GAMBIER, KENYON. Girl on the hilltop. *$1.75 (2½c) Doran
20–10304
When Roger Lingard comes to England in 1914, it is to look up his ancestry, for he is the descendant of the Lingard of St Dyfrigs’ Park, who years before had eloped with Charity Turle, his cowman’s daughter, and emigrated to America. The modern Roger finds Dorothy Lingard and another Charity Turle interesting representatives of the family in the present generation. Before he has revealed himself to them, the war breaks out and he enlists. At the end of four years, he returns to his ancestral acres, to find himself, by the death of the male line, their owner. Then follows the interesting question, what shall become of the female line. Roger offers himself to Dorothy, that thus she may not be deprived of her birthright. But he finds himself superseded in her affections by another and when he turns to the humbler Charity, he finds a similar situation to exist. But the telegram which he sends to the mysterious “girl on the hilltop” reads “The third time’s lucky!” and so it proves to be.
+ Booklist 17:32 O ’20
“Mr Gambier has built up a very alluring story.”
+ Boston Transcript p6 Ag 18 ’20 260w
“An interesting picture of rural England in wartime and unusually entertaining.”
+ Cleveland p83 S ’20 50w
“‘The girl on the hilltop’ has the virtue of being uncommon, but it is not very satisfactory. The author’s method of story-telling may be described as spasmodic; there is no ease in the course of his recital. He jumps along in a fashion quite disconcerting to the reader and insists on creating about certain of his characters an air of mystery that is annoying rather than interesting.”