Grandmother, Mrs. Macdonald Senior, is a martinet. Imperious, icy, demanding, selfish and stubborn - not your cuddly kind of granny at all. Mrs. Macdonald lives in Edinburgh with her housekeeper and downtrodden daughter, Carrie. Granny has decided to make a Royal Progress by way of a railway tour of Scotland and decreed that granddaughter Rosie will accompany her as her minion. Rosie is not all that keen to go - she knows acting as granny's companion won't be all sunshine and fluffy bunnies - but go she does. The tour is just what she expected - full of older Americans with a smattering of Germans.
Granny, with all the good nature of a particularly vile strain of amoebic dysentery, declines to disembark the train at any of the scenic stops, and since she isn't getting off, neither is Rosie. The route passes within a few miles of ye olde family farm...which is still in the nasty hands of Cousin/Uncle Macdonald. A word about him. We know he is a Bad Man. Why? Evidently he had the bad taste to marry a...*gasp*...heiress, which rates only slightly below premeditated murder as far as crimes against humanity go. That by itself would be bad enough, but we're also given an insight into his true nature. Rosie caught Uncle/Cousin beating his dog - way back when...and she's never forgotten it. Granny just hates him on principle (that's her default setting).
The one and only time Granny gets off the train, she sprains her ankle. Enter Dr. Cameron. He's prompt and to the point - his patient comes first. Rosie is peeved that he barely spares her a glance. And so it begins. Rosie isn't sure she likes him (the apple isn't falling far from the tree - granny's not the only one who wants attention).
While taking her now daily constitutional, the gentle dew from heaven becomes more than a little torrential. Dr.Cameron, on his way to an emergency, picks up Rosie. There's no time to drop Rosie off at the hotel. Uncle/Cousin Donald is gravely ill. Rosie visits him in hospital, thus ensuring her family a mention in the will.
And now for a little refresher course on one of my least favorite plot devices:
Girl asks, 'Are you married?' Boy says, 'No, but I'm hoping to be in the near future.' Girl then assumes he has a girlfriend, boy assumes girl can read his mind, even though it's shielded like the starship Enterprise on a secret mission through Romulan territory.
Dr. Cameron drives Rosie and Grandmother back to Edinburgh in a dark blue Rolls Royce (which granny accepts as her just dues...and Rosie worries about the rental costs).Aunt Carrie has a boyfriend! Despite being a dry and dusty solicitor, Mr. Brodie would like to marry her. Granny thinks it's a load of rubbish for Carrie to run off and get married at her age...but her beau is made of stern stuff and manages to cut the ground neatly from under Mrs. Macdonald.
Dr. Cameron turns out to be Professor Sir Fergus Cameron - he works at the Royal Infirmary. Granny embarrasses Rosie clear down to the toenails with her 'you are on National Health?'
Rosie heads back to England. But not for long. Uncle/Cousin has the grace to pop off and before doing so, had the great good sense to change his will so as to leave the farm to Rosie's father. The family packs up and moves back to Bonny Scotland. Mum and Dad take the car and the family silver, while Rosie is relegated to taking the luggage on the train. Sir Fergus surprises her at the station in Edinburgh and drives her home.
Her: You're very far from home.
Him: Home is where the heart is.
Maybe his Scots accent was a wee bit too broad, but for whatever reason, Rosie is too thick to understand the veiled hint...then again, she thinks he's got, at the very least, a girlfriend if not an actual fiancee.Most of the the middle of the book is taken up with much gadding about Bonny Scotland. Walks to Rannoch Moor and drives through the countryside. Rosie takes a couple of days to visit Edinburgh - with a little bit of discretionary funds from dad to spend on new clothes..then hauls Granny back to Old Macdonald's farm. For some reason Rosie gets saddled with keeping granny happy.
Rosie is starting to think a little more kindly about Fergus - she likes him enough to be sad that he's going to marry soon.
While in Edinburgh, Rosie spots Fergus driving around with a beautiful woman. Oh yeah, the waters are positively murky. Visibility is down to zero.
There's a lovely little scene grocery shopping together in Edinburgh - tossing fairy powder and the like into a trolley, but it's quickly spoiled by the worst part of the book for me: Rosie asks Sir Fergus Point. Blank. if the woman she saw in the car with him was his fiancee. Point. Blank. Instead of doing the Extremely Simple Thing - which would have been to just tell her who it was (his married cousin), he avoids answering. He thinks she might be...maybe...possibly dating young Dr. Douglas - and since he's being so cagey about the mystery woman, Rosie pretends she IS dating the young doc. Oh what a tangled web...
After finally realizing she's in love with Sir Silent-About-Important-Details, they spend the day together. More gadding about Bonny Scotland. Fort Williams, Lock Shiel, Glenfinnan, Lock Eilt...oh, this is a private drive - does it belong to you? Yes, and here's my mother.
Being in love means pretending to be serious about young Douglas...but Fergus soon susses out the truth about Dr. D: Young Dr. Douglas has no intention of marrying anytime soon, wants to marry for money, and much prefers the small and helpless type of female...which doesn't sound a bit like Big Beautiful Rosie. Next up:
- Aunt Carrie gets married in Tron Church - Grandmother looked rather like the bad fairy bent on casting gloom over the party.
- Fergus is again seen driving the beautiful mystery woman around.
- Highland Ball - Rosie asks young Douglas to take her. Fergus looks smashing in his kilt.
- When Rosie finds out that Fergus knows about her attempted deception, she's furious...
- Fergus plans to wed Rosie...but in the meantime he's the antithesis of a woo-er. She will have to figure everything out all by herself - he is not about to pluck ripe apples from the tree. Argh.
When Fergus does finally run her to ground and kisses Rosie soundly, she protests. What about the girl????
My darling, you forgot to read my mind - that was my cousin. Haven't I been driving all over Bonny Scotland with you? Let's have a big wedding - you can have three weeks to plan, otherwise it's off to Gretna Green! More kisses and a really delightful final paragraph. The End.
Rating: The sound you hear is me, grinding my teeth. For a romance, A Kind of Magic is a great tribute to Scotland. The Great Betty must have gotten a sponsorship deal with the Flying Scotsman...or the Scottish Tourism Board. Either-Or. So...lovely scenery...deliciously horrible Grandmother...but only a so-so love story. Rosie seems to be taking after her grandmother in thinking mainly of herself - the least little thing seems to set her off. Fergus may be hot, but he takes being a strong silent type a bit far. I can't quite picture a happily ever after for these two crazy kids. Rosie will spend as much time as possible taking offence at things, and Fergus will only get more and more silent as he ages. There will be some great behind closed doors bits...but for day to day living...not so much. Somewhere between a treacle tart and mince pies for me.Food: Granny has lemonade with her pills. Shortbread, beef casserole, dumplings, treacle tart. Poached salmon, mushrooms in garlic butter(I made these last week!!), cucumber salad. Picnic lunch of sandwiches - smoked salmon, cold beef, cheese and pickles between thinly cut bread, lavishly buttered. Smoked salmon, roast beef with all the trimmings, millefeuille for afters. Lunch with his mother: smoked salmon (again!), trout, strawberry tartlets. Cock a leekie soup, shoulder of lamb, a dream of a trifle.
Fashion: Cream jersey, lovat corduroy skirt and country blouse with matching gilet (which seems to be what we Americans would call a vest - or a sleeveless jacket). Mrs. Macdonald wears a black crepe number with pearls. Pale green cotton jersey, chiffon and taffeta evening dress in old rose, denim skirt (see cover art!) for walking with Fergus - he wears cavalry twill trouser and a cotton sweater over an open necked shirt. An old dress and worn-out gym shoes and extra large gloves for weeding the rose garden. Grandmother's hat (for Aunt Carrie's wedding) is a masterpiece of black straw, tulle and curled feathers. Rosie wears white chiffon with a tartan sash to the Highland Ball, Sir Fergus rocks a kilt.
As always, I loved the review and simply have to get the book. Love, love Scotland so the travelogue won't bother me a bit. But couldn't we have had Sean Connery, Gerard Butler, Ewan MacGregor, Dougray Scott, and even Craig Ferguson? (Although the guy in fron the estate is pretty cute.)
ReplyDeleteI liked this one a lot more than mince pies, I'll admit. Yes, the "I plan on marrying but will forebear from saying to whom" device is hoary and threadbare. But Fergus is lovely, Rosie is lovely, Scotland is lovely, and I had no trouble believing that they'll do quite nicely together. Yes, if Rosie sees Fergus in a car with a pretty woman, he'll have some `splaining to do, but I have a feeling that show of temper will merely put an extra gleam in his eye and ensure particularly spirited implied conjugal relations that evening!
ReplyDeleteCertainly, I thought this was vastly superior to The Daughter of the Manor, which we discussed on Monday.
Uh, did I mention that Gregory Peck had Scottish grandparents....
ReplyDeleteAhh, but Betty JoDee, "the guy in front of the estate" (and the guy in the kilt - one and the same, btw.) is the Laird of the Glen. Monarch of the Glen, even.
ReplyDelete(Which was a good series for a few seasons but man it jumped the shark!)
