Ragazza in un giardino - The Clock Winder, by Anne Tyler (1972, USA)

The Emersons are many, although they don't live anymore with their Mum in Baltimora. She's widow, now. She's still a Lady. A sad strange lady. And the whole family is peculiar. Elizabeth arrives by mere chance, out of the blue, and becomes the new handyman. And much more than this. Fascinating, although melancholic.