Journey's Eve

by Elizabeth Cadell, Nikita Garets (Illustrator)

Paul took the paper and read the paragraph indicated, and as he read, the kitchen seemed to perform a slow revolving movement, and come to rest with a grinding jar. It looked like a very nice announcement.

The engagement is announced between Sir Paul Saxon, Bt., elder son of the late Sir Bartholomew Saxon, Bt. and of Lady Saxon, of 16 Lowndes Crescent, S. W. I. and Helga, only daughter of Madame de Brulais, of 89 Selcourt St. S. W. 3

There was only one thing wrong with it. He had never in his life heard of Madam de Brulais or her daughter, Helga. Indeed, it was a situation which opened up endless vistas of surprises and complications.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, British Literature

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Violet Elizabeth Vandyke was born on 10 November 1903 in Calcutta, British Raj, daughter of British parents, Elizabeth Lynch and Frederick Reginald Vandyke, a colonial officer. During the Great War she studied music in London, but refused a musical career and returned to India where she married in 1928 Henry Dunlop Raymond Mallock Cadell, and they had a son and daughter. After she was widowed ten years later, she returned to England.

Elizabeth wrote her first book 'My Dear Aunt Flora' during the Second World War in 1946, there after producing another 51 light-hearted, humourous and romantic books which won her a faithful readership in England and America. In addition to England and India, many of her books are set in Spain, France, and Portugal. She finally settled in Portugal, where her married daughter still lived.

She died on 9 October 1989, aged eighty-five.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have really liked this book because even though it's been forty years since I last read it, I remembered what was going to happen. I thought Paul was a bit too light-hearted and somewhat frivolous, but I thoroughly enjoyed his wooing of Antonia. Once envolved with the Saxon family, you watch all their romantic journeys with interest and leave the book hoping that Paul's mother comes to realize that a second marriage might not mean what she thinks it will. Although it leaves you with the impression that she is going to disappoint Douglas, I continue to think that once Paul and Phillipa leave the nest and there is only Barney, she will have a change of heart. Phillipa's conquest of Robert Meredith is exquisitely funny, and the solution of their Uncle Hugo's situation as well as Uncle Oswald's interactions with Ursula are icing on the cake.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Saxon reads the announcement in the Times with astonishment:

The engagement is announced between Sir Paul Saxon, Bt., elder son of the late Sir Bartholomew Saxon, Bt. and of Lady Saxon, of 16 Lowndes Crescent, S. W. I. and Helga, only daughter of Madame de Brulais, of 89 Selcourt St. S. W. 3

The problem is, Paul Saxon has never heard of a Helga. He would surely remember a lady with that name? Any Susan, Elisabeth or Mary might be forgotten, but a Helga? Paul discovers that Helga does not exist at the given address, but an enchanting young lady called Antonia does.
The story is complicated by an overzealous uncle, a Scotland Yard detective, a jealous and spiteful ex and a prophecy (Mme de Brulais might not have a daughter, but she is a fortune teller).

[Jannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and relaxing

[Linda Chrisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loathe the cover illustrations. Far too cutesy for the stories.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born in 1946, but I think I should have been born earlier. The books I could have read! Well, I can read them now. First, there was D.E. Stevenson, and now I have discovered Elizabeth Cadell. One writes of Scotland, while the other of England. Cadell writes light romances, as well. So far, they have had a touch of mystery, also. For instance, Paul arrives home from college to discover that he is engaged to be married. What! To whom? What! He was soon to be off to the foreign service; in just 5 weeks. He was planning a leisurely, fun-filled romp before leaving for South Africa. Now he must solve this mystery. Marriage to someone he had never heard of, what? All his uncles and aunts seem to be getting involved and involving-wait for it-Scotland Yard! Yikes! Could life get any more complicated? Maybe.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that doesn't just tell you it was written in an earlier time - it screams it! There are so many things that normally would probably make me put the book aside. And to top that off the main plot point hangs by a thread so thin it doesn't bear any scrutiny at all. And yet I admit it I really liked this book! I wanted to know "what happened next" (always a sign of a good book, let's be honest) and I truly cared about the characters. In the hands of a less skilled writer this would have been a mess and I would have probably read a few pages and tossed it. As it is if you can look beyond the VERY dated concepts (whole lot of bad 'isms) then I'd really recommend this.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engagement is announced ... but Paul Saxon has never heard of his "fiancee," Helga, daughter of Mme. de Brulais of Selcourt Street. Selcourt Street is a slum and Mme. Brulais is neither French nor a mother, but Paul loses all interest in the mystery when he meets the beautiful Antonia, an unlikely resident of the boarding house. The rest of his family, though, has other ideas, and a different fiancee in mind for him.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure enjoyment. Cadell at her best

