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An Amish Christmas Star—three Amish Christmas stories
Buggies, Trains, and Automobiles
by Shelley Shepard Gray
Ellie Coblentz is called back from vacation to help her Grandmommi. John Miller receives a phone call that his father, from whom he has been estranged for almost fifteen years, is on his deathbed. John needs to travel quickly if he wants to get to the nursing home before his father passes, something he is not sure he wants to do. It is a few days before Christmas when the two meet at a bulletin board searching for ways to get from Pinecraft, Florida, to Holmes County, Ohio, in bad weather. As strangers, they make for unusual travel partners, but God has a way of bringing them together under the difficult travel circumstances as they find themselves stranded several times along the journey. In addition to some crazy hired drivers, they also encounter some very kind and helpful people who think helping others is a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. This is a sweet Christmas story that I think I would enjoy rereading.
Star of Wonder
by Charlotte Hubbard
Lizzie Zehr is a young Mennonite woman with a flamboyant, creative flair. Raised by her two sisters, first one who passed with MS, and then the other who was a talented, but perfectionist baker, Lizzie has felt stifled by them. She finds freedom in a job in a new bulk store in Promise Lodge. A lot of the Old Order Amish have moved there to be away from a mean-spirited Bishop.
Raymond Overholt is another creative who travels from Coldstream to Promise Lodge. His goal, however, is to sell art he has created from barnboard wood decorated with Christmas messages and stars. He just doesn’t enjoy or fit in well in his family’s dairy farm. So when offered a seasonal temporary job at the store in Promise Lodge, he accepts.
If Lizzie and Raymond have a future together, there will be a lot of opposition to overcome arising from the Amish leaders in Coldstream and Raymond’s family. It will take a change of heart by the leadership there and perhaps a change of circumstances. It will take a Christmas miracle!
Starlight Everlasting
by Rosalind Lauer
Rachel and Luke Coblentz began courting when they were quite young. They kept putting off their wedding in hopes that Rachel’s mother would recover from cancer and be able to be a part of the ceremony. Unfortunately, she passed away, leaving the family with seven children and a mountain of medical bills. As young marrieds, they feel an obligation to pay off the debts, but Luke is unable to find a job in the town of Joyful River. He gets a low paying factory job in Maple Run, but that means he and Rachel must live apart 5 days out of the week. This becomes a crisis for the young couple when Luke is required to work on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Meanwhile, Rachel has restored an abandoned Christmas store in Joyful River. It is doing quite well, and she is able to help with the care of her younger siblings, but she misses Luke so much! They reach out to God and rely on him to give them the wisdom and faith required to help them through this difficult season.
Truman is one of Rachel’s young siblings, and I came to love him as much as Rachel does. As Rachel describes him, he is “odd.” He doesn’t understand social signals, but he “has a good heart.” Although bullied, he doesn’t retaliate. He is very smart and memorizes things quickly.
I enjoyed all of these novellas. They were able to tell a whole story in less space than a novel, and I didn’t feel that anything was missing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Religion, Romance
Notes: These novellas offer the reader the Christmas spirit relying on the story of Christ’s birth as well as the cultural decorations and themes that are celebrated by non-Amish.
Publication: September 30, 2025—Kensington
Memorable Lines from Buggies, Trains, and Automobiles:
When she looked back for Kramer, he was gone, and the truck was too. “I didn’t hear Kramer’s truck leave. Did you?” John stopped and stared. “It was like he vanished. That sure was strange, ain’t so?” “Usually I would agree, but I’m starting to think that he was our own guardian angel,” Ellie said.
Memorable Lines from Star of Wonder:
Best of all, though, she had a new circle of friends who shone as brightly as one of Raymond’s gold stars when the morning sunlight hit it. And for that, Lizzie felt extremely blessed.
Memorable Lines from Starlight Everlasting:
Gott had guided the wise men with a star. It seemed simple and yet profound. Gott was guiding all of his believers each and every day. And that was what had led Luke here tonight. Faith.
The Memory of Old Jack–evocative language
The Memory of Old Jack
by Wendell Berry
Author Wendell Berry is loved and even revered by many of his readers. This is the third book I have read by him with my book club. He has written a series of novels describing the land and the people of the fictional Port William community in rural Kentucky from shortly after the Civil War to 1952. As a part of this series, The Memory of Old Jack’s timeline is a little jarring as it jumps repeatedly between Jack on a special September day and the memories he dredges up from a lifetime of experiences. A hard working farmer, he soaked in wisdom about farming and about life from an older neighbor.
