The Young Ladies’ Room by Elizabeth Ford

I just finished this book yesterday and it was WONDERFUL.

What was interesting about it was that it was published in 1945, so it was probably written in 1943 or 1944 in Great Britain during World War 2. So although it’s a “contemporary” romantic novel, the setting and characters and dialogue are straight from the 40s and very authentic. It reminded me a bit of some of Grace Livingston Hill’s novels in its calm tone and slang-ish language.

The plot was a little predictable, but it made me cry at the end anyway (and at some points in between). What I especially liked was that I thought that each character got what they deserved (mostly). It was a terribly satisfying ending.

Unfortunately, it’s mostly available in the UK and hard to find in the US. I had to special order it from a UK used bookstore. But it was SO worth the extra money and hassle. It’s become one of my favorite books.

I really love Elizabeth Ford. I read one of her books by accident and enjoyed it so much that I went out to find her other ones. Elizabeth Ford is a pseudonym, and she also wrote historical romances (Victorian and Regency) under the pseudonym Mary Ann Gibbs.

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No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

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A List of my Free Blog Reads

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

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Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7 annotated edition