The New Broom

by Joyce Dingwell

Sophie felt strongly that her father should have been appointed headmaster of the Apa School for Girls, and she was furious when Grant Saxby not only got the job instead, but proceeded to turn the school coed.

But what did Grant Saxby care about Sophie's feelings?

Genres: Harlequin Romance

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1974

About the author

Enid Joyce Owen Dingwell, née Starr, was born on 1908 in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. She wrote, as Joyce Dingwell and Kate Starr, 80 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1931 to 1986. She was the first Australian writer living in Australia to be published by Mills & Boon. Her novel The House in the Timberwood (1959), was made into a motion picture, The Winds of Jarrah (1983). Her work was particularly notable for its use of the Australian land, culture, and people. She passed away on 2 August 1997 in Kincumber, New South Wales.

Reviews

[Fiona Marsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of several school based romances by Dingwell. It is set in the Gold Coast Hinterland overlooking Surfers Paradise in the 70's.

Sophie is the daughter of the Acting Headmaster at Apa School for Girls and looking forward to his promotion to Headmaster. Her step-mother had been the Headmistress of the school and to Sophie, who had grown up there, it was the logical step when she died, for her father to step in.

The arrival of Garrick Saxby to take the job threw Sophie and her view of the perceived injustice coloured her first reactions when meeting him. To add insult to injury, Apa school was to become co-educational with a boys school joining them on the lush rural site.

I use sweet a lot when describing these stories but it's the simplest way of describing them. They are a vignette of a time past. I don't know how realistic they are but they are a pleasant and undemanding read full of nice people and a touch of tour guide exposition. Know the area well I enjoyed the trip, especially knowing how much has changed in 40 years.

Sophie is very young and immature but she grows up a little over the course of the story and Garrick, who is a mature man revels in the way she makes him feel young.

[Last Chance Saloon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heroine (20) wants her father to become headmaster after her stepmother (the headmistress) dies, but the hero (late 30s) takes charge. There's lots of day to day sweet and sadness, some death, some mistakes, but they eventually get their unselfish HEA. The heroine is thoughtful, kind, a little young and silly, but grows up, whereas the hero starts as grown up and the heroine helps him feel emotions and feel young again. It's very sweet.
3 1/2 stars on a first read.