To those who saw Saltings first on a hot day in summer-when heat shimmered in the hollows-that churchyard, and those sheep, and the surrounding cottages with their flaming gardens, stood for ever as a picture of peaceful England.

Martin Richards, a dedicated, idealistic vicar, has been moved, for health reasons, from London to the idyllic village of Saltings, watched over by a dedicated housekeeper and surrounded by the beauties of the countryside. But his peace is disrupted when he takes in his newly-orphaned niece and nephew, and (far more reluctantly) his ghastly Aunt Connie. Then peace is dispelled altogether with the arrival of Judy Griffiths, the kind young woman hired to care for the children, who is seeking solace from a mysterious and difficult past. But Judy soon finds herself in trouble again, having triggered the jealousy of wealthy, widowed Lady Blacke, the attentions of the local schoolmaster, and the bitter vitriol of Aunt Connie. How these problems are resolved makes for an utterly delicious tale of romance and misadventure.

Under the Rainbow, first published in 1942, is the seventh of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym Susan Scarlett by none other than beloved children’s author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience.

A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm Nottingham Journal