My opinion of the character Jack also bounced around as I read about the various events of his life; sometimes I found him admirable and at other times an enigma. He is a rough man, tied to the land he loves so much. He has some regrets about his choices in life, but doesn’t seem to be able to make different choices or fix past mistakes and still stay true to himself.
Perhaps it is because of my own creeping age or the recent deaths of many loved ones, but I found the book very sad. Another member of my book club called it “grim,” and I must agree. It is not sprinkled with uplifting light spots, nothing to raise the heavy veil. There are some supporting characters that I liked, but they did not make up for the melancholy of this tale. Wendell Berry is a good writer in the sense that he effectively writes what I will call poetic prose. A few chapters into The Memory of Old Jack, I was struggling to want to finish this book. I made an attitude changing decision to do a read/listen and that made all the difference. The written language took on a beauty when it became oral.
There is no plot per se; the book moves along from anecdote (in this case memories) to anecdote. Although Berry tells his tale through the main characters, I never found them likable. To like this book, the reader would need to find the characters engaging. For me, it was more a matter of waiting for the next shoe to drop as the story moves to its inevitable conclusion.
The Memory of Old Jack is a vehicle for Berry’s expression of his philosophies about preserving the land and the customs and knowledge necessary for self-sufficiency. Berry was a farmer for forty years in addition to expressing his ideas through environmental activism. A poet, novelist, and essayist, he also worked as a professor. His use of story to promote socio-political thought is reminiscent of the writings of Sinclair Lewis.
This dichotomy of beautiful language in a novel that plods along makes reviewing and ranking it difficult. It deserves five stars, top in my rating system, for eloquent, descriptive language. For elements such as plot and character, I can only award it three stars as a book that I would never read again and am unable to recommend.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Notes: 1. #3 in the Port William Series but all can be read as standalones.
2. Some profanity
3. Narrator Paul Michael of the audio version produced by Christian Audio is good with women’s voices as well as men’s.
Publication: October 8, 1999—Counterpoint
Memorable Lines:
That is what Old Jack has always given him—not help that he did not need but always exactly the help he has needed.
His vision, with the the finality of some physical change, has turned inward. More and more now the world as it is seems to him an apparition or a cloud that drifts, opening and closing, upon the clear, remembered lights and colors of the world as it was. The world as it is serves mostly to remind him, to turn him back along passages sometimes too well known into that other dead, mourned, unchangeable world that still lives in his mind.
…it is hard to keep his mind, ranging around the way it does, from crossing the track of his hard times.Though he would a lot rather let them lie still and be gone, once his mind strikes into his old troubles there is no stopping it; he is in his story then, watching, as he has helplessly done many times before, to see how one spell of trouble and sorrow led to another.
The Storyteller’s Tale–making words come to life
The Storyteller’s Tale
by Judith Bouilloc
translated from French by Madeline S. White
You’ve heard the expression “make words come to life”? In The Storyteller’s Tale, the librarian Iliad Livrani can do that. She is so talented that the queen invites her to come to the palace to perform. During this same period, a messenger arrives from the palace with an offer of marriage from Lord Tarlyn. The immediate complication to this generous offer is that there are several gentlemen at court with that name. Which one might he be? Iliad is chaperoned by her fire-breathing Granny Cassandra as they travel to the castle and have many adventures.
Iliad can create visible words that become images and this talent is useful to the king as he tries to transform his kingdom into a parliamentary monarchy. There is the usual infighting in the court and within the royal family. Magical creatures like a flying bird-deer populate this story. Lovers of literature will find pleasure in the various classical choices Iliad makes for her readings. Lord Tarlyn is a mystery man, and there are difficulties because of his character, abilities, and goals. There are reasons for his secrecy, but they are only gradually revealed.
I enjoyed the fantasy world the author created, especially the magic with words. The various creatures and plants were also interesting. There is a romantic hero and a villain, a mystery and a challenge. Iliad and her sisters are strong women with an equally strong sense of right and wrong. Democratic principles are important to them as are reconciliation and feelings. One of the themes is that character is more important than outward appearance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Middle Grades, Fantasy, Teens and Young Adult
Notes: All of Iliad’s book choices have footnotes to note the author and explain briefly what the work is about.
