Folly

Lovely Rachel Beverley, 19, having narrowly avoided an entanglement with a cad more interested in her former family home, Mannerling, than in her lissome person, is surprisingly still in that houses spell. The new owner, widower Charles Blackwood, is thought at nearly forty to be too old for marriage prospects by the remaining Misses Beverley, including Rachel. But a chance meeting with him, during which Rachel castigates the man for his inattention to his two children, shows her what a handsome and impressive old man he is. Shades of the Von Trapps, with fewer kids and no singing nuns. Two potential rivals are introduced to quell this budding attraction, as are hauntings, intrigues and a near-murder. And then there is the Beverleys scheming reputation: for although Mannerling seems to be loosening its hold on Rachel, does she really want the man or the manor? Chesneys sketchy plotting and facile resolution of the lovers situation will not disturb her many fans.