The Day of Small Things

The Rutherfurd Novels #2

by O. Douglas

This book is a sequel to the earlier novel, The Proper Place, concerning an aristocratic Scottish family, the Rutherfurds, forced by circumstances to sell the family estate. Lady Jane has lost both of her sons in the recent Great War; the subsequent death of her husband and unexpected financial hardship prompts her one remaining child, a daughter, Nicole, to suggest they move to a smaller establishment more within their now more limited means. Accompanying them is Lady Jane's niece, Barbara, but she has married and is back at Rutherfurd Hall at the opening of Small Things, leaving Lady Jane and Nicole in their new home, Harbour House, close by the sea's edge in the fictional east coast town of Kirkmeikle.

Genres: Fiction, Scotland, British Literature, Classics

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Born Anna Masterton Buchan, younger sister to the statesman & prolific novelist John Buchan. She began writing in 1911, and published 12 novels and a personal memoir of her brother before her death. Her novels are humorous domestic fiction, focusing on the lives of families in Scotland. Her autobiography was published posthumously, in 1960.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. A thoughtful comfort read.

Lady Jane said: ‘I enjoy hearing people talk of gardens, and I enjoy reading about them. You know Autumn Crocuses?’ Esmé nodded. ‘It’s one of my bedroom books. Only very special books find a place there.’

I’ve found ‘Autumn Crocuses’ and am currently reading it. I’ll steal a phrase from another reviewer… my books seem to hold hands. 😊

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this day and age where we see such vile things happening everyday on the news I for one am really enjoying these sentimental, happy, sappy whatever you want to call them stories. I love being in such a lovely place, even if it is only for a day or two!

'You needn't give a thought to me,' she said. 'I'm absurdly pleased with life. Of course, things are different now, but once you accept that fact it's all right. To you and to me this is the day of small things - Who said that? Some one in the Bible, wasn't it? And the small things keep you going wonderfully: the kindness of friends; the fact of being needed; nice meals; books; interesting plays; the funny people in the world; the sea and the space and the wind - not very small, are they, after all?'
Nicole to her mother, Lady Jane

Set in Post World War 1 Scotland, Lady Jane Rutherfurd and her daughter Nicole have lost their big estate after the death of her husband. She lost her two boys to the war. She and Nicole move to an odd little house on the sea in Fife - the village of Kirkmeikle. Miss Douglas' stories always have a lovely quaint, quirky house at the center of them! Harbour House is no exception. 'It is a dignified old house with high-pointed roof and crow-step gables; with its front door to a narrow street, a little secret garden behind, and nine small-paned windows looking out to the sea. Sitting in the long drawing-room at high tide it was as if they were surrounded by water.' You'll fall in love with the house immediately!
Full of lovely characters, Lady Jane and Nicole are the favorites of all the village people. They are so gentle and loving that everyone loves them. There is old Mrs. Heggie, the very large widow and her daughter Joan. Mrs. Heggie loves to entertain for tea and find out all the gossip. The newest resident is Esme Jameson, also a widow, dealing with a cantankerous gardener named, John Grumblie, (you smiled just now, didn't you? Made me chuckle too). Mr. & Mrs. Lambert, (he's the vicar) and Charles Walkinshaw to name a few others. Par for the course in an O. Douglas there is the resident orphan boy, taken in by the Rutherfurds. His name is Alastair, nicknamed 'the bat' because the first time they saw him he was wearing a very large overcoat that made him look like he had wings and then Spider the dog who is his constant companion. Even the family car has a nickname in this story - The Worm!
Early on Lady Jane and Nicole invite another orphan, only this one is 19, to come and stay with them for the summer. Althea Gort is distant and cold because of her dismal upbringing and Nicole isn't too keen on her coming. She is sure it will be a terrible mistake and she will make their life miserable. What do you think happened to Althea?
John Dalrymple is in love with Nicole and has been his whole life. He asked her to marry him once and she turned him down. She fell in love with an adventurer, writer named Simon Beckett who died 3 days after they were engaged. Everyone wonders if she will come around and eventually marry John.
Towards the end of the book they take a wonderful family vacation to the Isle of Mull and the beautiful descriptions of the land and loch, and of course the house, make you feel like you are there and leave you planning your own trip to this wonderland!
A joy to read, too bad it is such an old book and out of print and hard to find. I recommend it if you can find it!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel from the 1920s follows Jane Austen’s precept for a good story “ Three or four families in a country village is the very thing to work on”. And just like Jane Austen’s novels, this book follows the fortunes of a handful of females who seem to do … nothing much, just living their life according to the accepted rules of their day.

