FICTION · ROMANCE
Iris Bromige
Also known as: Anne Tracey, Bromige
Iris Bromige (née White) was born in London in 1910. She married Alan Bromige in 1935 and they lived in Surrey and then Sussex, England. Her hobbies were gardening, collecting gramaphone records of opera and the classics, colour photography and bird-watching. She also enjoyed country walking with her husband and their dog, listening to music, going to the opera and trying to play the piano (from ‘April Wooing - about the author’). Bromige also wrote four of her earlier novels under the name of Anne Tracey.
The telephone room sits on the top floor of this rambling old house, whose wooden staircase creaks no matter where or how gently you step.
— from A Slender Thread, 1997
Most acclaimed
A House Without Love
Jill Courtland's friendship with the Dynards is frowned upon by her grandfather, Andrew Courtland, a wealthy man who rules his business empire and the Courtland family with ruthless power. In his eyes, the Dynards are feckless, artistic types who have a bad influence on his lively young granddaughter, and he has no intention of allowing her to become involved with Paddy Dynard when he has other plans for her in the shape of Martin Teviot, the son of his friend. But Jill, with a mind of her own, dislikes Martin Teviot from the first violent impact with him, a dislike which he returns with equal fervour. Her grandfather's match-making campaign and the Courtland family's gossip and intrigue make life difficult for Jill in her year of decision.
A sheltering tree
At one stroke a car crash robs Jennifer Barbury (Mirabel Rainwood's grand-daughter) of two close friends and puts an end to her own promising musical career. To escape from the constant solicitude of the Rainwood family circle she accepts an invitation to stay with her cousin Christine in the Border country. There the sympathy is less obtrusive and there, too, Jennifer meets Joel and his vivacious four year old niece, and despite Christine's disapproval of Joel, she finds despair gradually yielding to hope again under the influence of his dominant personality and the child's unquenchable zest for life.
An April Girl
As secretary to Lucille Pallys, rich owner of a chain of highly successful beauty shops, Philippa had a fascinating job, with lots of travel, social life and glamour. She was the most competent and devoted girl Friday Lucille had ever had, and she run through dozens. Then at a Rainwood family wedding, Philippa and Rupert met, and his first impression of her coolness and composure was soon replaced by the knowledge that beneath this, Philippa had her own kind of charm, high spirits, and a great capacity for enjoying simple things. But why had she deliberately sunk her identity into coping with Lucille's business empire? Why her reserve and uncertainty and refusal to reach personal decisions? Rupert was sure of his own feelings and as clear minded as a young solicitor should be. What was needed with his "April Girl" was something different: patience, understanding, a refusal to be discouraged. Lucille, who had other plans for Philippa's future, was implacably opposed to the courtship. In her sister Grandma Rainwood, who held the family clan together, Rupert had an invaluable ally.