Madame Claire by Susan Ertz was first published in 1923 but my copy is a Penguin Books from a boxed set of facsimiles of the first ten Penguin books, published to mark Penguin’s 50th anniversary. I got this one from a secondhand bookshop so I don’t have the other nine books in the set. It cost me all of £2.

I really enjoyed this book, Madame Claire seemed such a sensible and wise elderly woman, named Madame Claire by her adult grandchldren, but Lady Gregory to more formal people. She is a widow.

After Madame Claire’s son Eric married she opted to give up her large house and move into a small suite in a Kensington hotel.  She sensibly refused to move into her son and daughter-in-law’s home.  Claire  has had no contact with her daughter Connie for many years, since the recently married Connie had run off with a famous musician.  Claire has also had no contact from her husband’s best friend Stephen for almost twenty years, he had rashly asked her to marry him too soon after her husband’s death, and her refusal had sent him off in a huff. So when she unexpectedly gets a letter from him she’s happy to renew the friendship.

Connie also resurfaces, and the grandchildren Judy and Noel hare off to France to see her, they’re agog to meet this aunt who had “thrown her hat over the mill” all those years ago

As ever, I’m not giving a blow by blow account of the book which has various plots, a plethora of flawed characters, and a lot about the unfairness of society and its perceived constraints. With age Claire has garnered insight into the behaviour of her family members and others. I have to say that I was incensed that Gordon, the eldest grandchild would inherit everything while Noel his younger brother would have to shift for himself, despite losing an arm in WWI, and of course Judy will get nothing as she’s expected to make a good marriage! I hate unfairness.

I’ll definitely be looking for more books by Susan Ertz.