The Doctor's Sweetheart and other stories (by L M Montgomery)

'The Doctor's Sweetheart (and other stories)' is a book of short stories by LM Montgomery, best known as the author of the 'Anne of Green Gables' books. They had all been published in women's magazines early in the 20th century, and were collected for this book later on.

The stories all feature romance of some sort, often with a search for identity along the way, and a touch of humour now and again. They are not particularly deep, although there is more in them than some women's magazine stories. Moreover, despite the setting nearly a century ago, the themes are very much up-to-date.

Montgomery lived in a world where fidelity and ideals were important, yet she deals honestly with realistic characters who often struggle to do the right thing.

A pleasant light read for a couple of evenings. There's also an interesting introduction at the start of the book, which I read after the stories, so as not to spoil the plots.

Reprinted every so often and fairly widely available second hand.