Odd Made Even

Odd made even by Amy Le Feuvre is a novel written in the late 19th century. It follows Betty Stuart, an impulsive, idealistic young woman restless with London society and longing for purpose, as she and her steadier sister Molly accompany their overworked mother to a country vicarage. In this reflective, faith-infused domestic tale, Betty’s quest to “make odd even” intertwines with a bitter, blind villager she longs to comfort and with Gerald Arundel, a principled landowner facing the loss of his ancestral home. The opening of the novel finds Betty bristling at shallow social calls and a persistent suitor, then whisked to the countryside when her mother’s health fails. In the village, Betty rekindles her childhood bond with the sculptor Mr. Russell, discovers solace at the church organ, and coaxes the embittered, blind Mat Lubbock to be her blower while quietly offering him hope. A chance encounter with a man in evident anguish later proves to be Gerald Arundel, whose gracious hospitality, love of books, and philanthropic bent impress Betty even as rumors—confirmed in his calm presence—surface that he must sell the Red Manor. Amid garden walks, organ-playing, and earnest conversations about charity and purpose, Betty is urged to fill her life with others’ needs, setting the story’s course of inner growth, compassion, and testing through altered circumstances.