If there is a heroine, it’s Nicole Rutherford, who, at the age of 26, is approaching spinsterhood and maiden-aunt hood at an alarming pace. Three years ago, financial circumstances forced her mother, Lady Jane, to sell the ancestral home, Rutherford Hall, and retire with Nicole to the fishing village of Kirkmeikle. Lady Jane and Nicole, both endowed with an indomitable zest for living, have made the best of their reduced circumstances and enjoy their neighbors, such as Mrs. Heggie, who is sadly aware of the “middle-class-ness”, Mrs. Heggie’s daughter, the poetry-writing Joan who feels stifled in Kirkmeikle, the dashing widow Mrs. Jameson, the modest minister Mr. Lambert and his unassuming wife. They have a talent for attracting strays and waifs. One of these, Barbara, ended up marrying the new owner of Rutherford Hall, Andrew Jackson, and is rather enjoying queening it over the neighborhood ladies, even though she is always uncomfortably aware that her husband would probably rather have married Nicole. Another is Alistair, the unwanted nephew of a neighbor, a schoolboy who, when home from boarding school, fills the house with noise and laughter. Now Lady Jane and Nicole find themselves saddled with Althea, a Bright Young Thing of about 18, cynical beyond her years, who seems determined to be rude to all their acquaintances.


Nothing much seems to happen in the book, except tea parties, dinner parties, a summer spent in the Highlands of Scotland, a theatrical production put up by a group of unemployed miners. Yet somehow, at the end, we find that Althea has been transformed, first by the warmth and affection shown to her by Nicole and Lady Jane, then by finding romance with a local man. Nicole has made it clear to a faithful admirer that she will remain single forever, faithful to the memory of a dead fiancé. Lady Jane is coming to terms with the fact that, having lost her sons during WWI, this means that she will never have grandchildren of her own. But not all is sad: there are several funny interludes provided by Mrs. Jackson, mother of the new owner of Rutherford Hall. This middle-aged matron - wife of a self-made-man- has no illusions as to her social standing as a nouveau-riche, but manages to enjoy herself thoroughly nevertheless. The ending of the book, in which a neighbor comments to the snobbish Barbara Jackson that her adored son takes after his grandmother, whom Barbara secretly despises as being vulgar, is priceless in that regard.

Here and there darker themes emerge. For instance, the poverty and misery of the miners, who are either unemployed or on strike, are touched upon. The enduring sadness of the women who lost a son or a husband in WWI is constantly present in the background. Mothers fear for the survival of their infant children in ways that we can’t imagine nowadays, when the death of a child is an exceptional tragedy. So although the book can come across as “fluffy”, and much of it is taken up with stereotypical feminine preoccupations, it is not entirely frivolous, at least not when read in 2015.

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

To you and to me this is the day of small things. And the small things keep you going wonderfully: the kindness of friends; the fact of being needed; nice meals; books; interesting plays; the funny people in the world; the sea and the space and the wind - not very small, are they, after all?

O. Douglas writes cozy village literary novels with Scottish sensibilites. They are set in the days before television and radio, when families had servants, and visiting around the neighborhood is the entertainment when you aren't reading or writing letters.

I like them very much when I want to escape, for there are always dear old friends in O. Douglas's books.

Let's read Trollope aloud this winter.

The round table that stood in her own sitting-room had Jane Austen and Trollope and Hardy as the daily bread of her reading.

I was most delighted when this fictional family went to the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, for a summer holiday. In the one overseas trip of my life, I also drove to the port of Oban, took the ferry to Mull and drove across it in a bus.

What keeps this from becoming sappy? Lady Jane and her daughter Nicole, in greatly reduced circumstances (hello Jane Austen), take in a 19-year old orphan, Althea Gort, out of kindness to extended relatives. Althea's been on a wayward trajectory and arrives with rudeness and inconsiderateness as her baggage. How will this work out?

[Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first book about this family well enough that I wanted to spend more time with them in this, the second book. It’s a charming English-country-village type novel with the interesting twist that the village is Scottish and some of the characters speak with an accent and use quirky colloquialisms. In the end, the message is that in the midst of life’s tribulations we can always take comfort in the small things: the changing seasons, a fire in the fireplace, a spot of tea, and a good book. My sentiments exactly.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sequels to The Proper Place (The Day of Small Things and Jane’s Parlor) don’t live up to their predecessor. They have some of the same characters and take place in the same neighborhoods, but though many new characters are introduced, none of them are painted with the same delicate brush as Nicole and Lady Jane and the minor characters from book one. In fact, there are so many new people introduced that’s it’s hard to remember who is who. Also lacking in the sequels are delightful dialogues laden with bookish quotes and allusions to obscure bible passages (that are like private jokes between the author and the reader who is familiar with them).

Still, I’m a big fan of Ann Buchan’s fiction and how it shows the power of quiet lives well-lived.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 4 out of 5]

O. Douglas conveys personable coziness so delightfully, these are exquisite comfort reads, especially for an Anglophile.
There's a light resemblance to Jane Austen in the sense of society and class, and the visits and conversations, but Douglas is Scottish, is more intimate with the little homely details, and also more shaded with sorrow - as what woman couldn't be after coming through the Great War - she can't write pat happy endings, and one takes the sorrow with the sweetness.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Ruthurfurd series. People come and go in the lives of Lady Jane and Nicole, but their lives remain more or less the same. They are enriched by all whom they embrace in their hearts, but they remain steadfastly serene and enthusiastic about life. Seeing what brings them joy, sorrow, and new experiences is in itself a joy. A lovely read.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book by O. Douglas. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as "The Proper Place", which comes before it, but it was still a lovely read, with very real and very lovable characters, set in Scotland in the aftermath of WWI.

[Gilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sequel to A Proper Place (in which a couple of slightly dramatic things happen), we are once again invited to take in the salt air at cosy Harbour House, then at a holiday cottage on the Isle of Mull, whilst making the rounds of neighbourly visits, eating scones and cucumber sandwiches and drinking endless cup of tea. There's even less drama in this one, but that's fine. This is a leisurely, rose-coloured observation of village life, social obligations, relationships and manners. The ending felt abrupt and seemed less satisfying than the first novel -- but perhaps that's the message: not everyone needs a conventional storybook ending to be happy.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a sequel to an earlier novel, The Proper Place (1926), concerning an aristocratic Scottish family, the Rutherfurds, forced by circumstances to sell the family estate. Lady Jane has lost both of her sons in the recent Great War; the subsequent death of her husband and unexpected financial hardship prompts her one remaining child, a daughter, Nicole, to suggest their removal to a smaller establishment more within their new means. Accompanying them is Lady Jane's niece, Barbara, but she has married and is back at Rutherfurd Hall at the opening of Small Things, leaving Lady Jane and Nicole in their new home, Harbour House, close by the sea's edge in the fictional east coast town of Kirkmeikle.

I found the first few chapters rather confusing, as they continually reference people, places and events that I felt I should have known much more about; such is the nature of a sequel. However, I soon sorted it all out due to the author's clarity of conversational "sorting out", and I proceeded on my way, enjoying the story at hand while mentally resolving to read the earlier novel as soon as possible.

In The Day of Small Things, Nicole and Lady Jane have become more than reconciled with their new life; they have made Harbour House a refuge from the world's storms for themselves and a varied parade of friends. Into their peaceful world comes a disruptive influence in the form of Althea Gort, Lady Jane's sister-in-law's niece. Child of a notoriously ill-matched and eventually divorced society couple, nineteen-year-old Althea is now an orphan, and well used to rejection. Her aunt wishes her upon the Rutherfurds hoping they will provide a settling influence, and also to remove Althea from an undesirable lover. While Lady Jane is welcoming, both Nicole and Althea bristle at the thought of sharing a home with each other - their upbringings and personalities are diametrically opposed and they resent each other even before they meet.

The transformation of Althea runs through this novel. There are many interweavings of personal stories, and a wide array of characters. Those that stand out are the matronly "middle class" (by her own description) Mrs. Heggie and her brusque but talented poet daughter Joan, and the newly widowed Esmé Jameson, seeking solace in a new home and garden, after nursing her husband through years of pain and suffering caused by his war injuries.

A theme that runs through both this novel is the changes in social class and the blurring of societal boundaries since the war. The Rutherfurds are of the old aristocracy, but they also realize that their traditional "time at the top" has come to an end; they are gracious in their ceding to a new social order, while the strivings of the strong and rising "upper middle class" and the nouveau riche incomers are observed with a wry and humorous (but generally benign) eye. Wartime recovery, dealing with grief, and drastically changed circumstances also shadow a story mostly concerned with small doings; friends and social rivals drink tea, gossip and jockey either delicately or robustly for position among the evolving small-town cliques.

