1951 historical fiction for young people. Some time in the 1530s,
Tamsyn, an orphan, is sent from Devon to live with her cousins in
London after her grandmother dies.
Sutcliff regarded this book in later life as "a little too cozy
and a little too sweet", but for me the distinctive difference between
this and her slightly later works is that there is very little in the
way of action or conflict—but nonetheless it still works. Tamsyn's
greatest regret is that she wasn't born a boy, so that she could take
out one of the great trading ships going to the new world; well,
that's not going to change (even to the extent of disguising herself).
Instead, her viewpoint is used to show a variety of incidents in Tudor
London, from domestic details to seasonal revelry, including a
successful family business (occupying the titular House).
The new family don't immediately accept Tamsyn, but it doesn't take
long. She feels edgy about her situation, but her aunt and uncle are
kindly and she gets on all right with the other children. There are
simply no great big problems to be solved, except for the ones that
seem too big to be solved at all, and they are clearly beyond her
(and anyone's) ability to fix. There are incidents, certainly, but
nobody here is going to suffer anything worse than being late for
supper. The only thing I found slightly distracting about the language
was Sutcliff's occasional break from tight third person to address the
reader (e.g. "In those days cities were not at all like they are
now"); but it's a convention of the era, and indeed had been
established for several decades by the time Sutcliff was writing.
Of course even early Sutcliff is still Sutcliff, and everyone here has
a distinct personality. Minor, overall, but most enjoyable.