Her spare prose and dialogue give a period flavour without the dread excesses of gadzookery.

The Matchmaking Festival provided social events for these lonely-hearted pilgrims, and allowed local personages to keep undesirables away from their daughters.

When I flushed the toilet, the plumbing backed up and burst.

If the law supposes that, said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, the law is a ass—a idiot.