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Like the previous Stevenson book I read, this was recently a Kindle Daily Deal--but I one hundred percent would have paid full price for it. At first I was like, this is just one of those delightful old British books about nice, friendly upper class people, and good things happen to good people, and it's all just satisfying. Which is TRUE, but then at the end I saw where Stevenson was going and just straight up burst into tears of happiness and RIGHTNESS. SO charming. I just loved this. A.

D.E. Stevenson is one of those classic authors that you just love to cozy up one of her books. Set in Scotland in the early twentieth century, Celia Dunne knows it is time for decisions to be made. She is feeling every single one of her ninety years and has loved her time at her home Dunnian. Land ownership, ancestry, and heritage are all important to Celia and she is determined a Dunne will be at Dunnian. Knowing her current state of affairs will not do, she calls to her great nephew Humphrey to come home. She knows he will be a better caretaker of Dunnian than her nephew who has development plans ever will. She tells Humphey she is bequeathing Dunnian to his daughter Celia. Much to Humphrey's confusion as he does not have a daughter Celia. Elderly Celia in her wisdom assures him, he will.
The story then moves to Humphrey's family's time at Dunnian and indeed, there is a daughter, Celia. Humphrey's children take to the countryside gentry life. Duncan's retainers add charm and character to the story. Their lives intertwining with the family's that they serve. A charming story that rapidly develops. The children grow and mingle with the higher class neighbor children. And they soon learn that the simple luxuries afforded in childhood friendships do not transition into adulthood as easily. A delightful, gentle read. Well recommended!
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for kindly allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

You've got the bookends of an interesting saga here. Unfortunately, the middle bit is all knock-off [b:Mansfield Park|45032|Mansfield Park|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397063295l/45032._SY75_.jpg|2722329]. And Mansfield Park is hard enough to swallow when Jane Austen writes it. D.E. Stevenson does not improve the story much.

Spoiler

I would give some credit if it didn't feel so awkwardly much like Mark didn't marry Deb because he disliked bachelor life. 'What? I have to tell the maids what to do and darn my own socks?! hmm, maybe my cousin doesn't seem so sisterly after all...'

I do think this book deserves credit because, like almost all Stevenson novels, it creates very realistic characters. They're cross, foolish, and sometimes silly, but also whimsical and fun. They all feel like someone you might actually know. (When not emulating Jane Austen characters.) So as much as I might whine in my spoiler about Mark's reason for marrying, it felt quite, disappointingly honest and not at all romanticized...which is exactly why it charms.

Overall, though, I would say this is not her best book. Besides some overt sexism, it feels too at loose ends. The Mansfield Park ripoff comes out of nowhere after several other promising starts involving wills and ghosts and servants. Then it gives way to the kind of patriotic, WW2 triteness that fills other Stevenson books before shifting again and emphasizing a half-remembered family tree plotline.

It is an ambitious story with many characters and several family lines and unfortunately simply too short to do all it wants and still tell a full tale.

Not nearly as good as her Miss Buncle series. It's pretty much a retelling of Mansfield Park.

I love Stevenson’s books. Usually set in Scotland, they have a coziness, an innocence, and they just “feel like home!” There was only one thing I disliked about this one and that was the semi-cliffhanger ending. It ended sort of abruptly. It does seem set up for a happy-ending, though, so I let my imagination take over to soothe my slight disappointment.
Great story for those who love “4-generations cozy in one house” types of sweet fiction!

Celia's House is another charming novel by D.E. Stevenson, whose novels I read as a teenager and rediscovered a few years ago, now in my 50s. Stevenson's books are perhaps a little old-fashioned, very much products of the time & place they were written -- but still, well-crafted stories -- funny, charming romances, comedies of manners and family dramas featuring engaging characters.

"Celia's House" is old fashioned, eyerolling in some respects, but overall, warm, cozy, gentle -- the kind of book that's easy to read, but hard to find these days. (Some Goodreads reviewers have noted its resemblance, plotwise, to Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park.")

I don't remember reading "Celia's House" in the past, but it was recently reissued in paperback & ebook versions. Written in 1943 during the Second World War, it's the story of Dunnian, the Dunne family estate in the Scottish border country, and several generations of its occupants.

The story opens in 1905 with 90-year-old spinster Celia Dunne meeting with her nephew, Humphrey. She reveals to an astonished Humphrey that he, and not her other/older nephew and presumed heir, Maurice, will inherit Dunnian upon her death. The catch is that Humphrey, in turn, must leave Dunnian to his daughter Celia. The fact that Humphrey does not have a daughter named Celia does not deter his aunt; she assures him he will. The story follows Humphrey, his family and Dunnian through the years leading into WWII.

Despite her age, Aunt Celia is a strong character, beloved by her servants & neighbours, and determined to do what she believes is right for Dunnian and its future, tradition be damned. I loved her for that. Her grandniece and namesake shows similar strength of character, determined to wait for the right man and not "settle," even as she enters her 30s.

There are a couple of corny touches -- the lady that young Mark sees on the staircase, the visitor at the book's end. But, if you're willing to suspend disbelief, cast your mindset back to Britain in the first half of the 20th century and accept the book on its own terms, I think you might enjoy it.

Reading "Celia's House" is as comforting as sipping a cup of Earl Grey tea while looking looking out into a wildflower garden.

Re-issued from its original printing in the 1940's, the book covers several generations of the Dunne family residing at at the Dunnian estate in the U.K. When the book opens, we meet Celia, the elderly, unmarried auntie who will choose Dunnian's fate when she passes on. Bucking convention, she makes a very unusual choice, setting the book's plot in motion.

Stevenson includes many strong female characters for the day, and the book will resonate with Jane Austen fans. While the book may seem a bit slow moving and lacking in drama for some modern readers, others will appreciate the dry wit and genteel writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCESOOKS Landmark for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Last week I found myself seeking out escapist fare. Earlier in the week, I watched "Mrs. Miniver," a movie ranked number 40 on the American Film Institute's list of the most inspirational films of all time. It's an seriously fluffy movie about the middle class English family in the early days of WWII.

But more distraction from the dismal news of the week was required. Celia's House fit the bill. Lightly romantic with occasional mild dissent set in an old family house in Scotland. Think of a sunnier version of Maeve Binchey. Or Angela Thirkell without the silliness.

Celia's House amply met my need for distraction from the news of the day. Unfortunately I finished it a bit too soon. There are still two days until the midterm election, and I need to arm myself with distraction. Fortunately, I have Listening Valley, companion novel to Celia's House in my to-read stack.

Gentle and charming. Very D. E. Stevenson.