Society Girl Constance Wetherill is faced with a dramatic lifestyle change right on page one. Her recently-deceased uncle has mismanaged the family's assets and there is only "the paltry sum of five thousand dollars" between herself and poverty.
She decides it best to disappear from society to avoid the scorn of her friends and longs to "begin life as if she were another girl and to see whether she could not make of it something worth while."
Constance takes a trip to think things out. While her train has stopped for an accident blocking the tracks, she gets out for a stroll and stumbles upon an old house that the locals say is haunted by the ghosts of a girl who committed suicide and her faithful dog. Could this "hanted" house be used as a hiding place and a refuge from the storm of The Wetherill's life?
Grace Livingston Hill's Novels for Girls
The White Lady is one of several books written by Grace Livingston Hill, but published under the "nom de plume" Marcia Macdonald. These books were meant for a different audience than her regular novels, which explains the name change. This title was contracted by J.B. Lippincott Company as a "full-length book for girls".
Click to learn a bit more and see which books are in the series.
Marcia Macdonald was the maiden name of Grace's mother. She wrote as Mrs. C. M. Livingston and in addition to publishing several children's books of her own, wrote books in collaboration with family members, including Grace, her husband, Rev. C. M. Livingston, and her sister's family, The Aldens. Mrs. Livingston's sister was the well-known author, Isabella Macdonald Alden, who wrote as "Pansy". It was "Auntie Belle" who began Grace on her writing career.
This novel is a bit of a departure from Grace's typical fare. But her readers may not have known that in 1930, would they? They would have thought Marcia was a new author. Enjoy a unique Marcia Macdonald classic!