The Rich Mrs. Burgoyne

I have an enormous backlog of books to review again, but I also have jetlag, and a workday an hour longer than when I last posted, so bear with me. I’m starting with a book about which I have only good things to say. It’s called The Rich Mrs. Burgoyne, it’s by Kathleen Thompson Norris, and it’s a hell of a lot less depressing than the last book of hers I read.

It’s a familiar story — a woman arrives in a new town and proves to be an asset to it and its inhabitants — and one I like a lot. And this version of it is particularly charming.

The Heart of Rachael

The Heart of Rachael is a 1916 bestseller by Kathleen Thompson Norris, and the best word I can think of to describe it is ‘involved.’ I had a whole synopsis of the plot written out, but it was kind of dull without all the semi-coherent insights into people’s characters interspersed with the exposition. So, let’s see how radically I can simplify it.

Rachael Fairfax, age 21, marries Clarence Breckenridge, a divorcé with a young daughter. Their marriage turns out very badly, mostly because Clarence doesn’t really care about anyone but his daughter Carol, commonly known as Billy. Also, Clarence is an alcoholic. Seven years into the marriage, Rachael decides she can’t stand it anymore and divorces him. She spends the summer becoming a better person, or something, and at the end of it she marries Dr. Warren Gregory, who is very much in love with her, because she has realized that she’s also very much in love with him.

Things go pretty well for them, but, although everyone is pretty much agreed that Rachael’s divorce was as justified as any divorce ever, she’s still really sensitive about it. Especially when, soon after Rachael and Warren are married, Billy runs off to marry another alcoholic divorcé, and Clarence kills himself. No one else seems to be bothered about this as much as Rachael is.