Sally Lunton has been living in Paris as it waits for a German invasion in 1915, and she is at her wit’s end. Her sketchy career as an artist has been finished by the war, and she is stone broke. She has changed from a blithe Bohemian to a woman nearly middle-aged (by the standards of 1915—she’s 29) who thinks her only hope is to marry someone well off.
Then Sally gets an apparently friendly letter from Miss Maggie Hopkins telling her that there is a new bachelor in her home town of Little Crampton, a bank manager, and he will soon be snapped up by a young widow with a daughter. Sally thinks Mr. Bingley will be horrible, but she goes home prepared to fight for him. She returns to the home of her guardian, the mild-mannered and affectionate Reverend Adam Lovelady.
Mr. Bingley turns out to be worse than Sally expected. He is plump and unattractive but full of himself for his lofty position in town. He is also religious and judgmental and is looking for a wife who is above reproach. He is guided by a book left by his deceased mother telling him what to look for in a wife—or rather what to avoid (hint—everyone).
Unfortunately, Sally has a skeleton in her closet. Six years ago, madly in love, she went off to Italy with Jimmy Thompkins. But after a summer in Italy, he left her. Sally has never really recovered, but it is vital that Mr. Bingley not learn of this escapade. Unfortunately, Jimmy is living in the village with his wife and two children, and he thinks Sally should not marry Mr. Bingley without telling him.
Another peril is Miss Maggie, who senses there is something between Jimmy and Sally and is determined to ferret it out.
Despite these complications, Sally’s appearance and pretenses of admiration are getting her ahead of her rival, Mrs. Dalton. However, soon there is another problem. Up on the moors, Sally meets Robert Kantyre, a disgraced former officer on the point of suicide. Sally is determined to save him from himself and from alcoholism.
This is a complex little book considering when it was written. Not only is it a satire of village life, but it makes some surprising observations about the differences in how men and women in the same circumstances are viewed and treated. Although Mr. Bingley is usually a figure of fun, he shows another side, even though his feelings for Sally fight with his yearning for his dinner at times. The only real villain is Miss Maggie, whose idea of fun is mischief making at the expense of others’ lives.
Except for tiring a little bit of Mr. Bingley’s internal battles, I found this novel very enjoyable and insightful.
I received this book from the publishers in exchange for a free and fair review.
What? Me Read? 
Sounds surprisingly scandalous for the time!
That’s what I thought!
I really enjoyed this one, too – I do like a village novel.
Yes, that’s another of its charms.
Sounds interesting.