- According to the Pattern From the link: According to the Pattern
is one of Grace’s early books and it’s “off the beaten path.” The first
chapter is entitled, “The Fallen Idol” and sets the scene for the rest
of the story. Mrs. Winthrop, out in the park with her little daughter,
suddenly comes upon her husband who is out with another woman. Not quite
the usual GLH romance, is it? Pick up a copy and share her struggle
to live “according to the pattern” despite what’s going on around her.
Sounds a bit like it could have been written today, yes? An interesting
departure from the usual novels.
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- The Angel of His Presence (includes Gabriel the Acadian by Edith M. Nicholl Bowyer) Wonderful! A picture of The Last Supper given to a worldly man for his den changes a man’s life.
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- April Gold Excellent! A well to do family is thrust into poverty upon the father’s death. How will they "make do"?
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- Because of Stephen Good. A woman starts a Sunday School in her brother’s memory in his house.
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- Beggarman (A short story)
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- The Best Birthday, A Christmas Entertainment for Children
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- The Best Man Gripping and Delightful! A secret service agent falls for the bride.
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- The Big Blue Soldier Very good. A lonely old woman adopts a sick man coming home from WWI.
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- By Way of the Silverthorns
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- The Challengers Very good.
Church attendees become Christians in the midst of their poverty. At
times the children are left to fend for themselves, and there’s a
precious secret attached to, of all things, their cuckoo clock!
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- A Chautauqua Idyl Okay.
This was Grace’s first novel and was a huge sensation because it was
written for attendees of the Summer faith lectures of Chautauqua in NY.
The animals have their own Chautauqua lectureship and faith enrichment
program. Since I knew nothing about the program until after I read the
novel, I wasn’t impressed. It was very fanciful. But after I learned
more about it I could see why it was a hit with the attendees.
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- The Christian Endeavor Hour with Light for the Leader (written with her husband, Rev. T.G.F. Hill)
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- The Christmas Bride Very good. A cowboy comes home and rescues a girl who has fainted from hunger. Be sure to read it in December!
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- The City of Fire Riveting. Could have been written yesterday. The wrong man gets kidnapped.
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- Cloudy Jewel Lovely. From the Grosset & Dunlap jacket flap: Julia
Cloud, whose life has been given to caring for her family, is left
alone by the death of her invalid mother. Having always lived a dutiful,
useful life, she has been invited by her married sister and
brother-in-law to come to their home, virtually to become a drudge. At
the moment, however, when her new slavery seems inevitable, she is
visited by her niece and nephew…they joyously make plans to thwart the
designs of the married sister…a new and beautiful environment opens
before “Cloudy Jewel”.
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- Crimson Roses Excellent! A girl decides to “level-up” her life!
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- A Daily Rate Excellent!
Little by little, month after month, two women turn a disheveled,
dirty, ugly boardinghouse into a tidy, clean, beautiful home for the
tired, overworked, melancholy boarders. Don’t you love reading about how
to make your home more cozy? Well here it is in a sweet novel.
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- The Divided Battle (A short story)
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- The Enchanted Barn. Excellent. Housekeeping in a converted barn.
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- Exit Betty Excellent. It grabs you from page one. A bride is running from an evil groom. A 1920 ad says, The
story is one of thrilling adventure, tears and sunshine, with an
unexpected and happy culmination, when the reader will close the book
with a satisfied sigh and take with him the memory of the loveliness and
high purpose which are revealed in the lives of those who are inspired
by Christian ideals.
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- The Finding of Jasper Holt
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- The Forgotten Friend (A
short story booklet – click the link to see the paper bank that came
with the tale of Gordon Pierce, a young man who stepped into a church to
get out of the storm and found himself in the midst of a missionary
meeting.) During the weeks immediately preceding Christmas, as
presents are being purchased for friends and relatives, this Christmas
box, having been placed in the home, will be a reminder of the debt of
gratitude owed to the truest and best of Friends, and the question will
come, “What offering can we make that will be most pleasing to Him who gave Himself for a lost world?” The bank was for a Christmas offering for missionaries; the story tells of Gordon’s changed heart.
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- Found Treasure Excellent. A tomboy grows up into a lovely young lady.
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- A Girl to Come Home To Wonderful! Excellent prayers. Lovely girl.
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- The Girl from Montana Very good. A
girl escapes from evil men and meets her DH. If you click the link it
will take you to interesting information about Willow Grove Park that is
described in chapter 15. I don’t even recall this portion of the book,
so I guess I’ll have to read it again!
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- The Girl of the Woods Lovely. A boy and girl grow in Christ in NY and CA. (From the jacket flap: Built
around the courageous story of two young people who braved scorn and
unhappiness to remain true to an ideal…Revel Radcliffe, in despair at
the news of his father’s approaching second marriage, seeks solace in
the woods he loves. There he finds a young girl, Margaret Weldon, whose
sweet friendliness comforts him. They are separated…How they finally
meet again in happiness makes a delightful, warm-hearted story.)
