Scott is under doctor's orders to spend a quiet summer in the country, away from all the drunken parties of the city that are ruining his health. Scott sees a picturesque little house in a small town and decides to buy it. His next-door neighbors are an invalid gentleman and his intelligent daughter, Barbara. They strike up a casual friendship, and talk about books and philosophy and religion. But then Caroline, an old flame from his society days, shows up with her little six-year-old son. Caroline insists that Scott must care for the boy (since Scott is his godfather) while Caroline travels abroad seeking out her romantic interest. Scott's peaceful country life is thrown into turmoil, especially because he worries what the neighbors might think - especially one particularly lovely neighbor.

I loved this delightful story! I loved the old-fashioned writing style, and the strong themes, and character growth. I loved that it wasn't just about the romance, but about Scott growing up and becoming a real person with a purpose in life, instead of just following the city crowd through an endless round of meaningless parties and plays. The romance is lovely, but it is secondary to his character development.

I really liked the contrast between Caroline and Barbara. Caroline is a society belle, immature and selfish. She lies and manipulates to get what she wants. Everything about her is counterfeit. She pretends to faint or have hysterics in order to make sure all the attention is on herself. She is utterly unreasonable and childish.

Whereas Barbara is simple, natural, and sincere. She says what she truly thinks and feels. You can count on her to be reasonable and generous. She is capable, independent, and smart. She likes to talk about things that really matter in the world. She is easy to be around, because she doesn't demand anything from others like Caroline does. Barbara kindly gives of her time and attention, whereas Caroline only takes.

And caught in the middle of these two completely different women is Scott. He immediately feels the difference between them, but he is allured by that city life he used to know - the life of enticement that Caroline represents. In order to discern properly between them, Scott needs to get his own life into perspective. He starts to contemplate the purpose of his life, and finds some meaningful work to throw himself into. This becomes the crucible for his personality to develop into a true manly character, instead of a selfish boy.

I really loved that this story has deep, serious themes, but the story unfolds mostly in small increments, with the little doings of a small town. The little boy, Scott's godson, has fun playing in the garden. Scott and the boy buy an old rowboat and take it out on the river. Barbara and her father sing a hymn at a town event, and Scott is emotionally moved by the song. Little everyday things that add up to a big life change for Scott, because he recognizes the value in these small things. The mixture of little details and big themes is perfectly balanced in this story!

I love everything about this book!