch of brothers and sisters, maybe late teens and early twenties, are left to their own devices after their parents die. There's enough money for them to live on the interest and lead boring, narrow lives in their hometown, or they can live on capital, go to London, and hope show more that their particular brand of "genius" will help them make good within a year or two. One of them is musical, one writes, one is artistic, and one domestic. There are plenty of heartaches along the way, but make no mistake, you know how it's going to turn out. show less

There's more to this book than the story of a young girl at boarding school. Pixie is a charming and engaging character, but the broader story of her family and home were also very enjoyable. I'm not sure what age group the author had in mind when she wrote this, but I would recommend it to the Young Adult audience, and adults who enjoy stories about children and families. Many thanks to the Librivox narrator for her very capable reading.