[Gutenberg 54116] • Castle Blair: A Story of Youthful Days

Adrienne Blair, 18, an orphan raised in France, is summoned to rural Ireland to live with her elderly uncle, the English-born squire of a large estate. To her surprise, she is greeted on her arrival by a set of young cousins she never knew existed. Rosie, Murtagh, Winnie, Bobbo, and Ellie Blair are "Raj orphans" whose father still lives in India. Because two of them had arrived in Ireland near death from fever, their uncle has permitted the quintet to run wild for years in the woods and mountains, much to the disgust of his English land agent, Mr. Plunkett.

The children rename Adrienne "Nessa" (after a deceased pet) and try to interest this fashion-conscious, very proper young woman in their elaborate games. Her presence little by little begins to civilize the five wild youngsters, and they teach her that the Irish villagers are not the savages she had imagined them to be. But will love for his cousin be enough to quell the spirit of 11-year-old Murtagh, a Republican sympathizer whose hatred of Mr. Plunkett threatens to take a deadly turn?