A Lasting Spring

Set in England in the years before and during WW II, this appealing family saga centers upon Evelyn Fawley, a girl whose life changes radically when her widower father remarries. Dorothy, her stepmother, brings a tide of messy domesticity into the family's new home. She also brings Michael, her son, who is a few years older than Evelyn. The two children prove steadfast companions. Unfortunately, the boy's poor academic record is a continual source of trouble to Evelyn's father, schoolmaster Gilbert Fawley. The ongoing struggle between Gilbert and Michael ultimately leads to a rift in the family. Stubbs (The Northern Correspondent) chronicles Evelyn's adolescence with a deft touch. Both the problems of a sensitive child growing up in a home that is never quite as happy as her parents pretend, and the trauma of a nation preparing for and going to war, are skillfully evoked in this perceptive novel. (September 25)