LOCHANDAR

by Margaret Potter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 9, 1988

A heartfelt but familiar story of a family of Scottish orphans separated at the turn of the century--British historical-writer Potter's US debut. At tender ages, Fergus, Mairi, and wee Jamie McEwan find themselves disinherited when their grandfather, the Laird of Lochander Castle, dies, and their widowed mother fails to come up with the marriage certificate that proves them legitimate. Shortly thereafter, she follows her father-in-law to the grave, leaving the bairns in the hands of a lawyer who consigns them to the Orphan's New Life Society--which specializes in shipping England's unwanted to the far-off colonies. Fergus lands in New Zealand, then dies fighting the Kaiser in Holland; Mairi is taken in by a farmer in Canada, then disappears after being raped by him; Wee Jamie has better luck, inheriting valuable property in Sydney, Australia, from an eccentric gold miner. Sixty years later, his granddaughter, Beverley, starts digging into her background, traveling to Scotland to visit the law finn that handled the McEwan children's placement. There, she learns the whole ugly story and--instead of claiming Lochandar as her own--establishes a charity to treat orphans more humanely than the New Life Society treated her forebears. Predictable, but told tenderly enough to tug at a few heartstrings.

Pub Date: Jan. 9, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1988

Categories: FICTION