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Jalna #6
The Whiteoak Brothers (U)
In The Whiteoak Brothers, the Jalna household is electric with secrecy and excited expectation. It is now 1923, and while young love blossoms between Pheasant and Piers, Aunt Augusta's friend, Dilly Warkworth, arrives at Jalna and tries to snare the heart of Renny. Eden, meets a persuasive mining broker whose new venture promises miracles. One by one, Eden persuades the other Whiteoaks to part with their savings - even old Adeline.
498 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 31, 2016
I have reached the end: read all 16 books in the last 11 months. One of the things most appealing about this series is how flawed and outrageous all these Whiteoaks are. This book sets up the next one (actually the first written in the series) perfectly.
November 29, 2017
More drama in the Whiteoak family. It is fun re-familiarizing myself with the different personalities of each member of the family.
Read
November 5, 2010I think this was my grandmother's book that I found laying around - looks a little mature for a 14 year old to be reading . . .
October 28, 2021
Three generations of the Whiteoak family occupy the spectacular estate of Jalna in 1923. As in the previous 5 books of this series the characters come alive - they keep the action moving. Dogs, horses, romances and shenanigans of all sorts overseen by the domineering Amanda at 99 years of age. Wonderful humor sprinkled throughout. Fine prose, delightful descriptions such as:
"Now almost all the leaves had fallen, though the strong brown oak leaves were slow to lose their hold and when they did, sailed majestically to the ground with an air of intention rather than defeat."
Or when big sister Meg insisted on washing the recalcitrant Finch's hair:
He bent over the basin. She made a lather on his head. She rubbed it in. He let himself go then, uttering noisy protests.
"Ouch. You're hurting me! Ow--my ear!"
"Which ear?"
"That one, I think someone hit me on it."
"Nonsense. Nobody hurt your ear. Bend lower."
"Now almost all the leaves had fallen, though the strong brown oak leaves were slow to lose their hold and when they did, sailed majestically to the ground with an air of intention rather than defeat."
Or when big sister Meg insisted on washing the recalcitrant Finch's hair:
He bent over the basin. She made a lather on his head. She rubbed it in. He let himself go then, uttering noisy protests.
"Ouch. You're hurting me! Ow--my ear!"
"Which ear?"
"That one, I think someone hit me on it."
"Nonsense. Nobody hurt your ear. Bend lower."
August 15, 2020
The Whiteoak Brothers in the sixth chronological book of the series. Published in 1953, the story is set in 1923. The main plot of the story is about a gold mining scheme. Eden convinces most of the family to invest in what turns out to be a nonexistent gold mine. The Whiteoaks have mostly frittered away their inheritance and most are adversely effected by this scheme.
There is a side plot involving Dilly Warkworth, yet another woman enraptured by Renny. She has money, but Renny is not tempted.
There is a side plot involving Dilly Warkworth, yet another woman enraptured by Renny. She has money, but Renny is not tempted.
March 31, 2023
The humor in these novels is always rewarding. In this sixth book of the series, the Whiteoaks fall prey, one by one, to the lure of making a fortune by speculating in a gold mine. The patriarch Renny Whiteoak almost falls for an unsuitable woman just because she rides well, and he is mad for horses. Meanwhile the younger brother Piers is having his own secret love affair with a sweet young girl. The characters in this series are so well done that I feel as if I know them.
November 3, 2025
“’Twere better I had been a man!”
“Why, dear Mrs. Whiteoak?”
“Because then I should have been dead long ago.”
“But why?”
“Ah, they don’t last as we do. They’re not made for lasting.”
“I think men are magnificent,” cried Dilly. “See how they can fight in a war!”
“Ah, but they get killed or come home and die. We outlast them.”
“Why, dear Mrs. Whiteoak?”
“Because then I should have been dead long ago.”
“But why?”
“Ah, they don’t last as we do. They’re not made for lasting.”
“I think men are magnificent,” cried Dilly. “See how they can fight in a war!”
“Ah, but they get killed or come home and die. We outlast them.”
September 26, 2021
One of my comfort books. My Mom introduced me to these in my teens. I have collected all of them
Those and the Miss Read books fill several shelves.