Publication: August 21, 2024—Rivka Publishing
Memorable Lines:
“The term snatchwords refers to a person who can make sentences detach themselves from paper by reading them aloud. They internalize each word turning them into moving figures and setting by sheer force of imagination.”
The Livrani women were known to express their feelings with great exuberance. Some might say it was their greatest weapon against ill-fortune.
“What I think is that Balthasar is an aristocrat by birth but a democrat by opinion, and as such, he is likely to change things.”
The Proposal Plot–marriage material?
The Proposal Plot
by Kathleen Fuller
Books that focus on the Amish are generally clean and wholesome because they are a reflection of Amish faith and beliefs. The Proposal Plot is no exception, but that doesn’t mean that every character is a model of good behavior, kindness, and self-control. There is plenty of room for these characters to grow. Nelson Bontrager has been hurt in wooing two different women and has sworn off women altogether. Ella Yoder has been raised to believe she is not pretty and not “marriage material” because she is bossy and argumentative. The two clash from their first meeting. Ella’s spoiled sister Junia, however, falls head over heels in love with Nelson’s slightly younger nephew, Malachi. The girls’ dad, the widower Barnabas, owns E&J’s Grocery store and is caught in the middle between his two constantly warring daughters.
Wendy, a successful New York City lawyer, needs some distance from the career ladder she has been climbing so she moves temporarily to Marigold, Ohio, and opens an office in a nearby small town. She lives with and becomes a caregiver for her aging, diabetic mother. Wendy is talented at mediation and can afford to accept only cases she chooses and work the hours convenient to her.
This story is a roller coaster of emotions and conflict as there are love/hate relationships throughout the book. There is also a conundrum for one of the characters as she tries to sort out her attraction to Barnabas versus her attraction to the Amish faith. Learning about the backgrounds of all these characters and watching them sort through their feelings makes for an interesting and enjoyable read and a breath of fresh air from the daily news cycle.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Christian, Religion, Romance
Notes: #2 in the Amish of Marigold series, but could easily be read as a standalone. It appears there will be three books in this series.
Publication: May 7, 2024—Zondervan
Memorable Lines:
Regardless of what his future held, he had his family and his faith—and he was grateful.
But that would be a lie. Not that she’d been the most honest person all her life. She’d lied in court—what lawyer hadn’t? Over the years she’d lied to her parents more times than she could count, mostly so they wouldn’t worry about her or pry into her life. Most of all, she’d lied to herself.
I love having you with me. I just want you to know that I’ll be okay, whatever you decide.” She smiled. “God’s got my back. He always has.”
The Peacemaker–Amish mystery
The Peacemaker
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Many of the books I read are either cozy mysteries or Amish romances. The Peacemaker is a well-conceived mix of the two.
Ada is a young Amish woman who works in a greenhouse in Belleville, Pennsylvania, but has hopes to one day get married and have a family. Ephraim, originally from the same area, lives in Bird-in-Hand in Lancaster County, where he takes care of his grandmother. Ada and Ephraim grew up together, connected by Ada’s best friend Rosa who has disappeared. Rosa was Ephraim’s “aldi” or girlfriend. When she disappears after they had an argument, Ephraim is briefly accused of murdering her. Even after the charges are dismissed, those in the local community still look on him with suspicion. Ada had always been attracted to Ephraim, but did not express that to anyone because of loyalty to her friend Rosa.
The reader watches the emergence of the gradual attraction between Ephraim and Ada along with family upheavals including other romances, childbirth, and a heart attack. Always in the background is concern for Rosa. Is she dead? Did she run off so she wouldn’t be pressured to join the Amish church? The answers to those questions are not found in The Peacemaker, but perhaps will be in the followup novel, The Pretender, which is set to be published on August 1, 2025.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Christian, Religion, Romance, Mystery
Notes: Because of a mislabeling in my notes, I read this book in the Mifflin County Mystery series first. As #2, it was adequate as a standalone, but I plan to go back to the first one because I enjoyed this one and want to fill in some blanks. I want to know more about the characters I met in this book.
