Julie Klassen joins us for a chat about regency England, Jane Austen Easter eggs, and her latest releaseSisters of Sea View. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book!
A Pinch of the Past: What do Mary had a Little Lamb and Thanksgiving have in common? Author, editor, activist, and mother Sarah J. Hale. (Full post here.)
Years ago, he shattered her heart. Now she must trust him with her life.
As the only girl in her family, and with four older brothers, Ivy McQuaid can rope and ride with the roughest of ranchers. She’s ready to have what she’s always longed for–a home of her own. She’s set her heart on a parcel of land south of Fairplay and is saving for it with her winnings from the cowhand competitions she sneaks into–but her dream is put in jeopardy when the man she once loved reappears in her life.
After two years away, Jericho Bliss is back in South Park as an undercover Pinkerton agent searching for a war criminal. He has no intention of involving a woman in the dangerous life he leads, but one look at Ivy is all it takes for him to question the path he’s set out for himself.
Even though Jericho tries to resist his longtime attraction to the beautiful and vivacious Ivy, he finds himself falling hard and fast for her. In the process, his worst fear comes true–he puts her smack-dab in the middle of danger. With Ivy’s life in the balance, will Jericho give her up once again, or will he find a way back to her, this time forever?
THE REVIEW
Oh. My. Holy Saint Peter! Jody has done it again, she’s roped me in and hog-(steer)-ties me with another McQuaid book!
I wasn’t so sure about this one. Ivy has been that annoying little sister, with a really big mouth and larger personality since book 2. And I wasn’t sure I was gonna like her. And while it’s not my favorite of the Colorado Cowboys (that’s still a toss up between Flynn and Brody), I really appreciate how Jody grew her up, but also kept the same elements that were Ivy. It made her and this story feel more real; sometimes authors grow up the characters too much and they change and it feels less like real humans. This didn’t.
And the slow burn and tension between her and Jericho! Come on! I was just like get on with it… but then when those kisses (yes, plural) came, it was fantastic. But, again, like real life, the tension didn’t stop there.
But among all the kisses, tension, bickering and banter, I deeply appreciate how Jody intertwined scripture and biblical truths into the story. That’s one of the reasons I alway pick up her books. I know I’m gonna get fantastic characters, a marvelous story, and deep spiritual truths as well.
If you enjoy capable cowgirls, romance with a little sizzle, and family sagas, you’ll want to grab a copy of Falling for the Cowgirl by Jody Hedlund.
THE AUTHOR
Jody Hedlund is the best-selling author of over forty sweet historical romances and is the winner of numerous awards. She lives in central Michigan with her husband and is the mother of five wonderful children and five spoiled cats. When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.
Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.
Bestselling author Jody Hedlund shares about her Colorado Cowboys Series, her eventful summer, her latest writing ventures, and her many upcoming books! For your chance to win a copy of To Tame a Cowboy, check out the giveaway page on our website Historical Bookworm dot com. You also find the giveaway link in the show notes for this episode.
Today’s Pinch of the Past … started as a look at traditions in raising children and somehow morphed into the practices of children in relation to schools throughout history. (Full post here.)
Book Review: Shadows in the Mind by Janyre Tromp. If you’re in the mood for a realistic depiction of mid-century slice of life with a side helping of mystery, then Shadows in the Mind’s Eye is a great read for you! (Full post here.)
Women typically responded to advertisements for mail-order brides more out of necessity, and even desperation, than actual romance. Many women answered the call to marry men in different regions to escape hardship, emigrate to another country, and sometimes to seek adventure.
The imagined arrival of brides-to-be at Jamestown. New York Public Library
James Town
In the early colonial days, male settlers would return to England to marry or they would marry Native American women and leave the colony to live with their wives. In 1620 the Virginia Colony sponsored 140 brides for James town. The average age of these ladies was 20 years old. They were sometimes referred to as “tobacco wives” because the men who married them were required pay for their passage by way of reimbursing up to 120 lbs. of leave tobacco. These women had the right to choose who they married, even if that man was too poor to pay the full amount of the passage.
