Life-tangles

Seventeen-year-old Rhoda Frith longs to be her mother's chosen helper, but the reunion she has dreamed of quickly turns into a test of pride, jealousy, and hurt feelings. When her mother returns from India with twin daughters, Rhoda expects a warm, exclusive welcome; instead, she finds an exhausted woman who gives affection evenly, while Clarissa, Juliet, and the twins seem to claim the household with ease. Rhoda's journal traces her wounded hope, her resentment at Aunt Jessie's criticism, and her desperate need to matter to the mother she adores. As the family settles into a cramped country home and later a small house in Bath, Rhoda feels increasingly trapped by domestic duties, sharp judgments, and her own volatile temper. She wants to be dutiful and helpful, yet she cannot manage the twins, share attention, or silence her irritation. Her mother's quiet tenderness offers brief comfort, especially when she links Rhoda to the lost Connie, but even that love is shadowed by rebuke over neglected practice and bad habits. Through Rhoda's painful self-scrutiny, the story explores family tension, grief, longing, and the difficult passage from childhood dependence to adult responsibility. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.