Who would suspect her of a sense of fun and irony, of a passionate love for beauty and the power to drag it from its hidden places? Who could imagine that Miss Mole had pictured herself, at different times, as an explorer in strange lands, as a lady wrapped in luxury and delicate garments, as the mother of adorably naughty children and the inspiringly elusive mistress of a poet? Hannah Mole is a forty-ish spinster, haunted by her past and drifting from post to post-now a governess, now a companion for elderly women. She rarely lingers long due to a slightly troubled relationship with the truth, a tendency to speak her mind, and a fundamental mistrust of others. But, Hannah's darker instincts are tempered by a stubborn self-respect and a surprising ability to find joy and inspiration in ordinary life. When she returns to her home town of Radstowe and takes an unpromising job in the home of the stuffy, widowed Reverend Corder and his daughters, she finds a situation in which her unique characteristics are not only appreciated, but essential. In Miss Mole, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1930, E.H. Young created her most complex, unlikely, yet eminently lovable heroine in a tale packed with rich characters, brilliant humor, and quiet triumph.
