Hannah G
A tale of the home front in the North during the Civil War.
I reread this so many times that the pages are literally falling out of my copy. Someday perhaps I will find a reasonably priced hardcover!
A tale of the home front in the North during the Civil War.
I reread this so many times that the pages are literally falling out of my copy. Someday perhaps I will find a reasonably priced hardcover!
Hard to review a book that's perfection and made me weep with the beauty of the ending. Garth and Jane are vibrant characters who feel real. I don't cry over books, but I've shed tears for half of Barclay's novels!
Hard to review a book that's perfection and made me weep with the beauty of the ending. Garth and Jane are vibrant characters who feel real. I don't cry over books, but I've shed tears for half of Barclay's novels!
A beautiful story of a writer finding her true calling and of a country professor deciding his career. It’s got a quaint small-town flavor and plenty of heartfelt real-life situations. It’s set just after WW1 as the country gets back on its feet and warriors return to civilian life. Mark hadn’t gone off to war, but Mary had as a war correspondent.
Mary’s journey as a writer is one I honestly think should be recommend reading to just about any writer, especially one considering how Christian faith, morality, and art intersect. Excellent story.
A beautiful story of a writer finding her true calling and of a country professor deciding his career. It’s got a quaint small-town flavor and plenty of heartfelt real-life situations. It’s set just after WW1 as the country gets back on its feet and warriors return to civilian life. Mark hadn’t gone off to war, but Mary had as a war correspondent.
Mary’s journey as a writer is one I honestly think should be recommend reading to just about any writer, especially one considering how Christian faith, morality, and art intersect. Excellent story.
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Ah, this one gobbled me up and didn't let me go until the end! It is headed straight for my favorites shelf. If the Williamsons hadn't been favorite authors before this book, they certainly would be now. I stayed up until midnight to finish, and I hadn't the heart to resent the 6am alarm this morning because I enjoyed it so much.
Barrie is a young girl of eighteen whose grandmother has kept her extremely sheltered, even from most neighbors. At last she gains entrance to the locked garret and finds all sorts of odd things, resulting in her finding out that her mother is still alive and working as an actress. She quietly resolves to leave the house and go to her mother, and does so that very night. She is attempting to gain a ticket to go to London when she gains the attention of a passing gentleman, Ian Somerled, a painter who has made his own fortune.
Somerled takes her under his wing and into his motor-car, bringing her to a lady friend of his to stay in safety until they find out where her mother actually is. Turns out the lady is about to begin a play in Ediburgh, but is on holiday at the moment; so there is a week that Barrie must wait to go to her mother. It is spent in a motor-car touring through southern Scotland, especially the Border country so famous in literature. Even so, this section of the book is shorter than many of the other Williamson travelogue fiction I've enjoyed in the past.
There are many references to history and to literature in the things they see. There are descriptions of fabled castles, identification of the real that inspired the fictitious scenes, and thoughts about the authors that wrote of them. Authors mentioned include Burns, Carlyle, Scott, and S.R. Crockett—the latter a pleasant surprise, for he is mostly forgotten today, but is one of my favorite authors. Indeed, I'd actually pulled out my copy of "The Raiders" the night before I began reading this book, so it was fascinating to read the story of its scenery in a book that was just ahead of it in my immediate To-Read stack! Of course I am reading it next.
The book builds to a nail-biting climax for Barrie, and just saves itself for a good ending at the absolute last moment. You won't be able to put it down!
Ah, this one gobbled me up and didn't let me go until the end! It is headed straight for my favorites shelf. If the Williamsons hadn't been favorite authors before this book, they certainly would be now. I stayed up until midnight to finish, and I hadn't the heart to resent the 6am alarm this morning because I enjoyed it so much.
Barrie is a young girl of eighteen whose grandmother has kept her extremely sheltered, even from most neighbors. At last she gains entrance to the locked garret and finds all sorts of odd things, resulting in her finding out that her mother is still alive and working as an actress. She quietly resolves to leave the house and go to her mother, and does so that very night. She is attempting to gain a ticket to go to London when she gains the attention of a passing gentleman, Ian Somerled, a painter who has made his own fortune.
