Reckmire Marsh

In prewar Britain, young narrator Joanna Albemarle learns that her father has been posted to the Far East and that she will stay with her paternal grandparents at Reckmire Marsh, their lovely seaside home in northern England, which her domineering mother has never allowed her to visit. Joanna's years there are idyllic, but when she is 15 her her parents divorce and she must live with her hateful mother. Though the onset of war frees Joanna from her mother's grip (she joins the WRENS), it also means the loss of her adored cousin and lover, Robin, who is shot down over Normandy, and of many of her childhood illusions. Bequeathed Reckmire by her grandparents after war's end, Joanna is persuaded by Robin's best friend, Paul Cheviot, to transform the house and grounds into a country inn. They marry, but Paul proves a beast on their wedding night; when further tragedy comes her way, Joanna's steely determination sees her through. There's no depth here, but Hylton (The Shadow of the Nile) has command of her atmospheric setting and maintains a quick pace. (Oct.)