D. E. Stevenson

The four Grace sisters love their quiet life in the country village of Chevis Green. To some, their insular world might seem dull, but the sisters never seem to run out of conversation. They truly are the happiest of families. That is, until Aunt Rona comes to town....

Marriage to her publisher, Arthur Abbott, has done nothing to stop Barbara Buncle from involving herself in the lives of her neighbours....

On a beautiful spring day, Julia Harburn sat on a seat in Kensington Gardens enjoying the sunshine....

Mrs Abbott is flustered at the thought of putting up a lady from the Red Cross, but is happily surprised when she turns out to be an old friend from her previous life as Miss Buncle, infamous writer....

The plot centres round Miss Barbara Buncle, a maiden lady who was obliged to write a book because – as she naively explained – her dividends were so poor....

Young Frances Field arrives in a scenic coastal village in Scotland, having escaped her dreary life as an orphan. Once there, she encounters an array of eccentric locals, the occasional roar of enemy planes overhead and three army wives....

In the small town of Beilford, Sue, the Baker's daughter, makes an uncharacteristically impulsive decision to accept a post as housekeeper to Mr and Mrs Darnay, dashing her family's hopes of her marrying a local suitor.

Barbie France has known Edward Steyne all her life - indeed they were childhood sweethearts. Charming, spirited, debonair, he is the ideal companion. Everyone, especially Edward, assumes they will marry one day. But Barbie is uneasy. Edward sometimes behaves very oddly.

After spending time combatting terrorists in Malaya, James Dering returns to Scotland. He starts a new life at Mureth House, the home of his aunt and uncle, Mamie and Jock Johnstone....

Hester Christie has spent a blissful 18 months living in Kenya, where husband Tim is posted. But now it’s back to England to be with her two nearly grown children....

Since being widowed, Caroline Dering has been content to live her life solely for her children. Then the mysterious Robert Shepperton arrives in the village....

In the romantic atmosphere of the Highlands, anything can happen - and even the cool, efficient Charlotte surprises herself....

Shortly before Bel's marriage to Ellis Brownlee, her friend, Louise Armstrong, goes house hunting for them and discovers a charming but neglected old stone cottage in the Cotswolds....

One by one the characters of a large attractive family make their appearance but it is through Frederica that the nexus of family problems is finally resolved....

Charlotte Dean enjoys nothing more than the solitude of her London flat and the monotonous days of her work at a travel bookshop....

Emily Dennistoun lives alone with her elderly tyrannical father at Borriston Hall on the Scottish coast....

When Will Hastie finally decides to retire from the military and return home to Scotland, he intends to settle down on his family estate and learn to become a farmer....

When their father dies, none of the three Harcourt girls are particularly upset. The loss of the family's income, however, is not something so easily overcome....

Married at 19, Katherine had four years of happiness with her beloved Gerald. When he dies, she is left on her own to bring up a stepson, Simon, and her own little twins....

When Dinah was 19, Gilbert was a sort of fairy prince. She had loved him madly but gradually she had begun to realise that he was not quite so wonderful....