Somerled takes her under his wing and into his motor-car, bringing her to a lady friend of his to stay in safety until they find out where her mother actually is. Turns out the lady is about to begin a play in Ediburgh, but is on holiday at the moment; so there is a week that Barrie must wait to go to her mother. It is spent in a motor-car touring through southern Scotland, especially the Border country so famous in literature. Even so, this section of the book is shorter than many of the other Williamson travelogue fiction I've enjoyed in the past.
There are many references to history and to literature in the things they see. There are descriptions of fabled castles, identification of the real that inspired the fictitious scenes, and thoughts about the authors that wrote of them. Authors mentioned include Burns, Carlyle, Scott, and S.R. Crockett—the latter a pleasant surprise, for he is mostly forgotten today, but is one of my favorite authors. Indeed, I'd actually pulled out my copy of "The Raiders" the night before I began reading this book, so it was fascinating to read the story of its scenery in a book that was just ahead of it in my immediate To-Read stack! Of course I am reading it next.
The book builds to a nail-biting climax for Barrie, and just saves itself for a good ending at the absolute last moment. You won't be able to put it down!
An interesting story about Twiddie, a waif who becomes the life of a farmhouse, and the crippled son of the house, Hugh—evidently his back was broken in a logging accident, and he lies on a bed, helpless, at the age of twenty-three. He journals; she grows up, bringing him to awareness of life beyond his bed. The book is an interesting combination of her life, Hugh's journal, and Twiddie's letters when she is away.
The style of writing is lyrical and heartfelt. A true gem from the past.
An interesting story about Twiddie, a waif who becomes the life of a farmhouse, and the crippled son of the house, Hugh—evidently his back was broken in a logging accident, and he lies on a bed, helpless, at the age of twenty-three. He journals; she grows up, bringing him to awareness of life beyond his bed. The book is an interesting combination of her life, Hugh's journal, and Twiddie's letters when she is away.
The style of writing is lyrical and heartfelt. A true gem from the past.
This book is an absolute delight! Strong Rose Mary Alloway, a prop and a cheer to all those around her...she could have let her thirty lonely years sit heavily on her shoulders, but instead she reached out to the good farm folk around her, and they took her into their midst and loved her and let her love them. I want to be like Rose Mary!! :)
This book is an absolute delight! Strong Rose Mary Alloway, a prop and a cheer to all those around her...she could have let her thirty lonely years sit heavily on her shoulders, but instead she reached out to the good farm folk around her, and they took her into their midst and loved her and let her love them. I want to be like Rose Mary!! :)
A delightful little gem of a story! Laine is the main POV character, but we get tantalizing snippets of Claudia's as well. Dorothea is a delightful child, the sort you'd want to spend time getting to know. The majority of the story takes place just before Christmas, so it's a fun little tale for getting in the spirit of gift-giving.
Public domain; available free online.
A delightful little gem of a story! Laine is the main POV character, but we get tantalizing snippets of Claudia's as well. Dorothea is a delightful child, the sort you'd want to spend time getting to know. The majority of the story takes place just before Christmas, so it's a fun little tale for getting in the spirit of gift-giving.
Public domain; available free online.
Well, there's nothing like being on a ship nearly sunken by sabotage, and having it stranded in a bay with South American cannibals prowling around!
The brave young Captain Courtenay manages by dint of quick thinking and a girl's sincere prayers to help his ship drift past certain wreckage and into a harbor with a semblance of safety...and yet the natives are cannibals all too ready to attack the steamer and carry off its passengers to their dinner pots. Elsie finds herself becoming more and more drawn to this captain's bravery and pluck, even in the face of certain doom. Then there is the spunky dog Joey, who takes a hand in fights more than once to save his master's life at risk of his own.
Underneath it all is the mystery of who sabotaged the ship and why...
I must say, my favorite part was Elsie's adventure with Joey at the very end!
Well, there's nothing like being on a ship nearly sunken by sabotage, and having it stranded in a bay with South American cannibals prowling around!
The brave young Captain Courtenay manages by dint of quick thinking and a girl's sincere prayers to help his ship drift past certain wreckage and into a harbor with a semblance of safety...and yet the natives are cannibals all too ready to attack the steamer and carry off its passengers to their dinner pots. Elsie finds herself becoming more and more drawn to this captain's bravery and pluck, even in the face of certain doom. Then there is the spunky dog Joey, who takes a hand in fights more than once to save his master's life at risk of his own.
Underneath it all is the mystery of who sabotaged the ship and why...
I must say, my favorite part was Elsie's adventure with Joey at the very end!