Publication: March 1, 2025—Barbour Publishing
Memorable Lines:
A sense of dread had soured his stomach like spoiled milk.
Although she did not receive the miracle that she had hoped for, Elsie returned to the house thankful that she’d been able to bless a stranger in need on this freezing-cold Christmas evening.
Susan knew he was a bad influence and being in his company inclined her to do things she wouldn’t normally do. She couldn’t get enough of him, though.
An Amish Mother for His Child–family love
An Amish Mother for His Child
by Patricia Johns
What a difficult situation! Adam’s wife passed away. He has been raising his daughter Amanda Rebecca on his own, but now feels he needs a mother for his daughter and a “proper wife” for himself. Verna is an Amish woman of thirty. The community matchmaker decides they could fulfill each other’s needs and perhaps come to love each other in time. Without much more than meeting each other, the two are united. Adam promises to move from Oregon to Pennsylvania, and they set up housekeeping in a rented house. Amanda Rebecca is a sweet almost five year old, and Verna is so happy to be her new mamm. Likewise, Amanda Rebecca takes to Verna quickly as Verna makes the child feel comfortable with the new relationship.
The couple starts out with separate bedrooms and both work to please the other, but it is hard to get communication going. Adam and his first wife had difficulties with that too, and Adam had several traumas in his childhood that hold him back. Verna is fairly independent for an Amish woman, and she insists as part of their agreement that she will continue to teach court ordered knitting lessons to teenagers. The young people have tattoos, piercings, and good hearts in spite of some bad choices. On most things, however, Verna submits to Adam’s leadership in the family as she wants to please him and have a good marriage.
An Amish Mother for His Child details the struggles and successes they have along the way and one big family crisis that occurs. Will they come to a compromise or have to separate? Will they ever be united by love? This is a good story, and I enjoyed it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Christian, Romance
Notes: #4 in the Amish Country Matches Series, but although I have not read any of the others in the series, they don’t seem to have character overlaps and so this worked well as a standalone.
Publication: December 26, 2023—Harlequin
Memorable Lines:
As an Amish woman, I stand out all the time when I go into the city. People stare at me. It might not be a tattoo, but my clothing shows that I’m different, and I won’t change it to blend in.
If there was one thing she’d learned from teaching that class, it was that she couldn’t change anyone. She couldn’t even make them into decent knitters. All she could do was love them as she found them.
“And you think this is a wise choice?” Adel’s tone said that she thought it was dumber than a bag of rocks.
Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
with A Guide to Reading and Reflecting by Karen Swallow Prior
What do you think of when you hear the word “Frankenstein?” For many, that name conjures up an ugly monster pieced together from the flesh of others. A quick Internet search of images associated with that name bring up iconic pictures that are a part of our popular culture. Many movies have been made of the book Frankenstein as well as versions and spin-offs of the Gothic novel. In truth, Victor Frankenstein is the name of the scientist who created the monster who was never named in the book, but may be referred to as “The Creature.”
Clearly a classic, Frankenstein, was the creation of 18 year old Mary Shelley as a result of a dreary day’s writing contest with a small group of men, that included her husband the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. The little group fought to overcome the ennui of the season. Mary Shelley won and her story was first published anonymously.
The structure of the story is initially a little confusing, but it becomes clearer as the tale progresses. Captain Robert Walton’s narrative frames the story with his recounting, as his ship headed to the North Pole, of the sighting of an unknown creature and then the rescue of a man who was pursuing the creature. Much of the book is epistolary as Walton shares the story of Victor Frankenstein’s life with his sister in England.
The reader is also given the Creature’s viewpoint. At eight feet tall and very different looking, he is viewed as a threat. At times the reader might feel some sympathy for him as he wants love and acceptance, but he also reveals a murderous side. When he realizes he will never be integrated into human society, he approaches Victor with the idea of creating a woman to be his wife. This request ignites another ethical dilemma for Victor who has already ignored his moral obligations when he gave life to the Creature and then abandoned him. His bad decisions turn his life and that of his loved ones into tragedies.
