The Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson ~ 1946. This edition: Ulverscroft, 1975. Hardcover. Large Print – 370 pages.
My rating: For purely cozy, exceedingly nostalgic, “English village” escape literature, easily a 9/10. Literary merit – well, we won’t go there! I am actually quite impressed by the assumption that the author makes that her readers are very familiar indeed with the literary greats, as well as the current bestsellers of the day. References and quotations appear without any explanation, with, I’m quite certain, the belief that the reader as well as the characters of the story will “get it” immediately. Rather reminiscent of D.L. Sayers, and her own high-handed assumption that her readers are coming from the same erudite place as she is!
*****
This is my second D.E. Stevenson, after my initial introduction to this author’s esteemed Miss Buncle’s Book . I can understand how Dorothy Emily has garnered such a devoted following over the years. My elderly mother (87) would just love this one. I browsed ABE to see if I could perhaps pick it up for her, but was shocked at what I thought were astronomical prices for this type of book – $22 and up for worn paperbacks to an unbelievable $246 for an ex-library hardcover. Who knew?!
Someone needs to get going on republishing this author – obviously there is a demand. I know Persephone has recently re-released, in 2009 and 2011 respectively, Miss Buncle’s Book and Miss Buncle Married, but those are the tip of a very large iceberg. According to my research – okay, to be honest, I looked at Wikipedia – this author’s career extended from 1923 to 1970, with a very respectable forty-six titles to her credit.
*****
The Reverend Mr. Grace is Vicar of a country parish, and is blessed with four now-motherless grown-up daughters. Adeline – Addie – the eldest, is a W.A.A.F. officer now living in London, but the three younger sisters remain at home. Matilda (Tilly), Sarah (Sal) and Elizabeth (Liz) all keep extremely busy, both by assisting their father in his many duties and helping with the war effort, for the story is set mid-World War II, and much of its charm is in seeing how the villagers live their lives and gamely make adjustments for the current reality.
Romance enters the sisters’ lives as two suitors suddenly appear – one quite traditionally, and the other much more insidiously. The reader never has a moment of doubt as to the eventual outcome, and though there are gentle setbacks to both romances everything inevitably works out as it should. A very sweet little story, which I found surprisingly appealing. Tiny touches of cynicism and humour kept it from being too saccharine, though it was a rather close thing.
From the Author’s Preface:
The author has been asked whether this is a funny book or true to life, and has some difficulty in answering the question, for life is a funny business altogether (both funny-peculiar and funny-ha-ha, as Elizabeth would say). The story covers less than a year in the life of a family and during this comparatively short period many things happen, some serious and important, others cheerful and gay. It is summertime – a summer during the greatest and most terrible f the wars – but the author felt disinclined to bring such a grave and desperate matter into a light-hearted tale; here, then, are to be found only the lighter side and the small inconveniences of Total War; the larger issues are ignored…
Leaves & Pages 
It is a shame that save the two Persephones and the two ‘lost’ novels reissued by Greyladies everything D E Stevenson wrote is out of print. I can think which ‘reissuer’ she would fit with though. Too cosy for some, too many titles for others to cope with. Luckily my library has held on to quite a few, but mostly audiobooks and large print. Not ideal, but better than nothing.
Not at all surprised about the prices! My mother is a long-time fan of DE Stevenson, and we (well, mostly my dad) acquired as many of her books as possible when I was a kid. I can’t imagine how difficult they would be to replace if, God forbid, anything happened to my parents’ books.
One of my favorite DES books, but that designation changes frequently. I’ve been reading and rereading her books since 1967 and she does not fail.
Very limited selection in our library system – there are several large print titles but only Miss Buncle’s Book in the conventional format. In the last ten years or so ALL of the Elizabeth Goudge titles (and there was a large collection) have been culled, and numerous other authors who were still very much in circulation. I was talking to one of the librarians and was told that the decision to cull is only partially to do with circulation, and often based on the individual perception of the sorting crew as to whether the book is “out of date”. They often do weird things, like get rid of the first two titles of a trilogy, and keep the third; things like that. Makes me crazy!
Sourcebooks in the US have recently reprinted the first two Miss Buncle books (shame they’re already in print with Persephone, two different books would have been a better idea) & they plan to reprint Young Clementina next year. Hopefully more to come after that. I’ve enjoyed the DES’s I’ve read, including listening to several on audio book. It’s a shame so much is out of print.
It is a shame that so few DES books are currently in print and, to my mind, that they’re not even her best. I’ve read seven or eight of her novels now and the Miss Buncle books remains my least favourite. My heart belongs to Mrs Tim, so thank goodness at least some of her early adventures were reprinted by the Bloomsbury Group a few years ago. I’ve also discovered that some of the nearby libraries here in the Lower Mainland have quite good DES collections (North Vancouver especially) so I’ve been taking advantage of ILL privileges to get access to those – sounds like The Four Graces is another one I’ll want to track down!
I am reading the only Mrs. Tim I could find in the Prince George-Nechako district – Golden Years – and it is a hoot – reminds me more than a little of Delafield’s Provincial Lady – probably because of the diary/inner thought format. I’m going to see what else I can get through ILL – thanks for the heads-up, Claire.
Oops – that would be Golden DAYS. 🙂
Wow. Golden Days. As a single volume, that’s one of the rarest of all her books, because after its initial publication, it was combined with the first Mrs Tim book, under various titles, such as MrsTim of the Regiment.
I’ve only read the first Mrs. Tim and I absolutely loved it! I have another I picked up at a book sale “Amberwell” but haven’t read it yet. Really want to read her. I’ve heard nothing but praise.
Nicola – I’ve recently read Amberwell and it was excellent. One of the best DES titles I’ve yet read.
[…] Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson – more DES! Barb reviewed this last September and it sounds delightful. It is linked to the “Miss Buncle” […]