While one of the love stories in this tale resolves itself in the traditional way, another does not; the circumstances of both are well-handled by the author. There is a lot of emphasis on doing one's duty and the importance of willing sacrifice of personal desires; again, these unfashionable moralities are handled with sensitivity and humour by the characters.

The narrative is flawed at times; some of the characters are improbably "good" in their thoughts and actions, though all are allowed to show a glimmer of human temper and weakness on occasion, saving the story from blandness.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd book in the Rutherfurd trilogy.

On finishing this second book of the three-book series, I find myself wondering if O. Douglas had a slight aversion to ending her novels with things tied up happily. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this domestic, cozy book, but there's also a decided element present of contenting oneself with disappointment that somehow seems out of place with the tone of the story.

Wonderful writing, excellent characterizations, I simply wish Douglas had been a little bit kinder to these lovely people.

4.5 stars

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little book, all the more when I realized O. Douglas was the pen name of Anna Buchan, sister to John. It's a pleasant, between-the-wars book with lovely quotations at the head of each chapter, beginning with one of favorite verses from the Bible, "Who has despised the day of small things?"

2nd Read - Since I found and read the first in this series, I just had to read this one again, too. It's just filled with daily, domestic joys, small things not to be despised.

[Mbuye · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a sequel to ‘The Proper Place,’ this book carries on the stories of the characters we met in the earlier novel, but otherwise it has no real plot. Although new people are introduced, their storylines are predictable and some go nowhere, so that it is difficult to see why they were brought in at all.

The real draw to this book is the sensitivity with which it portrays the years of the post world war one period. The most outstanding, of course, is the passing of the old landed gentry, whose income lay in their rent-rolls, real estate and housing, and farming, versus the new middle class of manufacturers, factory owners and industry. In the post-war years, the gentry slowly abandoned their vast households and armies of retainers, while the newly rich moved in.

Together with this a new kind of democracy was taking over, blunting class and social distinction; thus young Charles Walkinshaw, whose family have been Conservative for generations, fights for Parliament on a Labour ticket, while the factory workers and coal miners of the district, who are out of work as the result of a Union strike, and who are fervently Labour, have cultural aspirations, and present a performance of Iolanthe, lustily singing:

‘Bow, bow, ye lower middle classes,
Bow, bow, ye tradesman, bow, ye masses!'

Walkinshaw encourages their efforts by drawing up a subscription list of people who would help to underwrite the production, as well as volunteers who would help the cast learn to sing and dance and memorise their lines, correcting their speech from broad lowland Scots to something comprehensible.

And, as universal franchise has been proclaimed in 1918, the female portion of the cast decide en masse to cast their ballots for Walkinshaw.

Under all this light-heartedness, lies the bleakness of grief in the aftermath of a war that wiped out a generation of young men who left behind them broken hearted parents, wives and infants whom they had never seen.

While it is readable, it does not charm, as its predecessor did. The style is flawless, the writing excellent (it was published in 1930, when sloppy or careless writing simply got you nowhere), but for all that, the subject has been played out. Apart from that, ‘The Day of Small Things’ is a sober, reflective study on people, kindness and the dangers of judging by appearances.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Small Things

The Day of Small Things was first published in 1930 and was written by O. Douglas, the pseudonym of Anna Buchan, younger sister of John Buchan, who wrote suspense novels including The 39 Steps.

Not much happens in the book. The setting is quiet Kirkmeikle, a small seaside Scottish town. The tale centers around Lady Jane Rutherfurd and her 27-year-old daughter Nicole. They once lived in a stately home near Glasgow, but a reversal of fortune caused them to have a rather large “come down,” and they are pitied by many, sometimes including themselves, although they live in a large seaside home with several servants and enough money to go on holidays wherever and whenever they please.

The two women are gracious, kind, and highly involved in the small community. Their lives consist of visiting neighbors and hosting them for tea at their home. Middle class neighbors are amazed by Lady Jane’s condescension in including them in her invitations, and even the minister’s wife is welcome, although she is poor as the proverbial church mouse. I began to feel claustrophobic just reading about their lives.

