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Hills of Maketu
Trudy was sure she could cope with the housekeeping job at Elsmore Station, but it was perfectly obvious that Scott Ballantyne, surveying her silver-lacquered fingernails, her high-heeled shoes, thought she couldn't!
Hardcover
First published February 1, 1969
About the author
Gloria Bevan
51 books4 followersGloria Isabel Bevan
aka Fiona Murray, Gloria Bevan
Gloria Isabel was born on 20 July 1911 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia, the daughter of a mining engineer. At three, her family moved to New Zealand, and considers herself a New Zealander. She lived in Auckland, from 1926 to 1936. On 1937, she married Thomas Henry Bevan, a building inspector, and they had three daughters.
After leaving school she worked as a typist, but she had been writing stories for as long as she could remember and feel "there's a certain magic about writing even when the characters refuse to act the way I want them to." She not begin to publishing until she was well into her fifties, first detective novels as Fiona Murray in 1965, She started corresponding with fellow New Zealand writer, Essie Summers who introduced her to publisher Alan Boon and under her married name, Gloria Bevan, she wrote 25 contemporary romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1969 to 1992, many of which are set in her beloved New Zealand. When not writing, she explored the many and varied exotic locations within reach of her suburban Auckland home. Her obvious love of her country and her particular talent for weaving interesting background information into her novels made her a popular romance writer of her era.
Gloria Bevan was interviewed by New Zealand author Rachel McAlpine in 1992 for The Passionate Pen. This was published in 1998. In The Passionate Pen's Introduction, McAlpine mentions that Gloria Bevan had moved into a rest home. According to New Zealand's National Library website, Mrs Bevan died in 1998
aka Fiona Murray, Gloria Bevan
Gloria Isabel was born on 20 July 1911 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia, the daughter of a mining engineer. At three, her family moved to New Zealand, and considers herself a New Zealander. She lived in Auckland, from 1926 to 1936. On 1937, she married Thomas Henry Bevan, a building inspector, and they had three daughters.
After leaving school she worked as a typist, but she had been writing stories for as long as she could remember and feel "there's a certain magic about writing even when the characters refuse to act the way I want them to." She not begin to publishing until she was well into her fifties, first detective novels as Fiona Murray in 1965, She started corresponding with fellow New Zealand writer, Essie Summers who introduced her to publisher Alan Boon and under her married name, Gloria Bevan, she wrote 25 contemporary romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1969 to 1992, many of which are set in her beloved New Zealand. When not writing, she explored the many and varied exotic locations within reach of her suburban Auckland home. Her obvious love of her country and her particular talent for weaving interesting background information into her novels made her a popular romance writer of her era.
Gloria Bevan was interviewed by New Zealand author Rachel McAlpine in 1992 for The Passionate Pen. This was published in 1998. In The Passionate Pen's Introduction, McAlpine mentions that Gloria Bevan had moved into a rest home. According to New Zealand's National Library website, Mrs Bevan died in 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 10, 2018
I think this may be the last book I will read of this author. Once again she starts of strong and then, wham! Such a disappointment of an ending!
Trudy, the heroine, is an orphan and goes off to New Zealand at the invitation of an old widowed family friend, to act as her companion. When she arrives, no one meets her at the train station. She goes off to look for the homestead of the friend, but finds out that the friend had recently passed away and the farm has been sold. She sees and add in a newspaper for a housekeeper and decides to apply for it.
She applies at the farm of the Hero, Scott. Scott has his doubts about Trudy’s housekeeping abilities since she looks too refined, but Trudy is up for the challenge. Trudy is resentful of Scott since she thinks he disapproves of her and likes to order her around. He is her boss, so I don’t get her problem. Throughout the story, she rises to the occasion and even excels herself and everyone praises her, but she still thinks Scott is unappreciative. The reader can see that Scott is interested in her, but since Trudy is cold towards him, he doesn’t make much headway.
Trudy thinks Scott is about to get engaged to this nasty OW, which is why she is stand-off ish. Since she is an attractive girl, she doesn’t lack for dates or dance partners. Scott looks at her with cold eyes and a hard mouth, indicating jealousy, but the heroine just thinks he is trying to control her when he warns her away from other men. The other woman is really nasty and tries to snub Trudy at each meeting. The OW has a birthday party where everyone expects her engagement to the Hero to be announced. She sort of hires the Trudy to play the piano for her party and delights in treating her like the hired help. Her outrageous behaviour all seem to pass over the Hero’s head, or he is ignoring it. He never does anything to defend the heroine or at least scold the OW.
There is another man with a nervous disposition whom Trudy is friendly with, but she is merely helping him w his music. Later in the story, this man gets a nervous breakdown, and his family blames the Trudy since they all think she has a relationship with him. The Hero seems to blame her as well.
