"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies"

Since my computer is misbehaving and we had no power over the Christmas period, the weather was atrocious and Mark was ill, but we had lights, I spent a lot of time reading. I decided to revisit books I read in my teens. I suspect I read this one when I was about twelve first, and remembered it with affection, although as usual with no recollection of the contents.
I agree almost completely with Andrew Smith's review and will not rewrite it in less good terms. However I found the ending too unlikely now - [spoiler alert!]it seems more likely the family would get such a will overturned. [end of spoiler]
Perhaps age has made a cynic of me! Lovejoy is a delight still and there are touching moments, but unlike one reviewer I cannot see this as having anything in common with chicklit! A delightful step back into my youth. More to come...