Paperback: 352 pages
Genre: Christian, Historical Romantic Fiction,
Publisher: Revell 2008
Source: Oxfam Charity Bookshop, Salisbury.
First Sentence: The harsh clang of the meetinghouse bell shattered the peace of the night.
Review Quote: The author of Orchard of Hope and Summer of Joy offers a glimpse of a bygone era in which the Shakers lived together in chastity and faith. With an appealing heroine and an intriguing plot, Gabhart’s latest novel deserves a place in all public libraries. – Library Journal Review for The Outsider, June 1, 2008.
Main Characters: Gabrielle Hope, Dr Brice Scott
Setting: Kentucky, USA
Literary Awards: 2009 ECPA Fiction Book of the Year Finalist
My Opinion: An unlikely love and unwanted gift threaten to destroy a quiet Shaker girl of the 1800s. This was an ok read but not quite what I had expected, I had been hoping to learn more about the religion and how they live. My sympathies were with Gabrielle and her confusion over life in the outside world. Basically it is just a love story conducted under very restricting circumstances. If you want to learn more about the Shaker way of life maybe this is a good series to read as this is the first in the Shaker series.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
She thought she was content--until a love from the outside world turned hers upside down.
Gabrielle Hope and her mother joined the Harmony Hill Shaker community in 1807. The community promised stability and devotion that Gabrielle wholeheartedly embraced. But when a local doctor must be brought into Harmony Hill from the outside, he sets into motion a chain of events that will challenge Gabrielle's loyalty to the Shakers.
As she falls deeper into a forbidden love for this man of the world, Gabrielle must make a choice. Can she experience true happiness in this simple and chaste community? Or will she abandon her brothers and sisters for a life of the unknown?
Author Profile
Ann H. Gabhart was born in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, USA and grew up on a farm there. By the time she was ten she knew she wanted to be a writer. She's published over twenty novels. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren. She still lives on a farm not far from where she grew up. She loves playing with her grandkids, walking with her dog, reading and, of course, writing. Her Shaker books, set in her fictional Shaker village of Harmony Hill in the 1800's, are popular with readers. The Outsider was a Christian Fiction Book Award Finalist in 2009.
For a fuller biography visit her Official Website
Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.
Goodreads - Author Profile Ann H Gabhart - Twitter Account Author Official Website
Ann Gabhart - Facebook Profile Ann H Gahart - Amazon Author Page
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