A COTTAGE FOR BETSY

This doesn't measure up to those favorite Ruth Sawyer books, from Roller Skates of some years back to Maggie Rose and Journey Cake, Ho! more recently. The magic of her story telling doesn't quite compass this modern fantasy in which the evident prototypes of Queen Elizabeth and her consort Philip are presented through Elizabeth, a queen at 19, and Michael, a bit older, who is put out because there is nothing for him to do. Red tape and ruling threaten their love, so they invent a case of "measles" for Betsy, and go to their cottage by the sca. Michael gets a job in a garage; Betsy makes friends of the neighbor's children; they thrive enormously and dread a return to their duties. But on their return, Michael has been made king, an heir is born to Betsy, and all seems rosy again. There's an attempt at homey charm, against an unmistakably English setting, and the fey drawings by Vera Bock complete the make-believe. A "let's pretend we're king and queen on holiday" story.