A romanticized depiction of the King’s daughters arriving at Quebec in the mid-seventeenth century. Before Louis XIV brought New France under direct control, it was a poorly administered commercial branch operation whose private interests preferred male indentured servants. National Archives of Canada / C-20126
The French
In the mid-1600s, 800 brides emigrated toNew France which is now a part of the United States and Canada. These mail-order brides were sponsored by the government and known as theKing’s Daughters. In addition to paying for the passage and recruitment of these wives, the government also paid each woman a dowry of at least 50livres.
When New France started their Louisiana Colony in 1699, they requested brides. However, this venture was less successful than the Kings’ Daughter. These women, called Pelican girls, were misled about the conditions of the colony and when word reached France, French ladies refused to go to the Louisiana Colony. At this time France resorted to raiding the streets for undesirables to send. Houses of correction were emptied, and in some instances, women who had been convicted with their debtor husbands were sent. In 1719, 209 women felons were sent to the colony.
These women were known as Correction Girls. Fortunately, this practice was discontinued in the mid-18th-century.
The visa and marriage documents of Tomeno Hamade. Intrigued with the possibility of living in North America, she consented to correspond with a young Japanese Canadian man, Risuke Hamade. They married by proxy on May 2,1927; she emigrated in October of that year, age nineteen. Photos and documents courtesy Tomeno Hamade
Picture Brides
Asian men working in America in the 1800s often worked with agencies to attain mail-order brides from home. Settlements were mostly male and so the demand for wives grew. A system of Picture Brides developed in the early 20th century with theJapanese-American Passport Agreement of 1907. The US barred unmarried Japanese ladies from immigrating. Working with a matchmaker, the men and women developed a system of communication that included the exchange of pictures and ended with a recommendation to marry or not.
These four men in Montana (near Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park) at the turn of the 20th century advertised their want for wives on the side of a cabin. From left-to-right they were: Bill Daucks, Frank Geduhn, Esli Apgar, and Dimon Apgar. Frank, and Dimon eventually married, but not mail-order brides. (Courtesy of Glacier National Park Photo Archives)
Mail order Brides in American
In the 1800s many young men who traveled west found they were want for female companionship. After settling land and making homes, they didn’t have anyone to share them with. Many wrote home back east asking friends and family for help. Others advertised in newspapers and would then begin a correspondence with the intention of leading to an offer of marriage.
Some quotes from Mail order bride advertisements from woman to men and men to women.
Each edition of The Matrimonial News opened with the same positive affirmation for both sexes: “Women need a man’s strong arm to support her in life’s struggle, and men need a woman’s love.”
Here is are actual ads that ran in the paper:
282—A widower, merchant and stockman lives in Kansas, 46 years old, height 6 feet, weight 210 pounds, brunette, black hair and eyes, wishes to correspond with ladies of same age, without encumbrances and with means, must move in the best society and be fully qualified to help make a happy home: object, matrimony.
233—Answer to 82—There is a lad in Missouri with a foot that’s flat, with seeds in his pocket and a brick in his hat, with an eye that is blue and a No. 10 shoe—he’s the “Bull of the Woods” and the boy for you.
266—I want to know some pretty girl of 17 to 20 years. I am 29, 5 feet 9 inches tall, a blonde: I can laugh for 15 minutes, and I want some pretty girl to laugh with me.
214—Respectable young man, with good position in city, 20 years old, desires the acquaintance of a modest young lady, between the ages of 17 and 21, with home nearby. Object: to attend operas and church; perhaps more.
The mothod of connecting marital parties through mail correspondence of some fashion or other have been used throughout the centuries in many different countries. Australia, Belarus, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Japan, and the United States to name a few. While unconventional to a modern way of thinking, it this was an acceptable and popular method of connecting in the past. A modern study of French Canadians that shows that the King’s Daughters and their husbands were “responsible for two-thirds of the genetic makeup of over six million people”.
If you enjoy a good Mail Order Bride read, here are some Christian titles that might suit your fancy.
The Bride Ship Series byJody Hedlund is one of my favorites. In fact, Jody is a lead author for Sunrise Publishing with Suzy May Warren, so we can expect three more books in that series.
