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The Greater Happiness
Emmy's delicate small nephew was a great responsibility, and she had firmly decided to keep any ideas of love and marriage in the background for the next two years until the child's health improved.
But when she made that vow she hadn't foreseen going to live in Switzerland -- and meeting the impressive Duc Breul de Polain et Bouvais!
But when she made that vow she hadn't foreseen going to live in Switzerland -- and meeting the impressive Duc Breul de Polain et Bouvais!
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First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2020
Crazysauce characters attempt to appear conventional – but then their crazy seeps through – just enough for the reader to wonder if she is reading about alien pod people – before the masks are firmly back in place.
(!) indicates crazy
Heroine, a teacher in her early 20’s, has been guardian for her 7 year-old nephew for four years. She is estranged from her wealthy family because they wanted her to put the boy in an orphanage. (!) Nephew is sickly, has asthma, and is not expected to live long, according to the London doctor. (!) But she could give him a couple of years if she moves to the fresh air of Switzerland.
Heroine sells everything and then moves into a mountain village hotel where her nephew promptly falls ill.
The hotel staff take turns watching over the nephew while the Scottish doctor (named Jock, a known penny-pincher – stereotype alert) puts the moves on the h while lending her his dead wife’s car that needs to be serviced. Heroine has to pay for the repairs herself (!), but she is grateful to the dear, cheap doc.
Heroine frets about finding a job but doesn’t do much about it. She takes her nephew on picnic lunches and meets the hero – a duke who has a chateau near the village.
Hero has a ward – a ten year-old demon child who runs away all the time because his parents are divorcing. Heroine tells the hero where to find him in the woods. Demon child retaliates by trying to drown the heroine in the hero’s pool. (!) Heroine fights for her life but is determined not to tell the hero. She later feels guilty that Demon child has nerve damage in his hand from an injury. She gave him that injury while fighting for her life. (!)
Hero also has an OW – a French woman (stereotype alert) who spreads gossip about the heroine to the hero. Everyone is convinced the H is going to marry her and heroine eats her heart out with longing.
Meanwhile, Jock decides to train to be a surgeon and leaves for Scotland. Heroine finds a letter and money in the borrowed car. Seems Jock was so cheap his wife had to hide money from him so she could buy a coat. (!)
Hero gets the wrong idea about the heroine and doctor and leaves the country.
Meanwhile the nephew hemorrhages and ends up near death in the hospital. Heroine’s father shows up – seems he ran into the hero in England and now that the heroine has attracted a rich man, he decides to “forgive” her for taking care of his grandson at the expense of her own happiness. (!)
The boy recovers and hero returns. At a dinner party at the chateau, the hero proposes after explaining how his “fiancé” skied off of a cliff in despair (!) for a very abrupt HEA.
In another review, it says the boy dies at the end of chapter ten. I wonder if they changed it for the edition I read? All signs indicated the author was going to kill him off. I don’t see how you come back from your lung hemorrhaging in the middle of the night and being barely alive in the morning. But these are pod people – so who knows?
Other questions:
Does the homicidal ten year-old regain use of his right (killing) hand?
Does the nephew overcome his asthma?
Does the OW finally leave the village with her elderly fiancé?
A really strange story and boring for long stretches.
(!) indicates crazy
Heroine, a teacher in her early 20’s, has been guardian for her 7 year-old nephew for four years. She is estranged from her wealthy family because they wanted her to put the boy in an orphanage. (!) Nephew is sickly, has asthma, and is not expected to live long, according to the London doctor. (!) But she could give him a couple of years if she moves to the fresh air of Switzerland.
Heroine sells everything and then moves into a mountain village hotel where her nephew promptly falls ill.
The hotel staff take turns watching over the nephew while the Scottish doctor (named Jock, a known penny-pincher – stereotype alert) puts the moves on the h while lending her his dead wife’s car that needs to be serviced. Heroine has to pay for the repairs herself (!), but she is grateful to the dear, cheap doc.
Heroine frets about finding a job but doesn’t do much about it. She takes her nephew on picnic lunches and meets the hero – a duke who has a chateau near the village.
Hero has a ward – a ten year-old demon child who runs away all the time because his parents are divorcing. Heroine tells the hero where to find him in the woods. Demon child retaliates by trying to drown the heroine in the hero’s pool. (!) Heroine fights for her life but is determined not to tell the hero. She later feels guilty that Demon child has nerve damage in his hand from an injury. She gave him that injury while fighting for her life. (!)
Hero also has an OW – a French woman (stereotype alert) who spreads gossip about the heroine to the hero. Everyone is convinced the H is going to marry her and heroine eats her heart out with longing.
Meanwhile, Jock decides to train to be a surgeon and leaves for Scotland. Heroine finds a letter and money in the borrowed car. Seems Jock was so cheap his wife had to hide money from him so she could buy a coat. (!)
Hero gets the wrong idea about the heroine and doctor and leaves the country.