It irritated me when she asked point blank about the Woman in the Car and he didn't come clean then but overall I like this one a lot. But I'm a quarter Scots and love all things Scottish!
;-)
me<><
Oooo... I want to read this one. I love Scotland. From the review, it sounds like we have a rare heroine who is NOT working for her living and supporting her indigent/nasty parents. That sounds like a refreshing change. I can't wait! :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved it when he needed gold for a wedding ring and was able to pan for gold in the loch-if I had my own loch full of gold nuggets, that's where you would find me 24/7....pannin'.
DeleteBetty von Susie
Laird of the Glen Googling...googling....
ReplyDeleteOh, oh, oh, how have I missed this?!? Check dates....yep, three children born in that time frame. Checking Netflix....
ReplyDeleteYes, if Rosie sees Fergus in a car with a pretty woman, he'll have some `splaining to do, but I have a feeling that show of temper will merely put an extra gleam in his eye and ensure particularly spirited implied conjugal relations that evening! Exactly, I saw and I 'see' the same outcome, Betty Magdalen! Betty Ariel (who can be a chattering magpie) has married the silent but deadly type. And he even looks Scottish. Her brothers worry that the poor guy is being talked and nagged to death. But I can see that he's definately holding his own. (Now cut that out,Betty Mags. That was not a Brightonish comment.) I forsee a long, happy, and fruitful future for both couples. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Betty JoDee... can't wait to watch Laird of the Glen. I never heard of it before. :-) How fun!
ReplyDeleteBetty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteThis book was merely okay for me (but better than Daughter of the Manor, that's for sure).
Rosie's pricklyness when she first meets Fergus I did not understand. He wasn't being rude or snarky or mocking, etc. He calls her a 'crosspatch'--he's right and I found her tiresome.
However, as the story went along I came to like her better.
However, the horrid old "I'm getting married soon" bit with Fergus. Sheesh! He deserved all of the bad moments he had--he caused them by being so vague.
And what is it with a certain group of Betty heroes and their 'not going to woo her, she'll have to fall for me all on her own' line of cockamamie reasoning?? I suspect we could each write a Psych 101 paper on that.
But Granny was marvelously selfish and nasty. And way to go, Aunt Carrie!
Betty Cyndi--Rosie did have a job (clerk/typist for, I believe a firm of lawyers) and she did throw her salary into the communal pot. But her parents were really cool.
Kilts are the sexiest garment is the history of clothing. The end.
ReplyDeleteOooo I forgot all about Daughter Carrie. That is so exciting. I will have to re-read it just because I love happy romantic endings for us older singles out there!!!!
ReplyDeleteBTW, the series is "Monarch of the Glen."
ReplyDeleteSorry about the confusion. Now you can find it on Netflix. :)
me<><
I lived in the Highlands for 8 years and miss it terribly, so I'm definitely going to have to hunt this book down. I hope you don't mind if I indulge myself in a couple of observations:
ReplyDelete1) I believe the scene on the cover is actually the viaduct in Glenfinnan. You go over it when you take the West Highland Line from Ft. William to Mallaig (where you can catch the ferry to Skye). You can take the journey on the modern train, or the Flying Scotsman, which was dressed up to be the Hogwart's Express in the first Harry Potter film. That same trip takes passengers past a couple of locations from the film Local Hero (which is a lovely Scottish film and worthy of being added to your NetFlix queue, after the first 2 seasons of Monarch of the Glen).
2) Rannoch Moor is breathtakingly gorgeous in August when the heather is in bloom and the sun is shining, but the first time I ever saw it was in late March, and the words bleak and desolate don't begin to cover it. It's so windy that there are very few trees, and those that are brave enough to persevere are bent almost sideways, forever indicating the direction of the prevailing wind.
3) Scottish men - let's just say that if Fergus is slow to recognize his dawning realization for what it is, and then cryptic and enigmatic about it for a long while after - then Betty has portrayed the Scotsman very well indeed! In my experience Scotsmen are generous people, smart people, resourceful, patriotic, polite, and just the funniest people you could ever hope to meet - but forthcoming about anything other than the weather or the latest rugby match? Aye, not so much.
4) Lastly, I leave you with my favorite Scottish word: numpty. I don't imagine that "numpty" would make an appearance in one of Betty's books, though it isn't rude; it simply refers to one who is not very bright. I like it because - though a bit critical - it also sounds affectionate, and truth be told I generally use it only to refer to myself: "Och, forgot my bus pass again. I'm a numpty, so I am!"