The editor of this volume, Karen Swallow Prior, is a Professor of English and Christianity and Culture. She states that the major themes of Frankenstein are “creation, creator, guilt, ambition, reason vs. emotion, nature vs. nurture, friendship, sexuality.” She points out that Shelley does not write from a biblical point of view, but that these themes are timeless. This is obviously a complicated book and important in terms of its effects on our culture. The editor Prior attempts to make it more accessible in her introduction and in the background she presents about the time in which it was written. Not an easy read, Frankenstein offers a lot of food for thought. The reader will probably argue with the characters over their motivations and actions and will be hard pressed to find a likable character among them. Victor Frankenstein, in particular, proves over and over again that he is self-centered. His own happiness and a fulfilled ego are so important to him that his emotions swing wildly and greatly affect his health while he disregards how his actions hurt others.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Gothic, Classic, Christian
Notes: 1. The editor ends each section (volume) with Reflection Questions which are a wonderful resource for individuals or groups studying Frankenstein. She also includes Questions for Further Reflection which address the whole book.
2. The appendix adds the introduction to the 1831 edition.
3. Prior has helpful footnotes on the appropriate pages to define words that are unfamiliar to readers in the twenty-first century.
4.Frankenstein is subtitled The Modern Prometheus pointing to the tension between a creation and its creator.
5. Although Frankenstein is not a Christian novel, Prior’s goal is to show readers how to approach it from a Christian viewpoint and to the glory of God
6. Prior has a series of classics that she has edited in a similar way. I have read several of these with my Book Club. Some have been more enjoyable than others, but all have resulted in good discussions.
7. This was written during the transitional period from Enlightenment to Romanticism.
Publication: 1818—Original publication
2021—(as edited by Prior) B&H Publishing
Memorable Lines:
I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher’s stone and the elixier of life. But the latter obtained my most undivided attention: wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery. If I could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!
I was benevolent and good: misery made me a fiend. Make me happy and I shall again be virtuous.
“Hateful day when I received life!’’ I exclaimed in agony. ‘’Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred.”
A Christmas Gift–sacrificing during hard times
A Christmas Gift
by Glendon Swarthout
illustrated by Myles Sprinzen
The story of this novella is told from the viewpoint of James Chubb, a thirteen year old boy who is sent from his home in Pennsylvania to his grandparents’ farm in Michigan. In the Great Depression, James’ father can not find work, any kind of work, to support his family. Like many other children in that generation, James was shipped off to live with relatives he had only visited twice. His grandparents were nice, however, and James worked hard for them.
A Christmas Gift covers several generations with a special focus on James’ great-grandfather who died in the Civil War. The reader sees the effect of war on multiple generations and the impact of the Great Depression on hard-working men who feel the shame of not being able to put food on the table. Many of those people would not accept government handouts, which even if accepted were still not enough for survival.
It was certainly not a good year for Christmas gifts. Some children received one practical gift like galoshes or a handmade gift such as a scarf. Many, of course, did not get anything for Christmas. In this story we see an abundance of love in a sacrificial gift.
Swarthout describes in detail the melodeon and the OilPull tractor that play key roles in the plot. He writes about the events of this story in such a way that you feel like you are there witnessing the difficult birth of an out of season lamb and the exhaustion of his grandfather during an evening like no other. He inserts some amusement in the participation of a family of daughters and some wonder in a magical Christmas Eve rescue.
Swarthout is an award winning writer, and his expertise shows in A Christmas Gift as he takes the reader on a journey back in time and into a rural farm setting. There are terms that the modern reader will find unfamiliar as James uses slang from the day. One funny touch is the inclusion of the use of a “party line” on their telephone service.
The trip skillfully manipulates emotions so that the reader feels close to this thirteen year old. Although it is not light-hearted,there is joy and also melancholy to be found in the tale. It is a story that in many ways defies typical genre classification. It is a good read, but each reader needs to decide if it achieves the classic status some feel it deserves.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Novella
Notes: 1. This book has also been published under the name The Melodeon (Doubleday, 1977) and has been made into a movie with the title A Christmas To Remember (1978).
2. YouTube has some great videos that will help the author’s wonderful descriptions of the melodeon and the Rumely Oil Pull tractor come alive.
Publication: 1992—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
Ella kept two hundred chickens. “Good layers,” she called them — a characteristically rural understatement. Those Leghorns of hers were cornucopias, mother-lodes, veritable volcanoes of eggs.
Our ring was three long and one short, and after five minutes I decided some of the garrulous wives in the neighborhood must be on the line, so I lifted the receiver and listened in. Universal sin absolves individuals, and since everyone did it in those days, listening in on a party line was not considered sinful.
