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When Queens Ride By
Agnes Sligh Turnbull's "When Queens Ride By" is a beautiful and encouraging story illustrating the tremendous impact a homemaker can have on her family. This book provides great inspiration for wives and moms that feel overwhelmed and discouraged at trying to keep everything together at home and shows how the woman truly is the heart of the home!
You will be newly inspired to take on the household chaos (and the world) and reevaluate how you do things to make them run smoother. This wonderful story brings new hope and new light. It will touch your heart, make you smile, and renew your courage to move forward with your efforts to make your home a warm and confortable place for your family to live, love and prosper!
You will be newly inspired to take on the household chaos (and the world) and reevaluate how you do things to make them run smoother. This wonderful story brings new hope and new light. It will touch your heart, make you smile, and renew your courage to move forward with your efforts to make your home a warm and confortable place for your family to live, love and prosper!
- GenresShort Stories
First published May 31, 1932
25 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Agnes Sligh Turnbull
54 books37 followersNovelist Agnes Sligh Turnbull was born in 1888 in New Alexandria, PA. After a dozen years as a short story writer, Turnbull wrote her first novel, The Rolling Years, published in 1936. In the 14 additional novels she wrote over the next 40-plus years, Turnbull built a thorough chronicle of the Scots who settled and farmed rural Westmoreland County. Turnbull died in 1982.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 27, 2016
Agnes Sligh Turnbull’s stories have become popular among traditional women. Some groups even have used the title of this book to encourage ladies in home-making, and really that is the value of this book. Critics have called her old-fashioned, but that’s not a deterrent for me!
This is a short story about a woman and her husband who are trying to make a go of their small farm. Their arduous work in the fields has begun to affect the peacefulness of the home because the wife has neglected the home in favor of working in the fields. This in turn affects her husband’s demeanor and self-worth. Some of the work outside the home that she does is unnecessary, but some work is what her husband desires of her to bring the farm along to more productive times. A happy ending comes after a kindly visitor encourages the overworked wife to focus on her home.
Overall, the theme about using a woman’s strengths is just right. Women do have tremendous influence over the home and her family by virtue of her attitude, deportment, and detail work. The old saying is true that the woman sets the tone in the home. Scripture definitely encourages the women to be keepers at home (Titus 2:5). The Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 is focused on her home. So whatever the husband wishes for his wife to do, she ought to also attend to her home as best she can in whatever circumstance she finds herself. I can remember times, especially when there were babies to care for and out-of-the-ordinary events happening, that I let my appearance and the housework go. It did seem to make everything harder not having tended to the simple chores of the house. So the story was a good reminder to women how important it is to keep the home fires burning.
The drawback is that the book is not expressly Christian, even though it is traditional. Unfortunately, a simple little theme is inserted that is actually demeaning to men. I’ve seen it before in some books: Our husbands think they want A, B, or C, but really they don’t. You as a woman really know what is best. No matter what he says, you need to be at home. Here’s how it appears in the story.
“Men are such queer things, husbands especially. Sometimes we blunder when we are trying hardest to serve them. For instance, they want us to be economical, and yet they want us in pretty clothes. They need our work, and yet they want us to keep our youth and our beauty. And sometimes they don’t know themselves which they really want most. So we have to choose. That’s what makes it so hard”. She paused. Jennie was watching her with dull curiosity as though she were speaking a foreign tongue.
Then the stranger went on: I had to choose once, long ago; just after we were married, my husband decided to have his own business, so he started a very tiny one. He couldn’t afford a helper, and he wanted me to stay in the office while he did the outside selling. And I refused, even though it hurt him. Oh, it was hard! But I knew how it would be if I did as he wished….”
Turnbull, Agnes (2012-08-07). When Queens Ride By (Kindle Locations 137-143). LivingOnADime.com. Kindle Edition.
I asked my husband about this because I have picked up on this often in some conservative writings, and he heartily agreed that this is a major problem with the book. Who is to say (in the instance above) that the wife would have been able to return to full-time domestic bliss sooner if she had helped her husband get the business off the ground at the beginning? I guess she’ll never know because she took the lead and insisted on her way.
There is no magic in the virtue of keeping the home fires burning. Your man is not hypnotized into being a better man by virtue of your domestic skills. My husband tells me, THAT thought is not helpful in building up a man. He saw it as manipulative. We traditional women like to point to Titus 2:5 at the “keepers at home” phrase, but we tend to forget the “obedient to husbands” phrase in the same verse. Probably your traditional husband would agree that ideally the wife should be at home, but in our fallen world it is not always possible at times.
