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thenovelbook's review
3.0
Two girls, Nell and Phyllis, find out that they have been left a small amount of money and a boat by an old family friend. The boat is in Holland. On the spur of the moment they decide to throw caution to the wind, ditch their routine, and take a long cruise around Holland on the new boat. Once they arrive, they meet up with Ronald, an agreeable young man who is under the impression that he has rented their boat. The mistake is rectified, but he still wants to have his cruise and had already started fitting the boat up with better furnishings, so they agree that if he can persuade his aunt to come and be chaperon, they will travel together.
At this point Nell's distant cousin, a Dutchman named Robert, shows up. He lacks a sense of humor and is pretty stubborn and traditional, so he looks on their plans with suspicion. He also starts to develop a soft spot for Phyllis.
Robert's friend is Rudolphe Brederode, a "tall, dark and handsome" (and mysterious) type. That is, he's mysterious for the first quarter of the book, but then the narration changes to his viewpoint. He manages to get himself hired as skipper for the boat because he's fallen in love with Nell, who won't give him the time of day.
Meanwhile, Ronald, the other passenger on the boat, is seeming to be left in the cold. He practically moved heaven and earth to manage travel arrangements and secure a chaperon, because he was convinced that he was going to fall in love with one or the other of the girls (but he could never decide which). Instead he finds himself popped into the "helpful older brother" role with both of them.
Plus he has on his hands the "aunt." Because his real aunt was not available, he had to throw himself on the mercy of the first stranger who would consent to his plan. He virtuously checks her references, but doesn't bother to find out exactly who she really is.
I started suspecting it a little over halfway through.
Anyway, fun book, but as with "Set in Silver," the travelogue bits sometimes got wordy, and I skimmed (although in general those bits were enjoyable enough and created a good atmosphere).
The only other issue was that the book is written from the standpoint of 4 different people, so with the first three, you get the beginning of their story, but the end of their story gets to be told by someone else. Not a completely satisfying structure.
At this point Nell's distant cousin, a Dutchman named Robert, shows up. He lacks a sense of humor and is pretty stubborn and traditional, so he looks on their plans with suspicion. He also starts to develop a soft spot for Phyllis.
Robert's friend is Rudolphe Brederode, a "tall, dark and handsome" (and mysterious) type. That is, he's mysterious for the first quarter of the book, but then the narration changes to his viewpoint. He manages to get himself hired as skipper for the boat because he's fallen in love with Nell, who won't give him the time of day.
Meanwhile, Ronald, the other passenger on the boat, is seeming to be left in the cold. He practically moved heaven and earth to manage travel arrangements and secure a chaperon, because he was convinced that he was going to fall in love with one or the other of the girls (but he could never decide which). Instead he finds himself popped into the "helpful older brother" role with both of them.
Plus he has on his hands the "aunt." Because his real aunt was not available, he had to throw himself on the mercy of the first stranger who would consent to his plan. He virtuously checks her references, but doesn't bother to find out exactly who she really is.
I started suspecting it a little over halfway through.
Anyway, fun book, but as with "Set in Silver," the travelogue bits sometimes got wordy, and I skimmed (although in general those bits were enjoyable enough and created a good atmosphere).
The only other issue was that the book is written from the standpoint of 4 different people, so with the first three, you get the beginning of their story, but the end of their story gets to be told by someone else. Not a completely satisfying structure.
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