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Glenorchy #2
A Touch of Magic
"Farmer Giles", Lucinda had called Giles Logie, mockingly on the occasion of their first stormy meeting -- though anyone less like the traditional "Farmer Giles" was difficult to imagine!
And indeed she soon learned that Giles had a reputation as the local gay Lothario. How could she ever have managed to find herself pretending to be "engaged" to him?
And indeed she soon learned that Giles had a reputation as the local gay Lothario. How could she ever have managed to find herself pretending to be "engaged" to him?
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
2 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Essie Summers
105 books51 followersEssie Summers was a New Zealand author who wrote so vividly of the people and landscape of her native country that she was offered The Order Of the British Empire for her contributions to New Zealand tourism.
Ethel Snelson Summers was born on on July 24, 1912 to a newly-emigrated couple, Ethel Snelson and Edwin Summers, situated in Bordesley Street in Christchurch, Essie was always proud of both her British heritage and her New Zealand citizenship. Both her parents were exceptional storytellers, and this, combined with her early introduction to the Anne of Green Gables stories, engendered in her a life-long fascination with the craft of writing and the colorful legacy of pioneers everywhere.
Leaving school at 14 when her father's butcher shop experienced financial difficulties, she worked for a number of years in draper's shops and later turned her experiences to good use in writing the romantic novels for which she became famous.
She met her husband-to-be William Flett when she was only 13 years old, but it was 13 years before she consented to marry him. A minister's wife and the mother of two, William and Elizabeth, she still found many opportunities to pen short stories, poetry and newspaper columns before embarking on her first novel, which sold to the firm of Mills & Boon in 1956.
Summers died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998.
http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/...
Ethel Snelson Summers was born on on July 24, 1912 to a newly-emigrated couple, Ethel Snelson and Edwin Summers, situated in Bordesley Street in Christchurch, Essie was always proud of both her British heritage and her New Zealand citizenship. Both her parents were exceptional storytellers, and this, combined with her early introduction to the Anne of Green Gables stories, engendered in her a life-long fascination with the craft of writing and the colorful legacy of pioneers everywhere.
Leaving school at 14 when her father's butcher shop experienced financial difficulties, she worked for a number of years in draper's shops and later turned her experiences to good use in writing the romantic novels for which she became famous.
She met her husband-to-be William Flett when she was only 13 years old, but it was 13 years before she consented to marry him. A minister's wife and the mother of two, William and Elizabeth, she still found many opportunities to pen short stories, poetry and newspaper columns before embarking on her first novel, which sold to the firm of Mills & Boon in 1956.
Summers died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998.
http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 1, 2017
I am definitely in the minority on this one. I can't believe this was written by Essie Summers.
Two more unlikeable characters than our heroine and hero, are hard to find in Harley land. They just bit, and scratched, and argued their way through the whole book. Both said truly unforgivable and unforgettable things. Also, the premise of the story was beyond absurd, at least in a 1973 Harley. I'm finding it hard to believe in the HEA of a child born from bigamy (second wife) who falls in love with the nephew of the first (legal) wife. First wife (aunt to hero) just loves our heroine because she reminds her of her daughter, who died of diphtheria when her worthless husband went out carousing instead of going for help. Aunt thinks it's like having her daughter back again. (Heroine's middle name happens to be the same as her deceased daughters)
If your head is shaking and spinning, you're not alone. So is mine. Usually, Essie's descriptions of NZ can salvage any story for me, but not this time.
Nope 1.5 stars and I'm being extremely generous.
I need to start a "just too weird" category. This would top the list.
Two more unlikeable characters than our heroine and hero, are hard to find in Harley land. They just bit, and scratched, and argued their way through the whole book. Both said truly unforgivable and unforgettable things. Also, the premise of the story was beyond absurd, at least in a 1973 Harley. I'm finding it hard to believe in the HEA of a child born from bigamy (second wife) who falls in love with the nephew of the first (legal) wife. First wife (aunt to hero) just loves our heroine because she reminds her of her daughter, who died of diphtheria when her worthless husband went out carousing instead of going for help. Aunt thinks it's like having her daughter back again. (Heroine's middle name happens to be the same as her deceased daughters)
If your head is shaking and spinning, you're not alone. So is mine. Usually, Essie's descriptions of NZ can salvage any story for me, but not this time.
Nope 1.5 stars and I'm being extremely generous.
I need to start a "just too weird" category. This would top the list.
September 11, 2013
A sweet romance between a young man with an undeserved reputation and a missionaries daughter. Giles appears to be a frivolous young man with a charming way with the ladies. Last year one lady in particular nearly had him in the divorce courts, cited as a co-respondent.
