Rich Relatives

"Rich Relatives" by Compton MacKenzie is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around Jasmine Grant, a young woman who travels from Italy to England, facing the challenges of entering a new world filled with wealthy relatives who are largely unfamiliar to her. The narrative captures her emotional turmoil as she grapples with feelings of loneliness and estrangement from her privileged family members. The opening of the novel introduces Jasmine at the York railway station, where she is met with a blend of rudeness and indifference from the porter, reflecting her own fraught emotions. As she awaits her train to Spaborough, Jasmine is depicted as a beautiful but visibly distressed figure, mourning the recent death of her father and contemplating her place within her new family. Her interactions with the porter and her mental reflections on Italy contrast sharply with the coldness of English life, setting the tone for her complex journey ahead. Jasmine's first encounter with her cousin Harry Vibart brings a flicker of connection and hope, yet her return to the world of her rich relatives is fraught with the uncertainty of her future amidst their expectations. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of the co-founders in 1928 of the National Party of Scotland along with Hugh MacDiarmid, R. B. Cunninghame Graham and John MacCormick. He was knighted in the 1952 Birthday Honours List.