The Tender Leaves

by Essie Summers

Maria had never known her father — and didn’t particularly regret the fact. Nevertheless, she did have a lot of curiosity about him, and she very much wanted to go to New Zealand to see if she could find any trace of him. So it was a stroke of luck when old Mrs. Alberta Jensen offered to pay her fare there in return for looking after her on the journey, although Maria could have done without Mrs. Jensen’s disapproving great-nephew Struan Manderville, who suspected her of being little better than a gold-digger. But could Maria really do without Struan?

Genres: Romance

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Essie Summers was a New Zealand author who wrote so vividly of the people and landscape of her native country that she was offered The Order Of the British Empire for her contributions to New Zealand tourism.

Ethel Snelson Summers was born on on July 24, 1912 to a newly-emigrated couple, Ethel Snelson and Edwin Summers, situated in Bordesley Street in Christchurch, Essie was always proud of both her British heritage and her New Zealand citizenship. Both her parents were exceptional storytellers, and this, combined with her early introduction to the Anne of Green Gables stories, engendered in her a life-long fascination with the craft of writing and the colorful legacy of pioneers everywhere.

Leaving school at 14 when her father's butcher shop experienced financial difficulties, she worked for a number of years in draper's shops and later turned her experiences to good use in writing the romantic novels for which she became famous.

She met her husband-to-be William Flett when she was only 13 years old, but it was 13 years before she consented to marry him. A minister's wife and the mother of two, William and Elizabeth, she still found many opportunities to pen short stories, poetry and newspaper columns before embarking on her first novel, which sold to the firm of Mills & Boon in 1956.

Summers died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998.

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Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know that this is the first romance I ever read, but it's certainly one of the early ones. I know I was attracted to it because it was set in New Zealand and written by a New Zealand author. Such things are easier to find these days, but weren't so much back when I was a teenager. I went on to read other Essie Summer books, again because they were set in New Zealand, but this one always remained my favourite.

So when I saw it for sale used a month or two back, I bought it, mostly for nostalgia's sake. I had no idea if it would stand the test of time or not, but I remembered it with pleasure so I decided to take the chance.

I've been very tired this last week and wanted a simple, gentle read, so I decided it was time for The Tender Leaves.

I'm pleased to say that it does stand up on a reread. I was enchanted by it all over again and enjoyed a book that featured my own country and indeed, a lifestyle that reminded me of what I know of my mother's childhood.

The book has a copyright date of 1980, but really the feel of it is more like something out of the sixties. My mother grew up on a New Zealand farm very like Heronshaw (although in the South Island and not in Hawkes Bay as in the book) and the feel of life fits more with her teens and twenties than mine. For example, the characters take a boat back to New Zealand from England for one thing, and that would have been more likely in the late sixties (indeed my parents did exactly that) than in the eighties. Plane travel was already the done thing by then and taking a cruise ship would have been a luxury few could afford.

The book is explicity set in about 1980 as Johanna mentions the Napier earthquake (1931) as being half a century ago, but I still can't shake the feeling that the lifestyle it describes was fading by then. But I don't care in the least as it adds to the feel of the book, which is what I love about it.

My only other complaint is that Maria seems to be fairly dumb about figuring out some of the clues put before her. But I honestly don't know if that's beacause she is, or because this time I already knew the answers and what the clues really pointed towards. I think this is a book where a first read is a different experience than a reread because of this, but that's okay as the reader can enjoy both. It's a gentle mystery that resolves into a trope a rather like (I'm not sure what that says about me) but one that really can't be given away without changing the experience of the book, so I'm going to shut up about it now.

If you'd like a gentle, old fashioned and sweet romance, this is a book that provides it beautifully. And if you read it long ago, I can assure you that it stands up very nicely to a reread.

[Fiona Marsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one of the heroine in search of family themed stories. Maria is invited to accompany a New Zealander home from England not long after she discovers her father may have family.

Alberta takes Maria to the family estate where she immediately feels connected to the extended family. IN particular to Struan Manderville, the adopted grandson of the owners.

The romance is complicated by friends and a potential romantic interest for Struan and also by the family connection Maria discovers with the Manderville's.

With the usual extended cast of characters, lovely New Zealand scenery and the obligatory historical touches this was an enjoyable read.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another old favorite. I remembered parts of the story, but had forgotten others. It does start out rather slowly, first introducing the main characters. Then there is the voyage from England to New Zealand; once they arrive there the story really takes off. Maria Willoughby, a nurse, has recently lost her mother, as well as her beloved stepfather, who had adopted her as a child. Though she doesn't remember it, Maria was born in New Zealand, but her father had abandoned her mother before he even knew about her. So she welcomes the chance to accompany a patient home to New Zealand, and possibly follow the small clues she has to find her father's family. But not her father. She is warmly welcomed by her patient's family, and begins to wish her own family would be as welcoming — though she could do without Struan Mandeville! Or could she? There are clues and hints to the solution to the mystery, but Maria doesn't always pick up on them. If she had, she might have been saved some heartburning. Excellent characterization, fascinating setting, wonderful descriptions (as always) of the beautiful scenery, and an intriguing plot combine into an excellent story. Recommended.

[Last Chance Saloon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not one of Essie Summer's best books, I think. It's convoluted and the heroine starts off quite forthright with the hero and then becomes lacklustre and dull. It feels like she doesn't get her own story as there are so many other characters having romances. The hero is rather juvenile and decides he likes her, kisses her quite a bit and everything is taken for granted except one moment at the end. The heroine is a nurse/midwife, capable and doesn't come across as a romantic figure. The hero is short, stocky and an extrovert with very few deep moments. The culmination of the family drama is obvious from the start, and I wouldn't have minded that if it had just been a sweet romance rather than tale of a multitude of sub-characters whose endings are more important than the heroine.
2 1/2 stars

[Caz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very convoluted novel, with an easily guessed twist, an excessive cast and subplots about other romances that distracted from the heroine's path and dragged out the story. I felt rather sorry for the MFC as so many around her held secrets and kept her in the dark for far too long.

[Summerita Rhayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the early Mills and Boon novels I read and remember it more for nostalgia and the environment the author depicted than the brilliance of plot. I remember it for two more reasons, one that it described the birth of a baby which at that time went quite over my head and I spent quite some time figuring how it was happening lol. The second reason is because soon after it, I read an Indian language book with much the same trope and I believe it must have been copied from this book. Of course in both, things end happily ever after. I've read more of Essie's books but remember this most of all.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it was the age of the book, but I just couldn't connect with the characters. The twist was also predictable, as I had guessed what was going to happen quite early into the book.