A romance novel for a Christian woman, Keyes novel is quite tame by today's bodice ripper standards. It was written in 1931, but it took Keyes another decade to get it published.
Lady Blanche was a French woman who married an American settler and moved to the United States to be with him. She was shunned by neighbors and died very young - but not before placing a curse on her bloodline. Every generation following hers would have a daughter named Blanche who would resemble her in many ways, and this girl would be unlucky in love - either she or her lover would die early and young.
The story is mostly focused on World War I's generation, with two heroines in Mary and Blanche. Blanche starts out a young and innocent 'nymph' who longs to see the world - Mary has the intelligence and beauty to go very far in the outside world, but has no desire to leave the farm because the man she loves, Paul, lives there. Paulprobably undergoes the most serious character changes as he realizes he's lost the best woman he can ever get and tries to reclaim; his sister Blanche also blossoms and matures. Paul's journey especially proves to be the most interesting character development in the book; though peopled by a many different personalities, the majority of people introduced change little.
It's an enjoyable, tame beach read - but short, at only 152 pp. The N.Y. Times once called the book "One of the most sentimental and romantic novels..." and it certainly is.
Lady Blanche was a French woman who married an American settler and moved to the United States to be with him. She was shunned by neighbors and died very young - but not before placing a curse on her bloodline. Every generation following hers would have a daughter named Blanche who would resemble her in many ways, and this girl would be unlucky in love - either she or her lover would die early and young.
The story is mostly focused on World War I's generation, with two heroines in Mary and Blanche. Blanche starts out a young and innocent 'nymph' who longs to see the world - Mary has the intelligence and beauty to go very far in the outside world, but has no desire to leave the farm because the man she loves, Paul, lives there. Paulprobably undergoes the most serious character changes as he realizes he's lost the best woman he can ever get and tries to reclaim; his sister Blanche also blossoms and matures. Paul's journey especially proves to be the most interesting character development in the book; though peopled by a many different personalities, the majority of people introduced change little.
It's an enjoyable, tame beach read - but short, at only 152 pp. The N.Y. Times once called the book "One of the most sentimental and romantic novels..." and it certainly is.