Those and the Miss Read books fill several shelves.
November 23, 2022
As charming as ever.
February 23, 2023
Dalszy ciąg "Dziedzictwa Whiteoaków", tj. jak dalej układają się relacje braci.
February 20, 2024
I enjoyed this series of books many years ago and am now rereading them and thoroughly loving being reunited with the Whiteoak family
June 13, 2025
Best one yet.
I also think this should be 7th in the series, and the 7th should be 6th.
I also think this should be 7th in the series, and the 7th should be 6th.
November 4, 2025
Read these books about this family years ago and enjoyed them.
March 15, 2012
THE WHITEOAK BROTHERS takes place in 1923, just one year before the cataclysmic events of JALNA. One year before the Renny-Alayne-Eden romantic triangle, one year before the equally scandalous Eden-Pheasant affair. One year, in fact, and counting before Renny meets his one true love. That being the case, the Master of Jalna isn't allowed much romantic leeway here. The stage, after all, must be kept clear for Alayne's imminent arrival. His only flirtation is with a houseguest, the vapid Dilly Warkworth, whose interest in Renny is never reciprocated. Not much cause for excitement, especially since we all know that Dilly won't be staying.
The main storyline deals instead with a local con artist, Kronk, who's selling shares in a dud gold mine. He becomes Eden's "pal," using Eden as his go-between with the Whiteoak family. Nearly everyone at Jalna, including the 98-year-old Grandmother, is persuaded to invest. Stay tuned for the comic fall-out and watch how Eden handles it...And then there's the Pier-Pheasant love story, which will culminate in their eventual marriage. All very prosaic and predictable. THE WHITEOAK BROTHERS doesn't add much to the series, nor does it detract. It's just there. If you're a lover of anything with the "Jalna" label,if you devour each successive volume, then you'll probably enjoy this offering. As a stand-alone novel, though, it just doesn't work very well.
The main storyline deals instead with a local con artist, Kronk, who's selling shares in a dud gold mine. He becomes Eden's "pal," using Eden as his go-between with the Whiteoak family. Nearly everyone at Jalna, including the 98-year-old Grandmother, is persuaded to invest. Stay tuned for the comic fall-out and watch how Eden handles it...And then there's the Pier-Pheasant love story, which will culminate in their eventual marriage. All very prosaic and predictable. THE WHITEOAK BROTHERS doesn't add much to the series, nor does it detract. It's just there. If you're a lover of anything with the "Jalna" label,if you devour each successive volume, then you'll probably enjoy this offering. As a stand-alone novel, though, it just doesn't work very well.
November 10, 2009
Jalna #6 involved a gold mine investment scam, and all the Whiteoaks but Renny fell into it. This kind of risky sure thing makes me nervous, and that major part of the plot plus a brief piece about a lamb slaughter rather put me off. In addition, de la Roche scattered her story line among most of the Whiteoaks, a large and hardy bunch by this time and thus a bit clumsy to include without sudden shifts here and there. Still it's well worth the read, especially if one is determined, as I am, to imbibe the entire chronicle.
December 27, 2011
Once I start one of these novels, I can't put it down until I finish it. This book fills out the brothers' personalities and characters and makes me want to find out what will happen to them. Now, though, I will have to wait until the next book or two that I've ordered up from my library get here. I am hooked on Pheasant and Piers; don't much like Meg(my namesake); adore Renny; and I'm rooting for Finch. I hope the next book gets here soon...
July 22, 2018
Book #6 in the Jalna series. Many members of the Whiteoak family invest in a questionable gold mine. A young woman from England, Dilly, visits and sets her cap for Renny. This was an especially fun chapter in the Whiteoak saga. I had forgotten how much humor there is in the books, mixed in with the drama, of course!
March 12, 2018
J'avais dévoré tout Jalna quand j'étais adolescent, et si je suis incapable aujourd'hui de me souvenir de chacun des tomes qui composent cette saga gigantesque, je me souviens tout de même que j'avais pris beaucoup de plaisir à découvrir cette famille et ce domaine familial que l'on suit pendant presque un siècle.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews