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Jump to navigationJump to searchA Question of Answers by Margaret Henderson Smith (view source)
Revision as of 17:24, 1 August 2010
, 17:24, 1 August 2010no edit summary
And to be fair, Joris (that's pronounced ''Y''oris, by the way) has a lot going for him. He's good looking, six feet tall and blonde, as well as having his fingers in all sorts of pies and friends in high places. Harriet, on the other hand, is almost permanently broke and so accident prone that she could give Frank Spencer a run for his money. Somehow you can't ''quite'' see Mr Sanderson falling for her charms – falling ''over'' her, yes, but you sense that he will be caught by someone rather more elegant and sophisticated. Or, are appearances, deceptive? He does seem to turn up in the most unlikely places.
If you like slapstick comedy you will ''love'' Harriet. She's kind-hearted and genuinely does her best. HeShe's also a very good teacher with the interests of the pupils close to her heart, which is more than you suspect you can say for Mr Sanderson. He seems to be more interested in his business interests and collecting female hearts. Margaret Henderson Smith has to perfection Harriet's feeling of being completely enraptured by the man and there were times when my heart ached for her. Her friend Tricia is also attracted to the man – but you really don't feel quite as sympathetic to her! They're two engaging and well-written characters.
It's a good story too, which didn't work out as I was confidently expecting it to. It's a plot that's been carefully constructed rather than one which works itself out as the writing progresses and there are some very clever touches which keep the farcical on just the right side of believable. The author also has a real talent for the phrase which sums a situation up, which sticks in the mind, but there were occasions when she seemed to be trying just a little too hard on this front. Happily this disappeared when she relaxed into her story.
