Paradise Lane

I initially had difficulty getting into this novel by Elizabeth Gill, but I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. It's a really nice story about learning what's really important in life, and also about forgiveness and starting over.

The story is kind of old fashioned, and it's set in turn-of-the-century England - that's 1900's, not this century. Annabel learns that her parents are not who she thought they were and goes off in search of her real family. Along the way she learns to look out for herself - though not without some help, particularly from the kindly Mrs. Hatty and the adorably un-gentlemanly Ned.

I really like the contrast between newspaper-owner Ned and "gentleman" Tom. There is a great line about Tom's white hands and how he's not really fit to be in "regular" society - but of course he looks down his patrician nose at "regular" society so he couldn't care less.

Both Annabel and her sister Millie grow up over the course of the novel, and learn about the true meaning of "quality" when it comes to people. It was a very enjoyable read.

Paradise Lane