I am enjoying other DES books, but "The English Air" deals directly with politics and the start of WWII. It is impossible to mix the pleasant "hammock book" world of DES with discussions of concentration camps, Nazi war preparations etc. DES' world is one where the characters are already nostalgic for the good old days, and her Scotland is vaguely like LLBean's "Maine"- fun but probably remote from the place ordinary people inhabit. It is not a world of politics and military action. Once these things are brought together, I found myself facing up to the hidden politics of all the rest of DES' world: i.e. her manly young British heroes go off to various parts of the Empire to fight "bandits." Some of these bandits may have been nationalist freedom fighters- but the point is, no one reads DES to get into these issues. "The English Air" makes them unavoidable.

D. E. Stevenson has written a wonderful book about a young, half-German man who comes to visit his English relations and falls in love with an English girl. This is set just before WWII. He comes prepared to dislike the English, yet, in the course of his visit, makes many friends. All of us have incorrect, pre-conceived ideas about other peoples and cultures and this story helps us learn the importance of giving people who are different than us a chance. We may not only find that we like them, but we may even be able to learn something from them.

This book was such a quick read I absolutely loved it. I would recemend this book to anyone who wants to read it.

D. E. Stevenson's novels are guaranteed to give a warm glow all over. They give a wonderful picture of small town English life. This book takes place in the 50's. Charlotte is a head mistress for a girl's school. She's bright and has done well for herself, but she has no real family to speak of. Her mother died when she was quite young and, for a while, she and her father were close. Then, her father married again. She and her new step-mother did not get along, so the solution was to send Charlotte to boarding school. A maternal uncle who had never married heard what had happened and took her in until his death and she became his heir. Her finanical future was secure, but she was destitute emotionally. As headmistress, it would not be wise to show favoritism among the teachers, so she becomes a solitary person. Due to a divorce of a student's parents, Charlotte becomes involved in the life of a fourteen-year-old, who she really comes to like. Her name is Tessa. Tessa asks her to come to visit her home in Scotland over the summer holidays. As Charlotte has no where else to go, she decides to accept the invitation. Tessa's father, Rory, and Charlotte hit it off immediately, but will history repeat itself, this time making Tessa the victim? Charlotte remembers how things changed between her step-mother and herself, and she doesn't want that to happen to Tessa. Read how three good-hearted people become a successful family. This is a sweet, romantic story between the lovers and a touching story of two women who become real friends. Enjoy!

Mrs. Tim (from Mrs. Tim of the Regiment) is back. Her husband is in France, and Britain is slowly getting on a war footing. What adjustments does a civilian in a small town have to make? Life must "carry on". Read how Mrs. Tim helps her two children and her friends to carry on. Also, be introduced to a new friend, named Pinkie, who is a delightful creature. This story reminds us all that in spite of hardships and uncertainties, we all must "carry on". This is the second of four books.

In this third book in the series, Mrs. Tim now has both children in boarding school and her husband is in Africa, now doing duty with the occupying forces after the war. Hester finds herself all alone, so, thanks to her friend Grace, Hester accepts a job in a hotel in Scotland. Meet another new friend named Erica and get to know Hester's daughter, Betty, a little bit better. Enjoy the day to day life of a very good-hearted lady.