Lucinda is searching for relatives from her birth father's family and comes to Drumlogie on the search. It's fun watching these two 'pretend' to be engaged when the problem woman from the past threatens Giles and Lucinda has her own reasons for the pretend engagement.
Altogether an enjoyable little story with a charming cast of supporting characters.
Lucinda is searching for relatives from her birth father's family and comes to Drumlogie on the search. It's fun watching these two 'pretend' to be engaged when the problem woman from the past threatens Giles and Lucinda has her own reasons for the pretend engagement.
Altogether an enjoyable little story with a charming cast of supporting characters.
November 10, 2010
My Gram was a voracious reader and she mostly read Harlequin romances and their cousins. She always had a stack of them on the table that sat between two wing chairs. I was welcome to raid the stack when she was done and so I still have several of the books tattered and dog-eared because they belonged to her and because I enjoyed them. They are signs of a more innocent time and yet still fun because they take you to different corners of the world.
October 25, 2015
This is one of my favourite romances by Essie Summers. Set in Queenstown, New Zealand in the 1960s it is a light read with a well-developed plot and lovely characters.
July 7, 2025
2.5 stars
This is definitely one of the most far-fetched plots from Essie Summers, and I can understand why it is not to everyone’s taste. My biggest issue however was actually the h. Maybe it’s to compensate for her sordid backstory, but for about 2/3 of the novel I found her such a judgmental prude. This was published in 1973, not 1873, and yet her attitudes read like those of a repressed Victorian. She would analyze everything the H said or did in terms of his wicked lecherousness, which became both absurd and tiresome. For example, he gave her a birthday present, and her reaction was essentially, ‘thank goodness he didn’t even put his arm around me, that would be proof he can’t control himself around women.’ WTF!? All the while, I don’t understand why she was fixated on persons, activities etc. being ‘such fun’, to the point I started rolling my eyes whenever the word fun came up.
This is definitely one of the most far-fetched plots from Essie Summers, and I can understand why it is not to everyone’s taste. My biggest issue however was actually the h. Maybe it’s to compensate for her sordid backstory, but for about 2/3 of the novel I found her such a judgmental prude. This was published in 1973, not 1873, and yet her attitudes read like those of a repressed Victorian. She would analyze everything the H said or did in terms of his wicked lecherousness, which became both absurd and tiresome. For example, he gave her a birthday present, and her reaction was essentially, ‘thank goodness he didn’t even put his arm around me, that would be proof he can’t control himself around women.’ WTF!? All the while, I don’t understand why she was fixated on persons, activities etc. being ‘such fun’, to the point I started rolling my eyes whenever the word fun came up.
February 18, 2021
I don’t think I’m a fan of this author. I don’t care for her writing style. She’s repetitive. She would write a scene then moments later recap that scene again, often time from words to words (dialogue to dialogue) as in we needed to read that again. This is when telling is wiser than showing. Excerpt sample in spoiler.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2017
After her parents' tragic deaths, Lucinda travels to Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island, where she immediately feels at home. There she receives a letter that changes her life: Kenneth Darling was not her father, but her stepfather — her actual father had married her mother bigamously, after abandoning his original wife in the very place Lucinda is now visiting. She hopes to discover where that woman and her son are now, but finds it difficult, since she feels she must do so secretly. Visiting the cottage where they lived she encounters Giles Logie for the first — but not last — time. From then on, their lives will be entwined, for better or worse. Many misunderstandings come between them before the final denouement. Excellent characterization, believable situations, and wonderful descriptions of the scenery all enhance this very enjoyable romance. Highly recommended.
October 3, 2022
Whilst this is one of Essie's more convoluted plot lines I don't think it deserves the 1 star rating some readers have given it.
The main characters are likable, there is a lot of lighthearted banter and enjoyable descriptive prose.
I actually quite like the fact that Essie writes characters who have backgrounds / characteristics that, at the time of writing, weren't socially acceptable - it's the equivalent of an author in 2018 making their main character "neuro diverse" before it became a "trend" in 2022.
Yes - it is a bit convoluted, but it's a fun read and I would absolutely recommend for some lighthearted reading which isn't dumbed down.
The main characters are likable, there is a lot of lighthearted banter and enjoyable descriptive prose.
I actually quite like the fact that Essie writes characters who have backgrounds / characteristics that, at the time of writing, weren't socially acceptable - it's the equivalent of an author in 2018 making their main character "neuro diverse" before it became a "trend" in 2022.
Yes - it is a bit convoluted, but it's a fun read and I would absolutely recommend for some lighthearted reading which isn't dumbed down.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews