As she grew older, Holt increasingly integrated contemporary social issues into her novels. Her continuing concern with female independence is illustrated in Seven for a Secret by the narrator Frederica Hammond's dissatisfaction with village life after she finishes her education. Frederica is saved from the fate of governess or paid companion by the offer of a position as an assistant on the St. Aubyn's estate.

More striking though is Holt's integration of a variety of modern concerns about social relations and religious belief. Loveless, mistaken marriages, divorce, and long-term, loving relationships without marriage are all present and are treated with Holt's customary lack of moralizing.

Especially interesting is the depiction of the relationship between Frederica's father and Karla that Frederica finds when she travels halfway around the world to meet him. Karla is the woman with whom he has shared happiness and tragedy, but they have...