The Heart of the Family

The third in the classic trilogy of novels about the Eliots of Damerosehay. David Eliot finds his career as a successful and much acclaimed actor a definite strain and his brittle conversation and seeming arrogance earn him the dislike of his new secretary Sebastian Weber. But when he comes to stay at Damerosehay Sebastian learns that in the private world of his marriage and his children David is a very different person, and the warmth of his welcome there helps him to overcome his great personal suffering and unhappiness.

“Genuine discernment and poignancy - Sunday TimesLively and charming - ObserverLeaves the reader with a warm glow in the emotions - Times Educational SupplementMiss Goudge has the art of presenting men and women, to say nothing of children, as genuinely convincing persons, too human to be either wholly good or wholly bad - Scotsman”

Genuine discernment and poignancy - Sunday Times

Lively and charming - Observer

Leaves the reader with a warm glow in the emotions - Times Educational Supplement

Miss Goudge has the art of presenting men and women, to say nothing of children, as genuinely convincing persons, too human to be either wholly good or wholly bad - Scotsman

Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on April 24th 1900 in Wells, Somerset, where her father was Principal of Wells Theological College. Although she had privately intended writing as a career, her parents insisted she taught handicrafts in Oxford. She began writing in her spare time and her first novel ISLAND MAGIC, set in Guernsey, was a great success here and in America. GREEN DOLPHIN COUNTRY (1944) projected her to fame, netting a Literary Guild Award and a special prize of 30,000 from Louis B. Mayer of MGM before being filmed.

In her later years Elizabeth Goudge settled in Henley-on-Thames. She died on April 1st, 1984.

The third in the classic trilogy about the Eliots of Damerosehay. Despite the success and acclaim he has found as an actor, David Eliot struggles with the demands of his career. His brittle conversation and seeming arrogance earn him the dislike of his new secretary, Sebastian Weber. But when Sebastian visits David's family home, he discovers a different side to his employer. As Damerosehay and its inhabitants weave their magic, Sebastian slowly begins to lay his own demons to rest.

The third in the classic trilogy of novels about the Eliots of Damerosehay. David Eliot finds his career as a successful and much acclaimed actor a definite strain and his brittle conversation and seeming arrogance earn him the dislike of his new secretary Sebastian Weber. But when he comes to stay at Damerosehay Sebastian learns that in the private world of his marriage and his children David is a very different person, and the warmth of his welcome there helps him to overcome his great personal suffering and unhappiness.

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