The High Heart

by Basil King

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Pages: 280

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About this book

A paid place in a wealthy household changes Miss Adare's standing among people who once treated her as a friend. After her father's death and a financial collapse, the young Canadian becomes companion to little Gladys Rossiter, speaking French with the child. At Newport in the summer of 1913, she observes a family whose lives turn around the powerful J. Howard Brokenshire, while finding common ground with the boy's tutor, Larry Strangways.

Basil King's novel gives its governess a frank, observant voice as she weighs marriage, money and the cost of dependence. Her hopes for security meet more difficult questions about affection and responsibility. In a later conversation, she asks whether doing right matters more than happiness or love, even as she feels bound to Hugh by his need for her. The appeal lies in her close attention to social distinctions and the uneasy feelings beneath polished family manners.

About the author

Basil King

Basil King combined a career in the Anglican clergy with fiction and spiritual nonfiction. Born William Benjamin Basil King in Charlottetown in 1859, he studied at University of King’s College and served churches in Nova Scotia and New England before turning more fully to writing.