Pixie is older, her world becomes wider. The stories of her sister Bridgie and her brother Jack emerge, and also that of an intriguing neighbor, Miss Sylvia Trevor. (Summary by Judi Mason)
The author of 33 books, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, British author Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey was born Jessie Bell in 1856, in Liverpool. She was the daughter of Scots insurance broker David Bell, and his wife, Elizabeth Morris Barton, and had six siblings. She married cotton broker Henry Mansergh in 1883, and a number of her books were originally published under the name "Jessie Mansergh." After the death of Henry Mansergh in 1894, her work began to be published in magazines.
Vaizey was married again in 1898, to George de Horne Vaizey, a man she met while on a cruise won through a story competition. Her son George Vaizey, born in 1900, was also to become a writer. Contracting typhoid in the early years of the twentieth century, she developed rheumatoid arthritis, and was confined to a wheelchair until her death in 1917.
Naive, old-fashioned (even prejudiced e.g. to Irish). Many times I was bored. Nonetheless, it was perfect to listen to while cleaning, cooking, etc., because it was also sweet and funny, and one doesn't have to be focused 100%.
[It was probably written as a kind of guide for young girls (like most of the author novels) but today I wouldn't advise it as a such. It can be nice and informative for an adult reader interested in 'old-time' books, but not for an average teenager or young adult - in my opinion. They would end up bored or frustrated most likely.]
Volume two of this trilogy and perhaps the best of the three, Mrs. G de HV writes volume two from the eyes of a neighbor girl in London who is recovering from a long illness and first admires the family from her window. (One is reminded painfully of the sort of convalescence one might frequently have had at the close of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.) Sister Bridgie befriends the young Sylvia and the family is seen through a different lens. Pixie is absent for the first half of the book but you are glad to see her rejoin the story about halfway through. I devoted a blog post to the author and three books in the series. It can be found at: http://pams-pictorama.com/2024/03/23/... Hope you enjoy it and More About Pixie!
The second book sees the pairing off and romances of some of my favorite secondary characters, and I really loved seeing their happiness. Bridgie and Jack deserved their happily ever afters, and I was impatient to see that the brother and sister got them with their respective love interests. Pixie's there to lend a hand to the fun, and I was so happy to read that ending. Mrs George de Horne Vaizey always makes you care for the characters and want them to be happy, and that's definitely the case here!