The happiness of Hazelbrook

An unfinished shirt and a meadow full of cowslips expose Katie Lawrence's struggle to keep a promise. Nearly thirteen, she is expected to help her widowed mother earn money through needlework and care for little Esther. Yet a brief outing with Esther draws her away from work. Life in the family's cottage in the English village of Hazelbrook depends on careful spending, paid washing, sewing and young Ben's earnings as a ploughboy.

Charlotte Grace O'Brien gives this children's story an openly Christian understanding of duty, patience and forgiveness. Katie's sister Nelly, whose spinal injury keeps her in bed, finds pleasure in simple flowers while her mother struggles to provide what she needs. Later, Katie's serious illness and Fanny Price's remorse over a visit to the fair give the family's moral concerns urgent weight. Readers interested in religious stories for children will find everyday household choices treated as tests of character and faith.