"Jock''s inheritance" by Amy Le Feuvre is a novel written in the early 20th century. It follows capable, kind‑spirited Orris Coventry, who accepts work cataloguing a great country‑house library while caring for her lively niece, Pippa. In the secluded world of Pinestones, she contends with the formidable housekeeper Mrs. Snow, her exacting sister‑in‑law Venetia, and the return of disinherited Jock Muir, whose presence stirs questions of justice, duty, and affection. Village gossip,
a rumored ill‑omened house, and the pull of the farmland frame a tale of character and belonging. The opening of the novel introduces Orris in London, where a desperate letter from her sister‑in‑law Venetia (ruined by a failed oil scheme and abandoned by her fiancé) brings Venetia and little Pippa to her flat. Offered the chance to order and catalogue the Muirs’ famous library at Pinestones by Mrs. Calthrop, Orris moves to the pine‑ringed estate with Pippa and their maid, settling into the old nursery while the child thrives in the fresh air and befriends villagers. As Orris works, she meets local figures—the shy Miss Dashwood, the Rector, and author Mr. Dunscombe—and is startled when Jock Muir, the disinherited nephew, slips in through a window, befriends Pippa, and explains how he was edged out of his childhood home. Jock’s light, impulsive charm, his love of farming, and his frank interest in Orris contrast with Mrs. Snow’s hostility and with talk of nearby Ivy Towers, said to bring misfortune, where new tenants arrive and promptly lose their servants. After a tea visit to Dunscombe and the welcoming Prestons at Lilac Farm, Jock vows to help on the land and continues to visit—playfully revealing a hidden “powder‑room” and urging Orris to accept scholarly help. The section ends with Venetia’s arrival at Pinestones, bringing tension and setting up conflicts in the household. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
