Cruel Barbara Allen

Christopher Stretton has musical talent, an awkward manner and little chance of earning a living in his country town. His brightest support comes from Barbara Allen, the nineteen-year-old singer he has taught and hopes to marry. When Christopher decides to seek publishers and concert opportunities in London, Barbara accompanies him to the station. After their farewell, a notice offering lessons for the stage gives her an idea for her own future.

David Christie Murray connects their romance with the uncertain work of making music pay. Christopher's London life brings hunger and wounded pride, but also friendship with the violinist Carl Rubach and a chance to compose songs for a playwright. The narrator's amused comments on artistic oddity sit alongside the lovers' practical worries. Readers interested in performers, small-town expectations and affection tested by ambition will find those concerns expressed through singing lessons, cramped rooms and the search for a paying engagement.