D. E. Stevenson
Personal Information
Description
Dorothy Emily Stevenson was a best-selling Scottish writer. She published more than 40 "light romantic novels" over a span of more than 40 years. D. E. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1892; she was the daughter of one of the ‘lighthouse’ Stevensons (Robert Louis was her father’s first cousin) and lived in Scotland all her life. She did not go to school but was educated by a governess, starting to write stories when she was eight. Holidays were spent at North Berwick, where she was a keen golfer. In 1916 she married Major James Peploe (a nephew of the artist Samuel Peploe). After the First World War they lived in Bearsden near Glasgow and brought up two sons and a daughter. Dorothy wrote her first book in 1923 but her second did not appear for nine years. In 1934 she published Miss Buncle’s Book. Thereafter she wrote a novel a year, selling over four million copies of her books in Britain and three million in the USA. Among them were Miss Buncle Married in 1936 and The Two Mrs Abbotts in 1943. During the war the Peploes moved to Moffat; D.E. Stevenson died there in 1973.
Books
Still glides the stream
In 'Still Glides the Stream,' Flora Thompson returns to the English countryside of her childhood. Published posthumously in 1948, it paints an unforgettable picture of the people and way of life of almost a century ago. Unlike her best-selling trilogy, the book is entirely fictional, centered on the imaginary Oxfordshire village of Restharrow around the time of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. The village and its inhabitants are seen through the eyes of Miss Charity Finch, a retired school mistress, who returns to Restharrow to relive the memories of her early years. Her memories capture a world where life was hard but values were solid and enduring, but it is also a world that was vanishing...even as Charity Finch remembers her childhood. In 'Still Glides the Stream,' Flora Thompson employs her imagination and artistic skills to wholly new effect. With an unforgettable gallery of characters, Uncle Reuben, Bess, Mercy, Luke, Stella Pocock, and the rest, she creates a vivid and affectionate portrait of life in the English countryside as it was a century ago.
Miss Buncle, married
A Marriage and a Sudden Move to a New Town Won't Slow This Mischievous Writer Down! Barbara Buncle: bestselling novelist, new wife...new neighbor? In this charming follow-up to Miss Buncle's Book, the intrepid writer moves to a new town filled with fascinating folks...who don't even know they might become the subjects of her next bestselling book. Miss Buncle may have settled down, but she has already discovered that married life can't do a thing to prevent her from getting into humorous mix-ups and hilarious hijinks. A beloved author who has sold more than seven million books, D. E. Stevenson is at her best with the stories of Miss Buncle.
Five Windows
Set in the same Scottish Border country as Music in the Hills and Winter and Rough Weather, this story is seen through the eyes of someone born and bred amongst the bold, round border hills. David Kirke's childhood is sheltered, his nature is gentle and peaceable; he is no hero of romance but a human being with faults and failings which lead him into trouble when he adventures into the world to seek his fortune. The background of the book are the hills of home and the noise and bustle of London; in the foreground are the people, alive, vigorous and full of responsibility, who play their parts in the shaping of David's life.
The Baker's Daughter
A stranger came to town and stole her heart. Sue Pringle has never met anyone like John Darnay before. A painter who roams the countryside with brush in hand, Darnay is so absorbed in his art that he can barely remember to feed himself -- a stark contrast to the practical shopkeepers and shepherds of her tiny village. Working as his housekeeper allows Sue to observe the eccentric Darnay unnoticed as he goes about his work translating the beautiful Scottish countryside onto canvas... and Sue soon realizes that not only has she been transfixed by his arresting artwork, she has fallen in love with Darnay himself. But will he ever look up from his paints long enough to love her back?
Rochester's Wife
Kit Stone moved to a small English village to share the practice of an aging country doctor. After four years of wandering aimlessly about the world, the change of pace was pleasant and diverting. And most diverting of all was lovely Mardie Rochester, a sensitive young woman who unwittingly captured Kit's heart. But there was one very large obstacle in Kit's search for happiness - the woman he so adored was Jack Rochester's wife.
