The Blue Window opens with the funeral of widow Elizabeth Carew at age 41, and ends with the marriage of her daughter, Hildegarde.
Between the two events is a predictable but charming romance given piquancy by Temple Bailey’s failure to establish a consistent point of view.
The Blue Window by Temple Bailey
Penn Publishing, 1926. 328 ps. 1926 bestseller #10. My Grade: B.
Elizabeth left a letter for Hildegarde saying she was divorced, not widowed. Her still-living husband, Louis Carew, does not know he has a daughter.
Hildegard leaves her aunt’s farm to go to her father’s estate near Chesapeake Bay.
She also leaves Crispin Harlowe, her dear friend, who loves her but whom she does not love.
Carew is delighted with his beautiful daughter: She might attract the money he needs to keep his estate.
While Hildegarde is being groomed, gowned, and feted, the story’s focus shifts to Crispin.
Crispin graduates, goes to work in a Washington D. C. law firm, and buys a house near Mount Vernon.
He never gives up believing Hildegarde will marry him.
There’s nothing particularly novel about the story, but Bailey draws her portraits well, with the exception of Louis Carew, whose peculiarities are mainly told rather than shown.
The Blue Window will entertain throughout, and occasionally will grab with a particularly well-crafted observation.
© 2016 by Linda Gorton Aragoni
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