The Bewitching of Alison Allbright

I had the greatest difficulty suspending my disbelief whilst I read this, but then I'm way beyond the stage of seeing other people's parents and lifestyles as being better than my own and therefore enviable. I think that in our adolescence most of us see the other man's grass as infinitely greener, and so young people, most especially girls, are likely to identify with the lonely and miserable Alison. However, for her a kind of dream-come-true parent emerges, the wealthy, elegant Mrs Considine. As she plays her benefactor's idiosyncratic games Alison is drawn to adopt her dream persona with results that are enviable for no one. At the end things are rather too conveniently drawn together, but nevertheless Alison's experiences and final resolutions do point towards a greater happiness for all adolescents, once they can adopt a less self-absorbed approach to their lives.