Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Amazon Digital Services, 2011
Description
This gentle classic, set in Glasgow in 1913, follows the lives of a Scottish minister, his exuberant family & parishioners. His vivacious daughter, Elizabeth, whose outspokenness in turn charms & exasperates; Buff, her spirited younger brother whose innocent mumbled remarks always hit on some inappropriate truth; & the widowed minister himself, who drinks too much tea for his own good. O. Douglas has a sharp eye for snobbery & an ability to mingle believable characters & social satire whilst recognizing the importance of everyday events & World Wars in the lives of ordinary people.
User reviews
LibraryThing member annejacinta
Tells the tale if people in a Scottish community in the period leading up to the war, with a brief final summing up of how they were affected by it. Written in a lively style but definitely of the times - 1917 publication.
LibraryThing member Roarer
After a recommendation I first read "The Setons" many years ago, and remembered it as a daughter of the Manse tale, largely set in Glasgow. I had forgotten the story was set at the time of the First World War. Reading it for a second time I was astonished by the end, the fearless way in which the
Show More
author remorselessly kills off characters, the contrast between daily life in Scotland before and during the slaughter of war seeringly highlighted. "The Setons" was published in 1917, when there was no end in sight to the fighting, the outcome of the First World War unknown; its declaration of the human cost of war seems very brave. The author, real name Anna Masterton Buchan (1877-1948) was the sister of John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir (1875-1940),celebrated for novels of patriotic daring-do, such as the spy story, "The Thirty-Nine Steps" published in 1915. I wish I could have witnessed a discussion between these two. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1917