The Moss of Cree : A Scottish Childhood

The Moss of Cree is a charming story of Mary Cecil Gladstone's journey from wee'un to sophisticate, told in her own evolving voice. The charm of the new as she encounters it is thoroughly engaging. As a descendant of an accomplished historic family, including a four-time prime minister, Mary is allowed in large degree to roam alone or with her sisters into a bog of confusion toward the rewards of the larger world. Growing up on a dairy farm, Mary picks the natural path, when she can't smooth her own, through spiky, settled, and dangerous possibilities. Her childhood is oddly familiar, but with unexpected consequences. She strives and plods, proudly and reluctantly, forward, without beheading herself or her family beliefs, though they do take a beating now and again. Regardless, the narrative takes us with her, into finding and freeing herself for a new and open future.