Music in the Hills

What was initially a lovely little romance set on the rural Scots border is now a fascinating view into the just-post-WWII culture and mores of a Scotland that feels more like the 19th century than the 20th in many ways. Rationing was still in force, and very strict, so that "petrol" is extremely scarce and even in hilly Scotland people walk and ride bicycles. Even on the best-run farm in the area they're mostly eating fish and rabbits they catch. It is illegal to kill and eat one of your own sheep, or to use grain to feed chickens, and difficult-to-obtain government permission is required for any home improvements. But ife is gracious, with servants, music, and great beauty all around them. There are many words and expressions I'd never heard, like hirsel and byre. The social mores also seem more to reflect a time when women's education was still a bit random, and chaperonage moderately important. The book is beautifully and simply written, the characters charming, and the wondow into a distinct and now disappeared time is fascinating.

All of DE Stevenson's books are like a breath of fresh air. They are charming life stories about the people of Scotland. Anyone who enjoys Barbara Pym, Rosemunde Pilcher or Ann Purser would enjoy DE Stevenson.