Off to ebay to find a copy of A Kind of Magic :-)
I've always loved that phrase, too, Andrea - "numpty." It has a homey, cozy feeling about it. Much better than "dork" or "dweeb," to name a few that trip off my tongue so easily!
ReplyDeleteme<><
Betty Andrea -- This is a forlorn hope, but I can't resist asking.
ReplyDeleteMy mother's parents were both British, so I grew up with a lot of words that she assured me were Scots or English or whatever. Most of them have simply merged into my general vocabulary, but one, "EGGY" can't be traced back to anything sensible.
An eggy, when I was a child, was a comforter. Back in the 60s and 70s, that was a wodge of batting between two pieces of fabric that were then sewn together in a very loose sort of cross-hatch. (Not a quilt, though, which is much flatter.) When down-filled comforters or duvets got popular, we had those too, and they were also called eggys (eggies?).
My mother insisted the word was Scottish, but I can't find it in Chambers, a respectable dictionary out of Edinburgh and beloved by UK crossword types because Chambers "puts words in," as my father-in-law once put it.
Have you ever heard anyone use that term?
Thanks -- Betty Magdalen
Betty Andrea - I did like the cover art on this one. Very often "The Best of Betty Neels" covers are so generic as to be absolutely meaningless...this one does have an actual tie-in to the book.
ReplyDeleteNow, if only we had a more memorable title...
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteBetty Andrea, I ended up with multiple copies of A Kind of Magic.
Please contact Betty Debbie, via e-mail, with your mailing address, which she will kindly forward to me and I will forward a copy of the book to you!
Because that's what we Bettys do! We love to share the wealth. BYW--do want original cover, which features our happy couple or Best of cover, which features the viaduct?
That is, if you haven't already ordered one!
Oh! You called me Betty Andrea!
ReplyDeleteBetty Magdalen - I have never heard of an eggy, but Scotland is notorious for having hyper- regional vernacular. It's quite likely that they call a loosely baffled quilt an eggy in Aberdeen, but they call it something entirely different in Dundee. This is especially interesting when you consider that Scotland is a relatively small country; I was astonished the first time I heard the traffic report on the radio because it covered the WHOLE COUNTRY!
I have a friend in Scotland who was always using strange words, and when I challenged her on it (I thought she was "havin' me on" as they say there), she would haul out this huge Scots dictionary and make a big show of pointing out the word. I'll ask her to investigate on your behalf.
Betty Barbara - thank you so much! But I did already order one from ebay and it should be arriving next week. I'm looking forward to it :-) It almost makes me long for another snowstorm, so I can have an excuse to curl up on the couch...
I love it when the Doctor precribes fresh air. Betty does like those good Doctors to march our exhausted heroines around after they've diagnosed them with extreme fatigue from constant care of elderly relatives/ care of tiresome children/ too many night shifts. While I appreciate a good walk, I always thought Betty should have let them have a nice nap first. For that matter,I could never understand the need to "whisk 'round" cleaning after coming off a night shift.I guess,for Betty,cleanliness is next to Godliness.I suspect she'd be unimpressed with my housekeeping talents!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betty Andrea -- that would be so cool!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the weather report. What weirded me out in England was listening to the shipping report! (For the American Bettys, here's a video that helps to explain it. And here's Stephen Fry reading a less-credible shipping forecast.
Maybe some other American Bettys have experienced this, but in South Dakota -- which is a big state, in land mass nearly the size of Scotland and England together -- there's one TV station that covers the entire state, KELO. So the weather forecast is preceded by "Here in KELO-land, it's going to be..." As someone used to living in fairly small conurbations, the idea that the TV I was watching in Rapid City could be telling me what the weather was nearly 450 miles away was freaky.
There were too few dramatic incidents for me; just the occasional upset teapot or almost accident with a bicycle might have made the other woman/I'm-not-talking-about-That bits more credible?
ReplyDeleteAnd why did Father M not stop whatever work he was doing and go to his sister's wedding?
This has nothing whatsoever to do with this Great Betty book, (which incidentally I dislike intensely) but I have noticed some references to various Star Trek episodes in the Uncrushable Jersey Dress. Are there other closet Trekkies out there? I have been a fan since 1965 when I was up one night in early labor with my daughter and came across Star Trek TOS. If anyone is still reading these posts, give me a cooee.
ReplyDeleteWow. This query was repeated in The Uncrushable Jersey Dress group on Facebook, and there seem to be many Trek fans there, of which I am one. As I mentioned in the FB group, I am a First Generation fan, having been parked in front of the TV set when the show premiered on September 8, 1966. I connected with organized fandom 48 years ago and attended my first Trek Con in 1975.
ReplyDelete