Meanwhile the nephew hemorrhages and ends up near death in the hospital. Heroine’s father shows up – seems he ran into the hero in England and now that the heroine has attracted a rich man, he decides to “forgive” her for taking care of his grandson at the expense of her own happiness. (!)
The boy recovers and hero returns. At a dinner party at the chateau, the hero proposes after explaining how his “fiancé” skied off of a cliff in despair (!) for a very abrupt HEA.
In another review, it says the boy dies at the end of chapter ten. I wonder if they changed it for the edition I read? All signs indicated the author was going to kill him off. I don’t see how you come back from your lung hemorrhaging in the middle of the night and being barely alive in the morning. But these are pod people – so who knows?
Other questions:
Does the homicidal ten year-old regain use of his right (killing) hand?
Does the nephew overcome his asthma?
Does the OW finally leave the village with her elderly fiancé?
A really strange story and boring for long stretches.
June 18, 2023
I think there must be two versions of this book because in my version, the plot moppet
Though, I did find it weird that her parents finally realized they needed to take responsibility for their grandchild instead of wanting to put him up for adoption. Of course, this conveniently coincides with their efforts to find investors for their new business venture. The H is richer than Croesus and madly in love with their daughter. (Oh, I don't know just call me jaded) The introduction of the grandparents and their change of heart wasn't credible and added no value to the story.
With all this said, I did enjoy the story. It is more a story, than a romance.
- The secondary characters were very well written (except for grandpa) and added to the story.
- There was an evil other woman who played her part very well!!!!
- The heroine had a good head on her shoulders and a strong value system.
- The H was delicious. Poor guy couldn't figure out why he couldn't get to first base with the heroine given his good looks, charm, and boatloads of money. But that didn't stop him from trying. I give him an A for effort, but a B- for astuteness. He really underestimated the evil OW.
This was a fun few hours. I highly recommend.
Though, I did find it weird that her parents finally realized they needed to take responsibility for their grandchild instead of wanting to put him up for adoption. Of course, this conveniently coincides with their efforts to find investors for their new business venture. The H is richer than Croesus and madly in love with their daughter. (Oh, I don't know just call me jaded) The introduction of the grandparents and their change of heart wasn't credible and added no value to the story.
With all this said, I did enjoy the story. It is more a story, than a romance.
- The secondary characters were very well written (except for grandpa) and added to the story.
- There was an evil other woman who played her part very well!!!!
- The heroine had a good head on her shoulders and a strong value system.
- The H was delicious. Poor guy couldn't figure out why he couldn't get to first base with the heroine given his good looks, charm, and boatloads of money. But that didn't stop him from trying. I give him an A for effort, but a B- for astuteness. He really underestimated the evil OW.
This was a fun few hours. I highly recommend.
September 29, 2019
This is the second title I've read from Katrina Britt- the first being Reluctant Voyager - and, again, this one's a three star vintage romance read. 'Greater Happiness' is unlikely to blow you away, but the story is sufficiently engaging that there's no need to 'page-hop' (which is how I distinguish between a three and two star rated read). Interestingly, from an old-school M&B/Harlequin 'geek' perspective, there are two notable deviations from the usual editorial policy in this book;
(i) the hero, the Duc Breul de Plain et Bouvais, doesn't make an appearance (not even via murmurings of other characters) until about half way through chapter two; and
(ii)
In a nutshell, the story follows the heroine, English school teacher Emmy Lister, as she takes her ill nephew (and ward) to Switzerland where it's hoped the 'good clean unpolluted air' will do a 'great deal' for his 'congenital weakness of the lungs'. Residing in the small Alpine village of Trion at the 'Hotel la Chaste' (naturally) Emmy and her nephew begin to settle into a different pace of life, making friends with local (Scottish widower) doctor Jock MacFarlane and the proprietors of the hotel, the Brolards. Matters, however, become a little less cosy for the heroine from mid-Chapter 2 with the arrival on the scene of the Duc (described as aged around thirty...his mouth and chin clear cut in unison with the long, straight nose and lean slightly hollow cheeks...with the beauty of Latins) and the widow who is determined to 'snare' him, Simone Grunwald.
More in-keeping with editorial policy, the alpha-man hero (i.e. le Duc) personifies 'glamorous unapproachability', causing the heroine to behave like a skittish kitten whenever she's in his presence. Unsurprisingly then, the romantic pursuit is largely on the Duc's side - he's impressed with Emmy's dewy innocence and devotion to her nephew; displaying a streak of jealousy too by warning her off the Scots doctor, claiming that Jock is 'mean with money'. As the story unfolds, Emmy begins to unbend as the Duc impresses her with a display of rather lazy benevolence toward her nephew (offering them the use of his heated swimming pool and allowing Jo to ride his horses), whereas the more dour Doctor MacFarlane warns Emmy that her nephew is a burden and she ought not pin her hopes on Switzerland protracting his life. The Duc's growing attentions to the sweet English-girl don't go unnoticed by feline, Frenchified man-eating Simone; she confides in the heroine that she's secretly engaged to the Duc, before telling Emmy to stop it with her one-sided romantic yearnings for the hero.
