Beyond the Orchid House

Four sister with distinct personalities = something for everyone. Feeling wild, proud & ambitious? You're a Frances! Family & domestic bliss is your kind of thing? You're a Julia! Unrestrained passion and intellect? We have...a Sarah! What about a Gwen. What makes someone a Gwen. You're a Gwen if you're a...spinster who likes gardening?! I know I sound almost disdainful but the truth is I adore the Quantock sisters and their story arcs. Gwen's is no different. The truth is, I sympathised with Gwen. It might have taken longer for her to break out of her shell. And she did need some (mildly aggressive) push throughout. But she did it at her own pace according to her own timing. I also admired the quiet ways she stood up for herself and how she acted as a buffer between her more vociferous sisters and in-laws. It is often unnoticed and precisely the kind of work that gets relegated to a secondary character. All the more reason to show appreciation for Ruth Elwin Harris's Quantock quartet. It is Little Women's spiritual successor like none other.