Old valentines

Sir Peter Oglebay values engineering, learned societies and the orderly habits of an English gentleman. His brother Robert's marriage to the actress Valentine Germain has caused a lasting family quarrel. When a boating accident in Norway leaves their daughter Phyllis orphaned, she must help the people caring for her decide whom to contact. Memories of her nurse and her estranged uncle bring affection and social awkwardness into the child's grief.

Munson Aldrich Havens builds this love story around family ties, artistic work and cherished possessions. Later scenes show Phyllis playing chess with John, a writer whose poetry has met with discouraging responses. A bookseller's collection and old valentines bought for her uncle connect domestic conversation with the family's past. Fireside talk, wedding gifts and worries about a book's prospects give the novel its intimate scale. Readers drawn to stories about love and money will find both in the small decisions and exchanges of this household.