And so the plot ambles on with events conspiring repeatedly to pull Emmy and the Duc together and then throw them wide apart. The ending, however, comes at least partly as a surprise and while, given the circumstances, I think the 'happy ever ending' is intended to be bittersweet, it somehow comes across as a bit jarringly twee .
In summary - 'The Greater Happiness' is not a bad novel, but if you like a these type of wholesome 'pine-needles and early to bed' type reads, I'd be more inclined to go for a title by Mary Burchell or Margaret Malcolm whose protagonists tend to be a little more engaging.
(i) the hero, the Duc Breul de Plain et Bouvais, doesn't make an appearance (not even via murmurings of other characters) until about half way through chapter two; and
(ii)
In a nutshell, the story follows the heroine, English school teacher Emmy Lister, as she takes her ill nephew (and ward) to Switzerland where it's hoped the 'good clean unpolluted air' will do a 'great deal' for his 'congenital weakness of the lungs'. Residing in the small Alpine village of Trion at the 'Hotel la Chaste' (naturally) Emmy and her nephew begin to settle into a different pace of life, making friends with local (Scottish widower) doctor Jock MacFarlane and the proprietors of the hotel, the Brolards. Matters, however, become a little less cosy for the heroine from mid-Chapter 2 with the arrival on the scene of the Duc (described as aged around thirty...his mouth and chin clear cut in unison with the long, straight nose and lean slightly hollow cheeks...with the beauty of Latins) and the widow who is determined to 'snare' him, Simone Grunwald.
More in-keeping with editorial policy, the alpha-man hero (i.e. le Duc) personifies 'glamorous unapproachability', causing the heroine to behave like a skittish kitten whenever she's in his presence. Unsurprisingly then, the romantic pursuit is largely on the Duc's side - he's impressed with Emmy's dewy innocence and devotion to her nephew; displaying a streak of jealousy too by warning her off the Scots doctor, claiming that Jock is 'mean with money'. As the story unfolds, Emmy begins to unbend as the Duc impresses her with a display of rather lazy benevolence toward her nephew (offering them the use of his heated swimming pool and allowing Jo to ride his horses), whereas the more dour Doctor MacFarlane warns Emmy that her nephew is a burden and she ought not pin her hopes on Switzerland protracting his life. The Duc's growing attentions to the sweet English-girl don't go unnoticed by feline, Frenchified man-eating Simone; she confides in the heroine that she's secretly engaged to the Duc, before telling Emmy to stop it with her one-sided romantic yearnings for the hero.
And so the plot ambles on with events conspiring repeatedly to pull Emmy and the Duc together and then throw them wide apart. The ending, however, comes at least partly as a surprise and while, given the circumstances, I think the 'happy ever ending' is intended to be bittersweet, it somehow comes across as a bit jarringly twee .
In summary - 'The Greater Happiness' is not a bad novel, but if you like a these type of wholesome 'pine-needles and early to bed' type reads, I'd be more inclined to go for a title by Mary Burchell or Margaret Malcolm whose protagonists tend to be a little more engaging.
July 11, 2022
This was a really dull and weird book ... the most memorable aspect was the callousness of everyone (except the MFC) where the 6-year-old plot moppet was concerned. His own GRANDPARENTS wanted to put him up for adoption after his parents are killed in an accident? His grandmother "couldn't spare the time to look after him" on account of her "active life"? A doctor tells the MFC she's "spoiled" her life by deciding to raise her nephew? Another doctor is so irritated by her devotion to the child (whom he considers her "jailer") that he tells her bluntly the moppet is not long for this earth and that she should be married with children of her own? Holy Titanic of Iceberg Coldness! The other thing that stuck out was the doormat MFC not telling the hero that his Spawn of Satan ward tried to drown her. I was a mess when my parents finally/thankfully decided to call it quits when I was 12, but it sure didn't drive me to attempted murder. Sheesh.
March 19, 2022
Enjoyable read and characters pretty engaging. Like the book cover on the US Harlequin version as shown here.
Emmy's delicate small nephew was a great responsibility, and she had firmly decided to keep any ideas of love and marriage in the background for the next two years until the child's health improved.
But when she made that vow she hadn't foreseen going to live in Switzerland -- and meeting the impressive Duc Breul de Polain et Bouvais!
Emmy's delicate small nephew was a great responsibility, and she had firmly decided to keep any ideas of love and marriage in the background for the next two years until the child's health improved.
But when she made that vow she hadn't foreseen going to live in Switzerland -- and meeting the impressive Duc Breul de Polain et Bouvais!
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October 19, 2009The Greater Happiness by Katrina Britt (1975)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews