Rhododendron Pie

As lively and entertaining as THE NUTMEG TREE is this story of Ann Laventie who refuses to live up to her family's elegance and snobbery. Her father is an exquisite dilettante; her brother, Dick, a competent artist and polished adventurer with the ladies; her sister, Elizabeth, the writer of fine essays. But Ann is disappointed in the "rhododendron pies" that are served on her birthday, dishes which are filled with flowers to gladden the eye instead of fruit to be eaten. And she also happens to fall in love with a solid bank clerk from a neighboring town. The rebellion and excited antics which Ann's suitor arouses in the Laventie's precious existence marks the high point in this gaily amusing novel of English life in town and country - a tale which pointedly contrasts the aesthetic and practical viewpoints.