When Life Seemed Its Worst, Gresham Awaited
Julia Hollis' opulent life in Victorian London crashes to pieces when her husband passes away. Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham.
Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...
Reviews
"This well-crafted novel set in Victorian England tells of Julia Hollis, widowed at 30 and left destitute by her surgeon husband's secret gambling debts. She and her three young children more to small-town Gresham in Shropshire to make a living at owning the Larkspur, a lodging inn. Characterizations of family, servants, lodgers, and villagers are memorable. Adults of all ages can enjoy the story of grief, challenges, and joys of widow and orphans, innkeeping, and valuable friendships. Recommended for church libraries: Julia's Christian faith grows as she matires; gracefully and subtly she interweaves it into the lives of others. This refreshing novel is a promising beginning to the author's proposed Gresham Chronicles." --Lutheran Libraries