“You have to take the vinegar with the honey. That’s marriage for you.”
The Amish Matchmakers–romance for the matchmakers
The Amish Matchmakers
by Beth Wiseman
Two Amish elderly sisters, Esther and Lizzie, own the Peony Inn and two neighboring cottages which they rent out. The sisters have a reputation in their community as matchmakers, but in this story they turn their skills on each other. They love each other so much that neither wants her sister to be alone or lonely if she passes first. When retired Englisch dentist Ben Stotzfus leases one of the cabins for 6 months, each determines to make a match for her sister, but both widowed women are actually attracted to Ben.
Another part of the plot introduces Ben’s granddaughter Mindy. Ben was semi-estranged from that part of his family, but now that she is grown they have reconnected. Gabriel is an Amish young man who works for the sisters at the inn, mainly when they need outside work done. He and Mindy meet when an accident occurs at Ben’s cottage. A spark flies upon their meeting but they wonder if anything can come of it since Amish and Englisch romances often have bad endings.
As older adults, Ben and Esther have medical issues that they try to keep secret. Lizzie is an energetic, feisty woman who is an avid reader of romances. She has decided that the cottage is haunted by the ghost of a previous tenant even though that concept is not part of Amish beliefs. Esther frequently has to rein Lizzie in, suggesting that she get rid of books on ghosts and serial killers and calling her out on some lies.
Depending on the issue, the antics and interactions of Esther and Lizzie can be serious or humorous, but their actions, although sometimes extreme, are always well-intentioned. The setting centers around Thanksgiving and Christmas giving an Amish holiday air to The Amish Matchmakers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Christian, Religion
Notes: Standalone
Publication: October 17, 2023—Zondervan
Memorable Lines:
“Gott had a plan. I believe that when things fall into place easily, it was meant to be.”
He truly did believe laughter was good for the soul, and he’d seen plenty of instances where a person’s joyfulness had prolonged their life.
He could lie, but she’d see through him. Mothers has a superpower when it came to lying.
Rebecca–fascinating classic with dark vibes
Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier
First published in 1938, Rebecca has been republished multiple times and continues to gain new audiences. I read it as a young adult and remember being fascinated by it, but could no longer remember the details. When our book club decided to read it, I was excited to revisit this dark classic, and I was not disappointed.
The author’s technique is to begin the book with the situation of the characters at the end of the story. Then she deftly switches to current actions as she describes how the protagonist, who is never named, comes to meet Maxim de Winter, the owner of the magnificent Manderley estate. She is a shy young lady with less nobility in her background than Maxim. This suspenseful story is told from her point of view.
Manderley is almost a character in this book, not just a backdrop. The other important character is Rebecca, the dead wife of Maxim. Her presence is palpable to the new Mrs. de Winter as her touches are evident throughout the house in decor and in the general management of the household. Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca’s former maid and the current household manager, revered her first mistress who could do no wrong in her eyes. She is a leader among the servants in making the new Mrs. de Winter feel like an unworthy interloper.
Much mystery surrounds Manderley as the newlywed couple try to settle in. They have to endure proper welcoming visits from the locals who encourage them to host a costume party as Rebecca used to do. As the story progresses, the reader can feel the evil and sadness that has taken root in Manderley, but it is not obvious why.
Rebecca is certainly worth a reread. It has a complex plot with characters with hidden motivations. Secrets are gradually revealed as tension mounts. The climax is a gripping surprise. As an unusual twist for me, I found myself returning to the first two chapters to study how the author set the reader up for the rest of the book. Impressive craftsmanship!
Rating: 5/5
Category: Classic novel, Gothic, Suspense, Mystery
Notes: Goodreads refers to 864 editions!
Publication: 1938—Doubleday
Memorable Lines:
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
Describing Maxim’s sister Beatrice: She belonged to another breed of men and women, another race than I…If it had been Beatrice who had done this thing instead of me, she would have put on her other dress and gone down again to welcome her guests. She would have stood by Giles’s side, and shaken hands with people, a smile on her face. I could not do that. I had not the pride, I had not the guts. I was badly bred.
I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and to their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth.This was what I had done. I had built up false pictures in my mind and sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.
education pathways 