Hugh Walpole

The old ladies Hugh Walpole

In an old rickety building on the rock above an old grass-grown square in the city of Polchester live three old ladies. The house was a windy, creaky, rain-bitten place where tthe ladies lived as tenants. One of the tenants, Miss Beringer, has a rather nervous personality but is befriended by a kindly neighbour named Mrs. Amorest. Soon, however, she meets the third tenant, a strange woman who takes an interest in her one treasured possession, an amber figurine. Although it is the morning of Christmas Eve, the mood in the house soon turns ominous, despite Mrs Amorest's best efforts to foster a festive spirit.