The Quivering Tree

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In The Quivering Tree, Sylvia Haymon continues the poignant and perceptive memoirs she began in her acclaimed Opposite the Cross Keys. Following her father's death and her mother's subsequent decision to move from East Anglia to London, twelve-year-old Sylvia discovers independence for the first time when she becomes a boarder at the home of two spinster schoolteachers. Sylvia takes up residence in a tiny but beloved garret room in Chandos House, under the protection of the gangly aspen tree that shadows her only window. There she encounters the previously alien emotions and experiences that accompany the beginnings of adolescence. To help—or hinder—Sylvia through these tumultuous times is the household's cast of eccentric characters: the diminutive, self-effacing mathematics teacher Miss Gosse; her companion, the elegant Miss Locke, a vivacious history mistress who clearly loves the beautiful Sylvia in her own way; and Mrs. Benyon, their...