In her depression, the heroine gives her notice, and the Hero accepts. All comes to a head when the heroine almost drowns, this is the catalyst that makes the Hero declare himself. He doesn’t even really do that, he just kisses her and tells her she won’t escape him. Further, when they get home, the biggest gossip in town is there, she tells them that the nervous man has reappeared, explained to his family that he and the heroine were simply working on his music together, and that’s all it was. So all blame is forgotten. Then gossip lady says she thought that the Hero would be the first to marry in their new church (she was one of those expecting him to announce his engagement to the OW) he says that he will, just ask the heroine, coz it’s up to her. The end. 😳
So many loose ends. A lot of the story was the internal musings of the heroine. The Hero never even tried to get to know her, to find out why she was in NZ in the first place. That old friend was never mentioned again. His actual relationship with the other woman was never explained.
Then there was this weird side story of the Hero’s jealous brother with a flirt of a fiancée, who comes to visit. BTW this brothers fiancée was constantly with the nervous man and may have contributed to his breakdown.
I don’t know why this author likes to give brothers unworthy fiancées. It was the same in the previous book, along with evil other women who get away with their appalling behaviour! 😡
Trudy, the heroine, is an orphan and goes off to New Zealand at the invitation of an old widowed family friend, to act as her companion. When she arrives, no one meets her at the train station. She goes off to look for the homestead of the friend, but finds out that the friend had recently passed away and the farm has been sold. She sees and add in a newspaper for a housekeeper and decides to apply for it.
She applies at the farm of the Hero, Scott. Scott has his doubts about Trudy’s housekeeping abilities since she looks too refined, but Trudy is up for the challenge. Trudy is resentful of Scott since she thinks he disapproves of her and likes to order her around. He is her boss, so I don’t get her problem. Throughout the story, she rises to the occasion and even excels herself and everyone praises her, but she still thinks Scott is unappreciative. The reader can see that Scott is interested in her, but since Trudy is cold towards him, he doesn’t make much headway.
Trudy thinks Scott is about to get engaged to this nasty OW, which is why she is stand-off ish. Since she is an attractive girl, she doesn’t lack for dates or dance partners. Scott looks at her with cold eyes and a hard mouth, indicating jealousy, but the heroine just thinks he is trying to control her when he warns her away from other men. The other woman is really nasty and tries to snub Trudy at each meeting. The OW has a birthday party where everyone expects her engagement to the Hero to be announced. She sort of hires the Trudy to play the piano for her party and delights in treating her like the hired help. Her outrageous behaviour all seem to pass over the Hero’s head, or he is ignoring it. He never does anything to defend the heroine or at least scold the OW.
There is another man with a nervous disposition whom Trudy is friendly with, but she is merely helping him w his music. Later in the story, this man gets a nervous breakdown, and his family blames the Trudy since they all think she has a relationship with him. The Hero seems to blame her as well.
In her depression, the heroine gives her notice, and the Hero accepts. All comes to a head when the heroine almost drowns, this is the catalyst that makes the Hero declare himself. He doesn’t even really do that, he just kisses her and tells her she won’t escape him. Further, when they get home, the biggest gossip in town is there, she tells them that the nervous man has reappeared, explained to his family that he and the heroine were simply working on his music together, and that’s all it was. So all blame is forgotten. Then gossip lady says she thought that the Hero would be the first to marry in their new church (she was one of those expecting him to announce his engagement to the OW) he says that he will, just ask the heroine, coz it’s up to her. The end. 😳
So many loose ends. A lot of the story was the internal musings of the heroine. The Hero never even tried to get to know her, to find out why she was in NZ in the first place. That old friend was never mentioned again. His actual relationship with the other woman was never explained.
Then there was this weird side story of the Hero’s jealous brother with a flirt of a fiancée, who comes to visit. BTW this brothers fiancée was constantly with the nervous man and may have contributed to his breakdown.
I don’t know why this author likes to give brothers unworthy fiancées. It was the same in the previous book, along with evil other women who get away with their appalling behaviour! 😡
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2018
This is one of those books where the romance I can take or leave, but I find myself profoundly irritated by a few of the side characters whose behaviors caused so much trouble and who blithely sailed on without any consequences.
September 8, 2024
It's not perfect - the ending is abrupt, there is no comeuppance for the OW, the future SIL, the OM - it needed some editing to improve it for sure. But I liked the heroine a lot and the hero was cute. I think he had no idea the OW was chasing him so hard, she was just a friend (very unlikeable, but this is not a particularly smart hero, just a strong, practical kind. I loved his dad and the dynamic between him and the heroine. I wish the ending would be been longer and we see the reactions of everyone, particularly the happiness of the hero's dad and the two surfer lads who work at the sheep farm.
May 14, 2023
I thought Betty Neels bore the Harlequin crown for most-abrupt-and-barely-romantic endings, but this book trumps anything in the Neels canon. No ILYs, no comeuppance for the evil OW or the irritating and vapid side character whose lie blackens the MFC's reputation (and who will be her future sister-in-law, to boot!), no chemistry between the leads ... not worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews