Letter to a Stranger

Elswyth Thane

Eve Endicott is an author of happy ending novels that can appeal to men or women. All her characters are basically good people. She was widowed about ten years earlier during World War II and knows that life is not all sunny. She has no desire to write about the "real" world and all its problems. She receives a letter from Joanna Marshall praising her books while at the same time deploring her ignorance of real life.

Joanna's letter catches Eve's attention. She answers it with some ideas she hopes will help. She receives another letter from Joanna about her relationship with her father. Eve is more intrigued. Eve's publisher,Tad Benson, knows the Marshalls and invites her for the weekend. Tad has been attracted to Eve for quite a while and this is his chance to get her closer to him.

During the weekend Eve meets Joanna, her father, and the widower next door neighbor, Richie Forrest, that Joanna idolizes. Eve finds herself the attention of Beau Marshall. She also discovers an attraction to Richie. Beau invites her to visit them. While visiting, she learns Beau can be very charming when he is not intimidating his 23-year-old daughter.

Since this novel was published in the 1950's, the tone is gentler than the romance novels written today. It is well done, with many twists. Up to two chapters before the end of the book I still was sure which way Eve was going to go. With three different men vying for her attention, and a young woman also falling in love, there are many different things to deal with.

This quick read is well worth it. Eve is overcoming her years of first grief, then independence. She is meddling in Joanna's life trying to help. She's a layered character who goes through the doubts any of us would go through in that type of situation. While the tone is different than would be written today, the story is just as gripping and romantic.

This book, along with her novel Tryst, was buried in the stacks at my library, and you should try yours.