Dresses of Red and Gold

This is the sequel to All in the Blue Unclouded Weather and it continues the stories of the Melling sisters. It contains ten short stories linked by character and place which give the sense of the family's and the individual sisters' changing lives. Some of the incidents (dreadful Aunt Ivy coming to stay, getting out of a fictitious birthday party) are wonderfully funny and childish while others (recovering in hospital from having tonsils removed, older sister Gracie's return) although lightly told, deal with time passing, ageing and death. This is a tremendous book, beautifully and fondly written.