A daughter's opposition to her mother's plan to remarry threatens to destroy their relationship.
My review:
This is my second Mary Westmacott novel, and I have to say I absolutely loved it. I feel like it should be a play. It's short at 183 pages and very sweet and entertaining.
The novel takes place over the course of four years. When it opens, Ann Prentice is at a train station feeling very lonely, having just seen her only child, Sarah, off on a three-week trip to Switzerland. Ann is the quintessential doting mother. She's raised Sarah by herself with only the help of her maid, Edith. Ann was widowed when Sarah was just three years old.
Later that same day, Ann meets Richard Cauldfield at a dinner party hosted by an old friend. She feels an attraction to him but does not get to speak to him much during the course of the evening. The next day they bump into each other at a greenhouse and are inseparable for the next three weeks. Before Sarah's return, Ann agrees to marry Richard. When Sarah returns she is none too pleased about the impending nuptials and does her best to bring a stop to them. She succeeds and in doing so, jeopardizes her own future.
A Daughter's A Daughter is very thought provoking. I have two daughters of my own and think I would be inclined to make the same decision Ann made in choosing her daughter over Richard. That part is not shocking, what shocks are the changes that take place in the two women after Ann's sacrifice.
5
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