Mrs. Tim Gets a Job
With her husband still with his Regiment in Egypt, Mrs. Tim takes a job to fill the months before her husband's demobilization. She finds herself working for Miss Erica Clutterbuck, a formidably tough and masculine woman, who has turned her home into a small hotel. Mrs. Tim becomes deeply involved with the many guests and their various problems. One amusing situation after another develops and, of course, Mrs. Tim is always in the middle. A most enjoyable book but marred by sloppy copying. Several pages are so blurry that they are unreadable, and three are missing. This is the third in a series of four books about Mrs Tim, although they can each be read individually.
Celia's House
Celia's House, filled with effervescent warmth and cheer, is the story of Dunnian -- a spellbindingly lovely family estate in Scottish Border country -- and of the generations of Dunne family that live in it and love it dearly. Beginning in 1905 with ninety-year-old Celia Dunne, it delightfully portrays the bustling life of her heir and grand-nephew, Humphrey Dunne, and his family of five rambunctious children. It follows the family over forty years -- through their youthful antics, merry parties, heartbreaks and loves and marriages, as each in turn comes to maturity and an understanding of the enduring satisfaction Dunnian gives to their lives.
Music in the hills
In this sequel to Vittoria Cottage, it has been five years since James had been at Mureth House, and he has traveled throughout the world. Now that he has left the army, he is ready to settle down to farming but still yearns for golden-haired Rhoda Ware, who had turned away from him. Not until a certain wise lady gave fate a nudge, did James even hope he could have both Rhoda and Mureth Valley, that together they could learn to see beauty in the wild moorlands and hear the music in the hills.
Peter West
Beth Kerr is the daughter of the boatman in the small village of Kintoul. Her mother died at an early age, after an unhappy marriage that caused her family to cast her aside. As the years pass, Beth grows into a beautiful young woman, watched over by the quiet Peter West. The owner of Kintoul House, Peter is a lonely man with a weak heart and few family members and friends. They both struggle with their feelings for one another, before being forced to embark on marriages decided upon by their families. But will their lives follow the paths set for them, or will they find their own way?
Fletcher's End
The joys and contentment of newly-wedded life, set against the tranquil beauty of the English countryside, are the subject of this volume by the beloved novelist, D.E. Stevenson. The author of Bel Lamington continues the heartwarming story of the gentle heroine who came to London and fell in love with her employer, Ellis Brownlee.
Gerald and Elizabeth
Gerald Brown is a handsome and brilliant young engineer - wrongfully accused of stealing diamonds from his South African firm. Why has he been framed? Elizabeth Burleigh is a beautiful and talented West End actress - compelled to deny what marriage could bring her. What is the secret that impairs her love? Gerald and Elizabeth are half-brother and sister. They are reunited in London and together they face the mysteries that have made them both so unhappy.
The English Air
In this unlikely story Wynne, an English girl, meets her half-German cousin Franz when he visits England in 1938. Franz is doing undercover research for his Nazi father, using his English relatives as a cover. Wynne and Franz fall in love. He has to go back to Germany but is soon disenchanted with Nazism. He joins an underground group working against the Nazis. Eventually he escapes to Scotland, is injured and ill for a long time. He tells all his secrets to Wynne's Uncle Dane who happens to be something in British Intelligence or whatever they called it. Franz, now Frank, and Wynne become engaged and Frank goes over to fight for Finland against the Germans. Everyone lives happily after ever.
Mrs. Tim Carries On
Hester Christie, wife of Major Tim Christie, continues her diary with entries chronicling life in a military depot during the first year of WWII. From the bumptiousness of pre-Dunkirk popular British opinion, through the dark days of the Battle of Britain, Mrs. Tim carries on, although her husband's deployment with his battalion to France ends with him being MIA. How he makes his way back home, how they cope with the stress of daily existence in an embattled country, how they find reason for hope for the future, all told with a demure (but still telling) wit and humor.
