Friday, March 6, 2015

The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson

It's been a long time since I've swallowed a book in one gulp, but after finishing a huge project last week, I did just that.

The Two Mrs. Abbotts  is the third book in the Miss Buncle Series. It re-visits several favorite characters and presents a few new ones. Jerry Abbott, who was introduced in Book Two is the main character and Barbara Buncle (from Book One) pops in occasionally.

The story takes place in 1942. Jerry's husband, Sam, is off to war and she and her friends are doing the best they can with the food shortages and child evacuees from London. There are no big adventures, just normal people coping and helping one another, which makes it a cozy book.

Though Stevenson is listed at Wikipedia as an author of romantic novels, that's not entirely true. She wrote books that were realistic with a little romance thrown in. In fact, one of the fun themes of this book is the silliness of romance novels.

Though not a Christian book, The Two Mrs. Abbotts has lovely biblical allusions that show that Stevenson was probably brought up listening to the Bible. Some of these were quite funny like when the military move into their house and Jerry and Markie are limited to the sitting rooom where "they live and move and have their being."

Good writing, biblical allusions, references to life on the homefront during WWII, and memorable characters make this another favorite of 2015.

Reviews of the previous books are here and here.





6 comments:

Farm Girl said...

Oh yay! A author I have never heard of and it sounds just like my cup of tea. I will track her down. I bet I can find them in our library. It is a lovely old thing with lots of old books. Thanks I like that you read it in one gulp, sounds very good.

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

I'm terrible about following up with sequels. I read and love Miss Buncle's Book, but there I stopped. Sounds like I must move forward!

Unknown said...

I love historical books. This books sounds like it is a good read. inspiredbooksguide free books

Donna said...

This sounds interesting! I just checked and my local library has the first one. I'm putting it on my list. Thanks!

Annie Kate said...

Great! I haven't read one of these books for decades, and I'm ready for one. Thanks for the review. :)

Tami said...

I enjoy fiction that takes place in another era than my own. It's a great getaway. This one is going on my wishlist. I'm looking forward to more of your book choices posted at Literacy Musing Mondays.