[Lori Hershberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming, witty, with delightful characters. A plot decently interesting but not too intense for a relaxing read after a long day of work.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Elizabeth's Cadell's lighthearted stories, with one of her typically independent and plucky heroines. The Saxon family is surprised, nay, shocked, when they see an announcement in the Times that young Paul Saxon is going to be married to a certain Helga, daughter of a certain Madame de Bordelais, who lives at a not-so-fashionable address. Various uncles and aunts are dispatched to investigate this inexplicable claim, but come away thoroughly discombobulated after meeting the foreign, bohemian or simply excentric inhabitants of the boarding house that corresponds to the address given in the Times. Paul himself shows up, but soon forgets about his mission to find out about the mysterious Helga, when he meets the lovely Antonia. This 18-year old orphan supports herself by working in a flower shop, planning her next trip to the country of her birth (Italy) and taking care of the more disorganized or incapacitated lodgers of the boarding house. And of course, all ends well. Antonia is, as said, a very typical Cadell heroine : young, attractive, but also self-sufficient and independent, with a maternal streak when it comes to the more damaged or disadvantaged people around her.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The news of Paul's engagement to Helga brought to all branches of the family a strong feeling of surprise. But Paul was also surprised. He had never even heard of the girl. Paul's family was perplexed and affronted that someone would cause a scandal to their venerable family.

Paul was leaving college for a new job in Africa and he had five weeks to uncover the mysterious engagement announcement. He found the mother of the bride, Madame de Brulais, who told fortunes, but could not find Helga. No one in the boarding house knew her.

But Paul did find Antonia Wyatt at the boarding house. She worked at a florist shop where Paul bought flowers for his many consecutive girl friends. She was not interested in him.

This was a delightful read full of a variety of unusual characters confronting a many decade old mystery concerning Paul's uncle.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here are many of the Elizabeth Cadell characters we love and enjoy.

Very gentle, slightly spacey girl/woman/mother
Adoring children, including oldest son who is her support
Ununderstanding older relatives
Hard, brittle, successful beauty, once romantically involved with oldest son/hero
Young, beautiful, kind hearted, self deprecating heroine
Add to mixture, long ago family skeleton (low key skeleton), a sometimes accurate clairvoyant, and a kindly professor.

Lots of romance in this one (THREE),

[Ymt01 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The announcement in the newspapers of his engagement to an unknown girl sends the hero to an unexpected encounter with a fortune teller, and more than one family mystery is unravelled. A little long winded, not quite as funny as some.

[Miki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this one. I stopped on page 3 when the MMC, having passed his co llege exams, "recalled with contempt the fifty mentally retarded students" whodid less well than he did. Nope. Just nope, nope, nope.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bogus engagement announcement in the Times leads Paul to meet the girl he actually falls on love with.

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted something light, frothy, and insubstantial, and that’s what I got. It was marred for me by the anti-“foreign,” snobbish attitude, and the unlikeable main male character.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most unusual premise I have ever heard for bringing two people together. Great story, really sucked you in.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Elizabeth Cadell's book. She writes about people I would like to know. There's always some romance without the explicit sex scenes, there's always humor. Just a good, relaxing read.

[Sandra Keaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is Helga?

This is my third Elizabeth Cadell book. I enjoyed the story and the characters. Uncle Oswald learned the perils of trying to be a match maker and Hugo learns the truth about his past.

[Sep]

Paul Saxon has five weeks vacation before he leaves for Africa. He opens the paper and finds out that his engagement is announced to an unknown girl named Helga.

I know I said in "Brimstone in the garden" that it was the only Cadell book I have read so far that had supernatural forces. I was wrong. As soon as Paul, his aunt and his uncle arrive at the house where Helga is supposed to live, they are met with a fortune teller who is uncannily correct in her vision.

Paul does not find Helga but another girl and has only 5 weeks to woo her.

The aunt and uncle are dealing with the information the fortune teller told them.

Paul's family provides a lot of humorous additions to the novel. I particularly enjoyed his sister's courtship.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this again this year after a long dry spell away from her books because my copies were far away and Kindle was so handy.

I love Cadell books. They give me a boost of uplift and suspense. This one was rather different in several ways. I especially appreciate Cadell's characters, so large and humorous.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Charming Trifle

Not up to some of her other books, and I figured out the twist halfway through, and yet another in her unlikely love scenarios, but a pleasant read nonetheless.

[Saralyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightfully Cadell.