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thenovelbook's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I sort of liked it, but with some reservations. Not Margaret Widdemer's strongest book, although still readable.
Marjorie met Francis and spent time with him for a few weeks before he was sent overseas in World War I. The last day they had together, he convinced her to get married. She was swept up in the romance of the situation, and two of her friends had just gotten married, so she agreed.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and though some nice enough letters have been exchanged, Marjorie realizes that she looks on Francis as a stranger and is totally terrified by the thought of his coming home to New York. But come home he does, thrilled to see her again. For a few hours she tries to camouflage her feelings, but then it just gets to be too much and Francis realizes that she's not in love with him. She offers to try and make it work anyway, which he resents. And then she gets mad and offended. It looks like they're all set to annul their marriage, but then Francis shows up and asks her to take a drive with him. She's willing, but before she knows it, they're halfway to Canada. He has a job up there in the forests, and he is hoping that a few months spent together will make everything okay.
She pretty much forgives him for kidnapping her, and there are several things she really likes about the place where they live in Canada. And she does start to look on Francis at least as a friend. In fact, she's quite touched by the evidence of how much work he had put into their new home, with her likes and interests in mind.
But then a couple more misunderstandings occur and Francis gets jealous and distrustful of Marjorie. His jealousy makes him rather brutish. He thinks she doesn't love him, so he puts on a harsh face and insists that she at least prove her honesty by taking on a fairly demanding job out there in the woods. He starts to feel guilty about this pretty quick, but just doesn't know how to make things better.
Anyway, there is a happy ending, but overall Francis is pretty high-handed and too easily angered.
Marjorie met Francis and spent time with him for a few weeks before he was sent overseas in World War I. The last day they had together, he convinced her to get married. She was swept up in the romance of the situation, and two of her friends had just gotten married, so she agreed.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and though some nice enough letters have been exchanged, Marjorie realizes that she looks on Francis as a stranger and is totally terrified by the thought of his coming home to New York. But come home he does, thrilled to see her again. For a few hours she tries to camouflage her feelings, but then it just gets to be too much and Francis realizes that she's not in love with him. She offers to try and make it work anyway, which he resents. And then she gets mad and offended. It looks like they're all set to annul their marriage, but then Francis shows up and asks her to take a drive with him. She's willing, but before she knows it, they're halfway to Canada. He has a job up there in the forests, and he is hoping that a few months spent together will make everything okay.
She pretty much forgives him for kidnapping her, and there are several things she really likes about the place where they live in Canada. And she does start to look on Francis at least as a friend. In fact, she's quite touched by the evidence of how much work he had put into their new home, with her likes and interests in mind.
But then a couple more misunderstandings occur and Francis gets jealous and distrustful of Marjorie. His jealousy makes him rather brutish. He thinks she doesn't love him, so he puts on a harsh face and insists that she at least prove her honesty by taking on a fairly demanding job out there in the woods. He starts to feel guilty about this pretty quick, but just doesn't know how to make things better.
Anyway, there is a happy ending, but overall Francis is pretty high-handed and too easily angered.
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