Skip to main content

Downton Abbey Fiction Chicago Style

I have enjoyed watching Downton Abbey on PBS.   It has become so popular!  It seems as if historical fiction with similar themes has risen in popularity alongside this show.
One such book with a similar theme is Olivia Newport's novel The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow.  This novel tells the story of Charlotte, a young woman who's son has been in the care of another woman while she was a housemaid in a large home.  I assume that it is because the help lives in the home that children are not allowed.  The woman who has been caring for her son has to leave and can't care for him any longer.  Charlotte is at a loss as to what to do.  Her employer, Lucy, was on her side, but she is away on her extended honeymoon.  The story follows the events of what happen as Charlotte struggles with her love for her son and fear of her supposed husband who she ran away from.  

 Plot:  The plot has plenty of twists and turns.  It also has a happy ending.

 Characters: Similar to the friendship of Mary and Anna on Downton Abbey, Charlotte is at a loss without her ally and friend, Lucy.  This friendship is the key to the resolution of the story.  I think because the story is so similar in many ways to Downton Abbey, it was hard for me to transplant the whole scene to Chicago.  It was as if many bits and pieces were taken from that story, put into a different combination.

 Writing:  I had a difficult time getting into this story.  Since I read so many books, I know that I love a book if I can't but be compelled to read every word and every page.  I just didn't find that with this book.  I skipped around because the story felt like it moved very slowly.  It's not a bad book, though.  It's a perfectly fine Christian fiction book.  It just didn't stand out for me.

 If you're looking for light Christian historical fiction along the lines of Downton Abbey, but set in America, you'll likely enjoy this story.  It just wasn't my cup of tea.

 Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Revell Publishing.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...
Post a Comment
Read more

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...
1 comment
Read more

Listening to the Bible

The Word of Promise (Bible on CD) I have been reading the Bible for as long as I can remember. I remember being given a Good News Bible when I was in third grade. When I was 14, my great grandmother gave me a copy of the Living Bible. When I went to college, I began to read the NIV and held onto a thin paperback copy for 4 years that I wrote all over. After I graduated from college, I really wanted a nice NIV study Bible and I saved up to buy one. I have held onto it ever since. Last year, I found a tiny ESV leatherbound Bible on clearance and it is now the one I carry with me in my purse. Interestingly enough, after all these years of reading the Bible, I have never listened to it on CD. I've often considered it. I've listened to lots of teaching on CD from Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, and others, but I've never actually listened to the Word on CD. Two weeks ago, I received a copy of the Word of Promise Bible on CD. I opened it up with excitement ...
Post a Comment
Read more