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- The Gold Shoe Such a powerful ending! Socialite stranded in the snow longs for the rural life she experienced over the weekend with her rescuer and his mother.
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- The Handmaid of the Lord (A short story booklet)
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- Happiness Hill Excellent.
A working girl builds a “dream” house in her imagination, but will all
she has worked for be lost when she is locked in a vault?
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- Her Wedding Garment (A short story booklet)
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- The Honeymoon House Very good. A woman furnishes her male friend’s house for his betrothed, but ends by coveting it for herself.
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- The Honor Girl Loved it!
Inspiring tale of a teen living with her aunt and uncle who visits her
father’s home one day where it dawns on her that her father and
brothers desperately need her womanly touch in their home. (The only
thing is there are a few inconsistencies in the beginning of the book,
such as her age and when she last visited her father’s house. Overlook
that and it is a lovely homemaking book.)
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- The House Across the Hedge (A short story booklet)
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- In Tune with Wedding Bells
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- Job’s Niece Very good! The
characters come alive! BUT it is not a relaxing read. However, I loved
the main character Rose and her Bible studies with Mrs. MacDonald. Job’s
Niece opens in the night with Doris Dunbar sorting through “a regular
blizzard of bills” following the untimely death of her father, trying to
bring some order to things before seeing the lawyer the next day. When
her sister enters the room, her “trifling pink kimono” giving some clue
to her character, Doris has her hands full trying to explain that things
were not as they seemed—and were not likely to get better anytime soon.
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- The Kaleidoscope (written with her family and friends)
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- Ladybird Inspiring. Similar to the Girl from Montana. A pure girl escapes from bad men in the west. Gripping.
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- Life Out of Death (A short story booklet)
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- A Little Servant “A new book by Grace Livingston, entitled A Little Servant, is just the thing to give children a high and noble conception of the duty and privilege of ‘by love serving one another’. Click the link to read the short, sweet, children’s story. Maybe one day I will read it on YT.
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- Lone Point: A Summer Outing Lovely. Mr.
Hammond announces that they must vacate their lovely home and rent it
to strangers for the summer in order to “mend their pecuniary affairs.”
In the meantime, they will rent an inexpensive cottage for the summer, much to the chagrin of one of the daughters. A wonderful summer read!
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- The Lost Message (A short story booklet)
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- Marcia Schuyler
First in a Trilogy: then Phoebe Dean, last Miranda. Oh my! After
clicking the link and reading about this trilogy, which I’ve always
heard was outstanding, I cannot believe I’ve waited so long to read it! I
know I’ve got each of the books within the “Collection” books – yet,
because the book is so difficult to hold while lying down, which is how I
read at night, I have put it off. It will definitely be the next book I
pick up! It is also based on true Livingston family history!
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- The Minister’s Son (A short story booklet)
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- Miranda (Book 3 of the trilogy)
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- Miss Lavinia’s Call (a short story collection) This collection of short stories was published after Grace’s death by her daughters and includes her first book, The Esselstynes. Most of the stories were written for Christian magazines or newspapers. Miss Lavinia’s Call; Something Quite Forgotten; A Government Position; Star of Wonder; The Ransomers; The Esselstynes; Safety First; Quiet Hands; A Journey of Discovery; A King to Rule; The Call; Majority’s Hearth; A Fair Foreclosure; The Forgotten Friend.
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- More Than Conqueror Good. A boy goes off to war. The story of Blythe and Charlie.
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- The Mystery of Mary Lovely. The
main character encounters a woman who is running away. From whom? And
why? And how can he possibly help this lovely creature?
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- A New Name
An excerpt from the link: Murray Van Rensselaer is a spoiled rich kid
in a lot of trouble. He is later mistaken for a guest of honor, Allan Murray—a
young Christian leader the town is expecting—and is whisked into
dinner. Assuming his identity for the evening seems harmless enough, but
circumstances keep Murray in the role and he is hard-pressed to keep up
with all that’s expected of Allan Murray, for Murray Van Rensselaer is
not a follower of Christ! While he manages to fool most of the town, one
girl is not convinced…read on to enjoy this unique tale and its
marvelous climax when all is brought into the light.
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- Not Under the Law
An excerpt from the link: Joyce Radway is much put-upon by her cruel
cousin and his family in the two weeks following her aunt’s death….When
she leaves the house without permission to take her teacher’s exams, it
starts a chain of events that result in her walking out the kitchen door
and never looking back. She stumbles upon criminals who pursue her
throughout the story. She buys a “house” and builds her furniture from
packing crates. Her boyhood friend is desperately searching for her and
unknowingly to her, her disappearance causes someone to be tried for her
murder.
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- The Obsession of Victoria Gracen
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- The Old Guard (A short story booklet)
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- Pansies for Thoughts (A daily devotion based on quotes from her aunt’s popular book called Pansies. It was another big hit at Chautauqua because every girl loved the Pansy stories.)
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- The Parkerstown Delegate: A Christian Endeavor Story Very good. This poor group starts their own Chautauqua at home. From the link: One
of the books Grace wrote to promote Christian Endeavor, a world-wide
youth movement that began in 1881. She became a regular writer for its
weekly newpaper, Christian Endeavor World and several of her early books were published by its publishing house, The Golden Rule Co.
