Charlotte Moley has inherited a house. It's in Nything, a seaside town distant from where she lives with her grown daughter. It's in poor repair. And it's full of an old woman's mementos. No one expects Charlotte to live there. And yet that is precisely what she decides to do.

To make a life for herself in Nything, Charlotte has to face down a lifetime's habits of meekly subsiding into the persona other people foist upon her. Her mother painted her as a pitiable widow whose only reason for living was her child. And her child, Alison, grew up into a most efficient young lady forever managing Charlotte into doing things the "right" way.

Indeed, Charlotte's periodic holidays in Italy became the flash of color in an otherwise monotone routine. It was in Italy that she met Mrs. Gamalion - the woman who would one day bequeath her the house.

As Charlotte tries to clear the literal cobwebs in her new home with the help of her new neighbors, she also dusts off her memories of Italy: Mrs. Gamalion's entourage of middle-class British ladies. The gallant Prince Charming. The snake in the grass "friend." Her present and her past intertwine in this story as she settles the question of who she really is.

This book, a previously unpublished manuscript just now seeing the light of day, is a gentle, slightly melancholic look at a life where the past looms large. Multiple characters play on themes of decay and nostalgia. It all feels very autumnal. The handling of some of the relationships is a bit vague, and yet there are delightful moments of wit and insight that remind one that yes, this is from the pen of Elizabeth Fair.

I think that fans of Elizabeth Von Arnim's "Enchanted April" or E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View" might find echoes in this book - echoes of the Italian "escape," and what it means to have your own identity.

I appreciate the publisher, Dean Street Press, for making this title at last available to the public, and for a digital review copy! It goes on sale in August. ( )