The Rutherfurd women have adopted a little boy nicknamed The Bat, because he wears an overcoat several sizes too large for him. They have also opened their home to Althea, who is in the throes of the teenage years.

The book is of historical interest to anyone who would like an accurate look at a small Scottish town between the two world wars.

Those who would like a plot or if the class distinctions get to be too grating, look elsewhere. Snobbery is often on display and even Nicole jokingly says she wishes slavery hadn’t gone out of style since servants couldn’t leave then to get married or to take care of ailing family members.

I found myself wondering if in 60 years people will watch episodes of “Seinfeld,” the show about nothing, and feel like I did when reading this book.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Day of Small Things is the sequel to The Proper Place, which I loved. The title is from a verse in the Old Testament, Zechariah 4:10, "Who hath despised the day of small things?"

I didn't enjoy the reading of this book as much as I did it's predecessor, but I think it will resonate with me for a longer time. It continues the story of Lady Jane Rutherford and her daughter, Nicole. It takes place between the wars but doesn't hinge on the wars. Lady Jane and Nicole have sold the family estate and moved to a smaller house near the sea in Scotland. They have whole-heartedly thrown themselves into their new community. (This all happened in the first book.) This novel picks up where the first left off. We continue to watch their interactions with old friends and new. Once again, they take a young person into their home, under their wings, and provide a loving family.

As I neared the end, I finally realized that the "small things" are the relationships that they have formed that bring comfort and peace, sunshine and joy into the lives of others. This they accomplish through ordinary acts of kindness and service. Going to tea, inviting others to tea, taking an invalid a book and staying to visit. Listening, without condescension, to everyone from the most humble maid, to the middle class neighbor, or the wealthy landowner. Finding joy in long walks, quiet evenings, needlework, gardening, flowers, storms and sunshine. A full life is not dependent on what we have or do not have. It comes from not despising the small things but recognizing them as the gifts they are.

[Helen Durham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the row of Rutherfurd family stories. I was positively surprised by the first book (A proper place) and also this second did not disappoint me. In this uncertain times, these books are very heartwarming and an absolute pleasure to read. I will definitely read more auf this author, who is in my opinion so underrated. One gets the feeling to sit in the drawing room at Harbour House with the main characters and enjoy an afternoon tea with a good book or feel the breeze while walking outdoors with Nicole. I can warmly recommend and will definitely read them again and again!

[elise buhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a gentle story . . .

The Day of Small Things brings home the enduring values of home, friendship, the creation of beaufy and the strength and value of learning to find pleasure in such things as we chose to occupy ourselves. It is the quiet faithfulness of living our best lives, of making time our friend rather than seeing it as something to be passed, filled with temporary distractions. An excellent book for thoughtful days.

[Kathryn Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The uplifting effects of ordinary kindness

Simple and seemingly unimportant, this book gently envelops the reader in a sense of longing for simpler life and the pleasures of simple virtues like kindness, loyalty, and belonging to community. A true gem that laps upon the heart as gentle waves on the shore.

[Alana/MiaTheReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the quiet strength and delight in these books, but they don't shy away from hardships. Nichole's pursuit of an essence of the miraculous goodness of every day life in these Rutherford books keeps me coming back and wanting to stay...and there's just one more novel about Lady Jane and her family left...please, O. Douglas, I hope you have given me an ending I can handle!

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oops! I once again managed to read a series of of order. But huzzah for entirely pleasant, quiet domestic fiction (bar a few dated passing comments). Tempted to immediately start on the first book, but knowing my least favorite character has a bigger role in that one is deterring me slightly.

[Patience Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since I read Miss Buncle's Book, I occasionally look for the silly but sweet romances from that period. Heroines were innocent, although never the ideal dummy, and things turn out right. They are a lot of fun in stressful times.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

After what the author did to the main character in the last book, I knew this one would be a bit depressing, and so it was. But still the same vivid descriptions of Scotland and of all the characters.

[Vonnie Skaggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story that makes you want to run off to some small eastern coastal in Scotland and settle in a house by the sea. But as a sequel, it was a disappointment.
I felt like the story was left hanging at the end, and there was a sense of unfulfillment.

[Eva B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2

[Anne Herbison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continues the story from The Proper Place. Compelling.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book in the series, but it was fine. A nice, light read.

[Wollschlager J · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a part 2, so worth reading. Penny Plain is still my favorite.

[Christina]

Recommended by Julie Kong.

[Sarah Connatser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gentle Read