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- The Patch of Blue Wonderful! It’s similar to April Gold in some ways. From the link: The Patch of Blue was
published in 1932, just a few years into “The Great Depression”. Like
many of Grace’s books in this era, this one tells how a family copes
with their loss when their bank fails. Unique to this particular family
is that Mr. Walton is the bank president! After a run on the bank Mr.
Walton returns home to dinner, only to be shot by a disgruntled
depositor that evening. The book’s theme is foreshadowed in the church
service the day before: “It is easy enough to thank God when everything
is going well and we have all that we want in our lives. The true test
of a thankful heart is to be able to sing praise when things are going
all wrong. When we have lost our money or our friends or are
disappointed in our dearest ambitions, or when we are in a strange
unhappy environment, then we cry out, ‘How can we sing the Lord’s song
in a strange land?'” As is quite common, the family moves to a house in a
poor neighborhood that they took possession of in payment of a debt
sometime in the past. How they turn the house into a home and renew
their family ties as they learn to support themselves is just part of
the story. See if you can find the “patch of blue” as you’re reading.
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- Phoebe Deane (Book 2 of the trilogy)
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- Rainbow Cottage Excellent!!
An orphan in her 20’s meets her grandma at the beach. The descriptions
of human nature are vivid and not sugar-coated. From the link: Shyly,
half defiantly she lifted the latch, opened the gate and stepped
within. Such loveliness made her gasp. This must be heaven on earth! But
to its owner, Grandmother Ainslee, it was just “Rainbow Cottage.” Sheila’s
story of her father’s cruel treatment and desertion was hard to
believe, so Grandmother Ainslee promised herself she’d make it up to the
girl. That day was the dawning of a new life for Sheila. But into this life came Jacqueline, the cousin who hated her…
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- Re-Creations Excellent! A young college girl is called home to care for her siblings when their mother is sent away for a health rest. She discovers that her family has lost their money and is now living in an ugly house on the wrong side of town. Will she be able to transform this ugly house into a place of beauty for her family, and keep her wayward brother at home? From the link: One
of the most interesting things that Grace Livingston Hill did through
her books was to educate her readers. She taught many of us how to
follow Christ, but she also taught a very large “classroom” of students
how to make their houses a home. Homemaking instructions abound in this
perennial favorite! “Re-Creations” is a must-read and many GLH fans enjoy this particular book every spring.
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- A Sevenfold Trouble (written with her family and friends)
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- The Story of a Whim. Interesting!
A group of girls send furniture, an organ, letters, and a “picture” of
Christ to a stranger named Christie – thinking he’s a girl. Trouble
ensues when he plays along.
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- The Story of the Lost Star (A short story booklet)
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- The Strange God (A short story booklet)
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- The Strange Proposal (is the sequel to White Orchids)
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- Stranger Within the Gates From the link: Stranger Within the Gates is an unusual book with an unsual ending. From the Grosset & Dunlap jacket flap: “Mary
Garland and her three young children Stan, Fae and Sylvia were at
breakfast just one week before Christmas when the letter arrived from
Rex, an older son, saying he was married and would bring his bride home
for Christmas. How could they bear to make this stranger welcome…
How could Rex, only 18, have married and not let them know
beforehand—there must be something wrong? But even in their hurt dismay
they determine to make full use of their strong faith and keep their
hearts open.”
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- The Substitute Guest Excellent!!!
A man delivering medicine gets stranded in a snow storm where a family
gives him shelter and they form a lasting friendship. The descriptions
of “good” and “bad” show that nothing much changes in human nature.
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- Sunrise Wonderful, lovely, exciting, and applicable to modern times.
Two men disappear and are suspected of robbing the bank. As the whole
town turns against them, only two women, and one of the suspect’s
parents, believe in them. Where are they and why won’t they come home
to prove their innocence?
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- Time of the Singing of the Birds Excellent! A war story, and a love story.
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- An Unwilling Guest Excellent!!! A worldly woman has to stay with a Christian family for a few weeks, much to her chagrin, and the eldest daughter’s dismay.
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- A Voice in the Wilderness
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- The War Romance of the Salvation Army
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- Where Two Ways Met Very good.
This was her last book and would have been even better if she had been
able to develop the “trouble” storyline that was hinted at coming.
Instead, it wraps up too quickly. However, it is excellently written
and is a sweet story about young love.
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- The White Flower Excellent!
It is very exciting, especially in the beginning. It is similar to the
Mystery of Mary and The Best Man, but also shockingly involves human
trafficking. After doing some research I believe that the title was
meant to represent a pure, innocent woman.
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- The White Lady Very good!
Constance loses her fortune and turns a haunted house into a tea room
and finds love. My only criticism is that one man prominently figured
in the beginning is never heard from again, and in his place appears a
preacher – I think GLH got confused! She often said she had too many
storylines running through her head at one time.
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- White Orchids (read before the sequel The Strange Proposal)
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