I made an effort to be more attentive to the story, but a few chapters later was still rather lost, yet undeterred from enjoying the antics of the eccentric Carne family, composed of a mother, three daughters (Katrine, Deirdre, and Sheil), and a governess.
Most of the book is told from the POV of Deirdre, the literary-minded daughter who's written an unpublished novel and rambles on in a delightful but aimlessly dotty way. Katrine is studying drama, while Sheil, the youngest, is still in the care of the governess, Miss Martin, who grows increasingly distressed by the family's odd ways.
I finally twigged to the plot when mention was made of a family "Saga." Much in the same way that the Brontes did when young, the Carnes amuse themselves by fabricating stories about their lives, their dog, their playthings, characters in books, and anything else that crosses their minds.
The fun ramps up when they meet a judge named Toddington, about whom they have been fantasizing as a family friend. He and his wife are amazed to discover aspects of their lives they know nothing about, but kindly join in on the charade so as not to upset Sheil, much in the same way that adults maintain the fiction of a tooth fairy for children.
The Carnes, then, are a humorous version of the Brontes (minus brother Branwell). Readers more familiar with that family of literary geniuses will likely be quicker on the uptake than I was. To top it off, the Brontes themselves make an appearance of sorts at the end.
The book was published in 1931 and at 188 pages is not long. I enjoyed it so much that, even before I was finished, I went online and ordered another by author Rachel Ferguson.
