Grace Restarick

In the novel Third Girl, Grace Restarick (née Baldwin) was the mother of Norma, and the wife of Andrew Restarick. Andrew left Grace for another woman when Norma was about five years old and went to South Africa. Grace did not agree, however, to a divource. She died two and a half years ago 4th of April 1963 shortly before the events in the book. Grace remained extremely bitter about the event and passed some of this on to her daughter.

Miss Battersby, Norma's school principal considered home conditions very important in a girl's life and made a point of studying them. She concluded that Grace was "worthy and upright", "[s]elf-righteous, censorious and handicapped in life by being an extremely stupid". Miss Battersby described Grace as a malade imaginaire, someon who always imagined or exaggerated her ailments and hence was always in and out of nursing homes. Sir Roderick Horsefield, Norma's grand uncle described Grace as a "woman who looked down her nose and was full of works". On Andrew leaving his wife, Sir Roderick remarked that "might happen to any man, especially with a wife like Grace".