5 stars
I've previously read The Herb of Grace (Pilgrim's Inn) and The Heart of the Family (books 2 & 3 in the series), but had never read this one, the first in the series, 'The Eliots of Damerosehay'.
This is a book about true life being rooted in a deeper life source than mere passing fancy and passion; it's a book about faithfulness and truth.
It's also magical. The house, the history, the people, give this story so much depth and heart.
The grandmother Lucilla, dignified and much loved doyenne of Damerosehay is distressed to learn that her grandson, David, is passionately and overwhelmingly in love with someone who will cause much pain for the family.
I wrote a few quotes down, but I love this, which is part of a speech by Lucilla to David in response to his heartfelt belief that being true is being true to your most passionate feelings, however much pain they may cause others:
'What is it once one moves beyond the narrow conception of truth as the correctly spoken word?...[T]rue action is the creation of perfection while lying action is the creation of something that falls short of the ideal...truth at its greatest is something made in the likeness of God.
'[I]f truth is the creation of perfection then it is action and has nothing to do with feeling. And the nearest we can get to creating perfection in this world is to create good for the greatest number, for the community or the family not just for ourselves; to create for ourselves only means misery and confusion for everybody. That made me see that acting a part is not always synonymous with lying, it is far more often the best way of serving the truth. It is more truthful to act what we should feel if the community is to be well served rather than behave as we actually do feel in our selfish private feelings.'
The story does not merely focus on David and Lucilla, but also on Damerosehay and its history, and the other family members, and local residents. It's a wonderful, wonderful story.
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