When I asked on our Facebook listeners group, one of our listeners, Christy said she just finished A Bride for Keeps and A Bride in Store, both by Melissa Jagears.
In the last stages of a genetic disease, Ellen Creighton has decided to live out her remaining days at the estate of her longtime friend Harrison Burlington. Harrison cares deeply for Ellen, but as a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, he’s never allowed himself to get serious in a relationship. However, he’s desperately trying to save her by finding the holy water that is believed to heal any disease.
When he locates two flasks, Ellen refuses to drink one of them because she believes the holy water killed her sister and father. In an effort to convince her to take it, Harrison ingests the contents first, and when Ellen witnesses the effects, she can no longer deny the power of the substance in the bottles. Dangerous criminals are also seeking the holy water, and Ellen soon learns they will go to any lengths to get the powerful drug–including sending her back into the past to find it for them.
Bestselling and award-winning author Jody Hedlund plunges you into the swiftly flowing river of history in a race against the clock in this breathtaking, emotional second Waters of Time story.
THE REVIEW
This book was eagerly anticipated after reading Hedlund’s first book in the series,Come Back to Me. This second novel spends most of its time in the present tense, but does dip into the past for some perilous encounters.
The concept of healing waters from the first book splash onto these pages also with Ellen and Harrison using the healing water to aid with their own healing. Their sweet romance was enjoyable with a few slightly steamier scenes, but still docile compared to the first book. Even with the Middle Ages thrown in, the violence was minimal. The struggle to let go of past worries is difficult for Ellen due to her sudden lifestyle change brought on by the healing and she’s plagued by the ethical dilemma of the holy water. The characters mesh well with the story, and with the author’s writing this hard to believe tale seems plausible.
If you’re in the mood for a time-traveling romance that will take you beyond the realms of reality, Never Leave Me should be at the top of your TBR queue.
Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.
THE AUTHOR
Jody is the bestselling author of over 30 historical novels for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards, including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Awards. She shares about her new time travel novel Come Back to Me, her love of cats, and the fun of writing. Learn more about her at her website JodyHedlund.com/ and her ReaderRoom Facebook group.
The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.
That’s exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father’s quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister Ellen from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He’s left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he’s crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.
William Durham, a valiant knight comes to Marian’s rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to?
Review
This was a great read and start to a series. Full of good pacing and drama with lots of ups and downs that will leave a reader turning pages well into the night. The premise is sometimes hard to believe as time travel sometimes can be, but there were supporting reasons and the reader wasn’t left to simply make their own assumptions. The book also expertly sets the reader up to look forward to the next installment. The time period Marian travels back to is the Middle Ages and the author manages to make it romantic while also showing the reader the turmoil of everyday living.
Romance: lots of desirous thoughts and touches as this is a male character from the Middle Ages so it makes sense. The author does a good job of weaving in his macho-ness with Marian’s ‘independent woman’ mentality for a good balance. It is obvious that they desire each other.
Christianese: very light
Violence: As noted, it IS the Middle Ages, but nothing gory or outlandish that wouldn’t be found in a history book.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Author
Jody Hedlund is the author of over thirty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.
Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).
When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.
Featured Author: Carolyn Miller is a bestselling and award-winning author of both Regency and contemporary inspirational romance. She lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia with her husband and four children. Join us for a chat about her latest release Dusk’s Darkest DawnBook 1 in the new Regency Wallflowers series. You can find out more about Carolyn at CarolynMillerAuthor.com
Pinch of the Past: Seattle in the 1900s was rife with crime. From dirty politicians and brothels to drug abuse and Shanghaiing, this city was not for the weak. In this pinch of the past we talk a little about regular people who gave to others to help the down trodden of this big old city.
Bookworm Review: Jody Hedlund is the bestselling author of over 30 historical novels for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards. Her first-time travel novel Come Back to Me is a great read and start to her Waters of Time Series. Full of good pacing and drama with lots of ups and downs that will leave a reader turning pages well into the night. Find out more about Jody at her website JodyHedlund.com. You can also find the book trailer for Come Back to Me by clicking HERE.
