Crissy's Family — Malcolm MacDonald

The Powers That Be can beat anything except one determined woman.
When both parents die in the same week in 1890, their family of five is split up and sent to various institutions. But Crissy, the second eldest, is determined to get them all back under one roof again despite the implacable opposition of her grandmother, who had disinherited her daughter, Crissy's mother, many years earlier.

Published by Piatkus in London and (as The Trevarton Inheritance) by St Martins in New York in 1995, Crissy's Family attracted the following notices:
* Prolific and reliable, Macdonald again offers sound commercial fiction that combines history and romance. Crissy is his strongest female protagonist yet. Macdonald always maintains a brisk narrative pace, and his sound social commentary adds to the reader's enjoyment -- Publishers Weekly
* Yet another of Macdonald's relentlessly loquacious tributes to feisty turn-of-the-century Englishwomen. Crissy's narration is not as entertaining as the gabble, gossip, and joshing in some of Macdonald's other Cornish sagas, but there's always an audience for his tales of rags-to-sensible middle-class prosperity -- Kirkus
* An enjoyable romp for historical fiction fans -- US Booklist
* His depiction of the burgeoning photography business is fascinating. The porrtrait of Crissy is strong. Fans are sure to enjoy this latest offering -- Library Journal
* Yawns more than provocative thoughts are generated by reading this tale -- Chattanooga Times.
And -- of Macdonald himself:
*He is every bit as bad as Dickens â€" Martin Seymour-Smith