“Jennie” is the story of a young woman who goes to work as a nanny in the town of Concord. As an aspiring writer, Jennie is entranced by walking the same streets as Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau, and Emerson. She enjoys the children in her care, but doesn’t so much enjoy their parents, who are obsessed with work and their position in society. As she looks for friendship in her new town, she meets the delightful Cornelia, who regales her with stories of a bygone era and quickly becomes a good friend.
When Cornelia’s grandson Nigel comes for a visit, Jennie is taken with his good looks and charming manners. Soon he’s coming for visits just to see her, and they begin a romance. But Jennie starts seeing strange lights coming from Cornelia’s attic window late at night, and knowing that Cornelia is too old to climb her attic stairs any more, she wonders what is going on. Knowing that the house is supposed to be haunted doesn’t help matters any. When she confides her concerns to Nigel and his friend Clarke, she hopes they will help her solve the mystery, but instead, it only seems to make Clarke become interested in her romantically.
I found the book a bit adjective-heavy. It’s a novella and might have been stretched into a full-length novel, with more characterization and plot. Overall, however, it was a fun, light read and I enjoyed it. I can also appreciate Susan Evans McCloud’s contribution to the LDS genre – she was one of the pioneer LDS fiction authors to appear. This book, however, is not LDS specific and would easily be enjoyed by a reader of any religious affiliation.
(This book was published in 1990 by Bookcraft.)
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