"The Baker's Daughter" by D.E. Stevenson

"The Baker's Daughter" is the D.E. Stevenson novel that has stuck most prominently in my memory since the first time I read it as a teenager in the 1970s. I read it several times back then, and was delighted when it was reissued in 2016. I gobbled it up then (my review from then here) and found it just as charming as I remembered.

I recently offered to organize a discussion of "The Baker's Daughter" if my online Stevenson fan group agreed to take it on as our next group read (following "Mrs. Tim Flies Home," reviewed here).  They agreed :)  and while we haven't even started our discussion of Mrs. Tim yet ;) I couldn't resist getting a head start on this favourite DES novel.  :) 

Time & multiple readings have not diminished its charm for me.

"The Baker's Daughter" of the title is Sue Pringle, who has kept house for her father since her mother's death, but has been supplanted in that role by her new stepmother.  On an impulse, she offers to cook & keep house for for an eccentric artist and his glamorous wife who have just moved into an old mill outside of town. It isn't long before the bored wife high-tails it back to London -- and then files for divorce (gasp!) -- but Sue opts to stay on -- and, of course, winds up falling in love with her employer.

This book was first published in 1938 and, as with most DES novels, there are a few references that might make the modern reader cringe (Sue's admiration of General Franco, Darnay's musings on beauty and "purity of race" (!), etc.).  Still, these minor points don't diminish my overall enjoyment of the book.  As with most of Stevenson's novels, the writing is lovely, and the characters are wonderfully drawn.

(Still) Four stars on Goodreads.

This was book #46 that I have read in 2019 to date, bringing me to 192% (!) of my 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 24 books.  I have completed my challenge for the year -- currently 22 books beyond my  goal -- and I have surpassed my reading total for 2018 by 19 books.  :) 

(Can I double my original goal and read 2 more books -- total 48 -- in the 2.5 weeks before the end of the year??  Stay tuned...!)