Dorset, a county southwest of London, has often been portrayed in writing and painting as a model of the gentle British countryside. Placidly grazing sheep, picturesque hayricks, neat hedgerows dividing carefully tended fields—all combine into a pastel image of rustic charm.

This book takes both protagonists and readers behind the image. The picture is not so idyllic upon close inspection. Life at Hallows Farm means dealing with mud and animal waste. The constant chores are more likely to exhaust the body than to inspire communion with nature. The houses and barns, so quaint and cozy from a distance, lack many of the conveniences of 1940s city life. Prue feels she has stepped back in time when she first walks into the cavernous farmhouse kitchen. Its dank flagstone floor and 1914 calendar make her desperately homesick for her own mother's cheerful little kitchen. Even the crisp nights and...