Bel Lamington

"I don't know what's got into everyone this morning," said Helen Goudge crossly. "It's Spring," said Bel. "Nonsense!" exclaimed Miss Goudge. She frowned as she spoke and her thick black eyebrows met in a thick black bar across her forehead. "Spring gets into people and unsettles them," Bel explained. For Bel Lamington, orphaned and shy and making her own way, life in London has been lonely and rather bleak, despite the arrival of spring. A budding friendship with a carefree artist neighbour leads to confusion and sorrow. She thrives in her secretarial job, until her kind employer leaves on an extended trip and jealous colleagues sour that too. So, when she happens across her old school friend Louise Armstrong and her doctor father, and they invite her along on their holidays in Scotland, Bel decides to make a change. And what a change it will be, packed with new friends, new work, and-just perhaps-new romance to put the bleakness of London firmly in the past. Bel Lamington was first published in 1961, and its sequel, Fletchers End , which continues the story of Bel's new life in Scotland, appeared the following year. The two novels are firm favourites of D. E. Stevenson fans, and are both now available in paperback from Dean Street Press. This new edition includes an autobiographical sketch by the author. "a hallmark of gentleness..." Kirkus

"I don't know what's got into everyone this morning," said Helen Goudge crossly. "It's Spring," said Bel. "Nonsense!" exclaimed Miss Goudge. She frowned as she spoke and her thick black eyebrows met in a thick black bar across her forehead. "Spring gets into people and unsettles them," Bel explained. For Bel Lamington, orphaned and shy and making her own way, life in London has been lonely and rather bleak, despite the arrival of spring. A budding friendship with a carefree artist neighbour leads to confusion and sorrow. She thrives in her secretarial job, until her kind employer leaves on an extended trip and jealous colleagues sour that too. So, when she happens across her old school friend Louise Armstrong and her doctor father, and they invite her along on their holidays in Scotland, Bel decides to make a change. And what a change it will be, packed with new friends, new work, and-just perhaps-new romance to put the bleakness of London firmly in the past. Bel Lamington was first published in 1961, and its sequel, Fletchers End , which continues the story of Bel's new life in Scotland, appeared the following year. The two novels are firm favourites of D. E. Stevenson fans, and are both now available in paperback from Dean Street Press. This new edition includes an autobiographical sketch by the author. "a hallmark of gentleness..." Kirkus