A well written story involving mystery and suspense (and romance of course!) The trail goes to the wilds of Scotland - trying to keep an important weapon out of the enemies hands

All of DE Stevenson's books are like a breath of fresh air. They are charming life stories about the people of Scotland. Anyone who enjoys Barbara Pym, Rosemunde Pilcher or Ann Purser would enjoy DE Stevenson.

If you're tired of the immorality in the majority of today's books, this author is just what you've been looking for. D.E. Stevenson is a great storyteller. She makes you want to keep reading about these people forever. You care about what happens to them. Yet her books have an underlying philosophy that is optimistic and uplifting. I highly recommend all of her books. You can't find this kind of quality storytelling in today's bestsellers.

This is the sequel to Music in the Hills, but stands alone as a marvelous read, in the D.E> Stevenson tradition.

This book is one of my all time favorites. When I was a teenager living at home, I discovered Celia's House in my mother's old books. It really took me to another world, and I have read it many times since then. The story is set in rural Scotland and surrounds the Dunne family. Interwoven throughout the story are colorful hints at reincarnation that make it truly magical. Treat yourself to a little vacation to Scotland and the Dunne family, and read Celia's House. You will return to it for the rest of your life!

If you enjoy Jan Karon and Miss Read, you will truly love this book as I did. Such a heartwarming, fascinating story.

A very shy girl meets an older gentleman, a friend of her father's. Romance does not begin at once, but older man realizes she is not appreciated by her family. She has a younger, prettier sister who her parents tend to dote on, leaving the older girl feeling awkward and unwanted. Her marriage to this older man is successful. The young girl becomes a woman with the help of a caring, loving husband. He helps her to get to know herself and adquire self-esteem. The story is very touching.

Innocent, gentle story; spiritual overtones. The heroine is likeable, though shy. Gives the reader a feeling of what it was like to endure WWII in England and Scotland. I especially liked the historical aspects, getting inside the mind of someone who lived there.

This book will take you to another world of small town life, simple pleasures and basically good people. Mrs. Tim (Hester) is an extremely likeable character who truly loves her husband and two children. When do you actually get to read an entire book about a successful marriage and happy family life! This story deals with the every day happenings that we all have to live with. If you like the idea of going to a more innocent world to escape from the pressures of today, pick up this series. This is the first of four books, all very wonderful!

The book about Mrs.Tim is still fun and reads like a contemporary diary even 60 some years after its original publication in Great Britain. Its almost comforting to know that even though times change, people do not. I discovered this book when I was a teenager and still enjoy Mrs. Tim's (actually D.E. Stevenson's) wit and wisdom today

...P>I bought THE FOUR GRACES for my wife. It had been a particular favorite of hers for a long time, and she had lost her copy. She had searched and searched, but I found it at Amazon.com, and I surprised her with it one Christmas. Needless to say, she was thrilled. I wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about-- it didn't look like my kind of book at all-- but it made her happy.

About a week ago, I found myself with nothing to read. In my life, this is a tragedy: the equivalent of being abandoned, swimming in mid-ocean without raft or life jacket. Then I saw my wife's copy of THE FOUR GRACES (read and re-read by her), thought to myself "You only live once" and picked it up.

I was very pleasantly surprised. It is a delightful book, light and lovely, hearkening back to a time and style long since past. It is the story of one summer in England during the Second World War, and it details the lives and adventures of the four daughters of the Rev. Mr. Grace in a small country village.

D.E. Stevenson is the grandaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson, but her style owes a great deal more to Austen and Trollope (two writers directly referred to in the novel) than it does to the creator of Long John Silver and Mr. Hyde. That being said, the author she perhaps most closey resembles would be Angela Thirkell.

Stevenson's dialogue is smooth, rich, and a treat to listen to (because that is what you do when you read conversations between her characters, you hear them), and the plot, while simple and straightforward, is fun to follow.

I really enjoyed myself, and while it is still not my style of book (at least not for a steady diet) as a change of pace, it is the equivalent of a new and tasty light dessert. Anyway, I've read it now...

Caroline Dering, who has accepted her widowhood in her typically placid way, moves contentedly through her days in Vittoria Cottage. Not even the escapades and frequent personality clashes of her young adult daughters can mar her serenity. Such moments do, however, intensify her longing for the return of her son James from a three-year tour of duty in Malaya.

Robert Shepperton strolls into her life early in the story. He is somewhat of an enigma in the small, gossipy village, but the friendship between Robert and Caroline grows with disarming ease. However, not until her vivacious sister Harriet returns to Vittoria Cottage for R & R does Caroline realize that her feelings for Robert are deeper than she suspected. She watches helplessly as a friendship develops between Robert and Harriet.

Set in post-war England and told with the usual D. E. Stevenson charm, the story leads naturally into its sequels, Music in the Hills and Shoulder the Sky.