Isabel — Harriet La Barre

Melinda Macdougall, a girl about 9 years old, decides to investigate the apparently abandoned house across the street from her home. In back of the house she discovers a glorious Japanese garden with a playhouse. As she is exploring, the house's owner, Miss Wilhelmina Kingsley appears in a wheelchair. Well into her 80's, Miss Kingsley reveals that she had the garden and the playhouse built for her niece, Isabel Lockwood (nee Benoit). In subsequent visits in the coming months, Miss Kingsley reveals the tragic story of her Isabel, but who is returning to town soon. Isabel's imminent return sets the town aflame with scandalous rumors, blame and recrimination. Was her first husband's death a suicide, or an accident? Was Isabel at fault for their son's death? How will Owen Lockwood, her rich and powerful father-in-law, react to her return, and what was she doing in Italy? "Isabel" is at once, a compelling mystery and a serious character portrait.