November reading

In an earlier book from the 44 Scotland Street series, one the players reflects on an unexpected interlude. . . she remembered what she had once read somewhere, words of little comfort: for most of us, nothing very much happens; that is our life. The author playfully confirms and confounds this idea. The cast of characters is unchanged and stories are retold, embellished and advanced. The hero of the series, poor six year old Bertie, is frozen in time with his domineering mother. He dreams of turning seven, when hopefully life will get better and his wishes more respect. . . In the concluding pages, with his customary end of book poem the character Angus Lordie sums up the sentiment -

Dear friends, there is no timetable
For happiness; it moves, I think, according
To rules of its own. When I was a boy
I thought I'd be happy tomorrow,
As a young man I thought it would be
Next week; last month I thought
It would be never. Today, I know
It is now. . .

Inheritance is much less of a patchwork quilt and though it is sufficiently different, it reminds me of Dickens and Great Expectations. A hapless main character who comes into a fortune and eventually meaning and redemption.