What a writer! What a story!
If you have not yet experienced the phenomenon known as the Whiteoak series, get cracking! I don't believe this collection of novels has its peer in 20th century literature. Following the lives, adventures, and misadventures of a Canadian family from the civil war era to about the 1950s, this engrossing work never palls.
Mazo de la Roche's characterizations are so rich and real, you find yourself loving the protagonists and hating the villains as much as if they were actual people of your acquaintance and not mere fictional inventions. This author has been compared to Anthony Trollope, and deservedly so. What a student of human nature!
I have read, reread, and recommended these marvelous novels to all the book lovers of my acquaintance, and I've yet to find anyone who didn't become enthralled. Once you've read the first one (The Building of Jalna) you will not be able to rest until you've gone on to the next one...and the next one...and the next.
If you relish the delight of finding familiar characters in compelling--even frustrating--situations in book after book after book, you simply cannot do better than reading the Whiteoak books. I cannot think of adequate superlatives to heap upon this most deserving series by this most talented author.