Portrait of Clare

After the death of her mother and her father's remarriage, Claerwen Lydiatt is sent to live at Pen House with her grandfather and Aunt Cathie. Although they love Clare, this rather austere pair does not know how to relate to a girl of her age; neither are they impressed to find that Clare has embraced the religion which they had so determinedly renounced. Thus Clare's life journey begins amidst the disapproval of her family, the attraction of their glamorous neighbours, the Hingstons, and the persistent presence of family friend Dudley Wilburn. Brett Young's Portrait of Clare tells the story of one woman's struggle to find happiness through the dramas and decisions that make up her story. The setting of Clare's life is the West Midlands countryside. Despite the changes it undergoes, this landscape remains a constant throughout Claerwen’s life that rushes and flows like the river after which she is named.