So my encouragement is not just to be traditional, but to be biblical. Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus had no limit to his humility. There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for the sake of the Father’s glory, even death. As we women seek to use our strengths for the benefit of our homes, let us not be prideful in it. Neither let the home be an idol. Most often, it is true, we help best by being a keeper at home because that is the role we have been created for. Let us humbly be our husband’s helper in whatever way he needs. Homemaking is not our focus, though. Glorifying God is our focus.
See more of my book reviews at MostlySensible.com.
This is a short story about a woman and her husband who are trying to make a go of their small farm. Their arduous work in the fields has begun to affect the peacefulness of the home because the wife has neglected the home in favor of working in the fields. This in turn affects her husband’s demeanor and self-worth. Some of the work outside the home that she does is unnecessary, but some work is what her husband desires of her to bring the farm along to more productive times. A happy ending comes after a kindly visitor encourages the overworked wife to focus on her home.
Overall, the theme about using a woman’s strengths is just right. Women do have tremendous influence over the home and her family by virtue of her attitude, deportment, and detail work. The old saying is true that the woman sets the tone in the home. Scripture definitely encourages the women to be keepers at home (Titus 2:5). The Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 is focused on her home. So whatever the husband wishes for his wife to do, she ought to also attend to her home as best she can in whatever circumstance she finds herself. I can remember times, especially when there were babies to care for and out-of-the-ordinary events happening, that I let my appearance and the housework go. It did seem to make everything harder not having tended to the simple chores of the house. So the story was a good reminder to women how important it is to keep the home fires burning.
The drawback is that the book is not expressly Christian, even though it is traditional. Unfortunately, a simple little theme is inserted that is actually demeaning to men. I’ve seen it before in some books: Our husbands think they want A, B, or C, but really they don’t. You as a woman really know what is best. No matter what he says, you need to be at home. Here’s how it appears in the story.
“Men are such queer things, husbands especially. Sometimes we blunder when we are trying hardest to serve them. For instance, they want us to be economical, and yet they want us in pretty clothes. They need our work, and yet they want us to keep our youth and our beauty. And sometimes they don’t know themselves which they really want most. So we have to choose. That’s what makes it so hard”. She paused. Jennie was watching her with dull curiosity as though she were speaking a foreign tongue.
Then the stranger went on: I had to choose once, long ago; just after we were married, my husband decided to have his own business, so he started a very tiny one. He couldn’t afford a helper, and he wanted me to stay in the office while he did the outside selling. And I refused, even though it hurt him. Oh, it was hard! But I knew how it would be if I did as he wished….”
Turnbull, Agnes (2012-08-07). When Queens Ride By (Kindle Locations 137-143). LivingOnADime.com. Kindle Edition.
I asked my husband about this because I have picked up on this often in some conservative writings, and he heartily agreed that this is a major problem with the book. Who is to say (in the instance above) that the wife would have been able to return to full-time domestic bliss sooner if she had helped her husband get the business off the ground at the beginning? I guess she’ll never know because she took the lead and insisted on her way.
There is no magic in the virtue of keeping the home fires burning. Your man is not hypnotized into being a better man by virtue of your domestic skills. My husband tells me, THAT thought is not helpful in building up a man. He saw it as manipulative. We traditional women like to point to Titus 2:5 at the “keepers at home” phrase, but we tend to forget the “obedient to husbands” phrase in the same verse. Probably your traditional husband would agree that ideally the wife should be at home, but in our fallen world it is not always possible at times.
So my encouragement is not just to be traditional, but to be biblical. Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus had no limit to his humility. There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for the sake of the Father’s glory, even death. As we women seek to use our strengths for the benefit of our homes, let us not be prideful in it. Neither let the home be an idol. Most often, it is true, we help best by being a keeper at home because that is the role we have been created for. Let us humbly be our husband’s helper in whatever way he needs. Homemaking is not our focus, though. Glorifying God is our focus.
See more of my book reviews at MostlySensible.com.
November 29, 2018
Oh, this was beautiful!
January 2, 2024
I confess…Agnes Sligh Turnbull’s sweet reads are a guilty pleasure for me. She wrote this particular short story in 1926. One who is comfortable in her own skin will see the wisdom in the message; someone else who can’t appreciate the male/female roles of the times they were living in might respond defensively. In all, a hopeful, simple, wise read about choosing perspective.
May 18, 2017
I love Agnes Turnbull's style of writing and the excellent messages in her books. Though this short offering was like reading a chapter of a book, the message was very strong and impactful. Highly recommend!
July 14, 2024
A quick read and a good reminder!
Sometimes when you think you are helping someone, you really aren’t. It’s good to be reminded of that. Wish more Agnes Turnbull books were on Kindle.
Sometimes when you think you are helping someone, you really aren’t. It’s good to be reminded of that. Wish more Agnes Turnbull books were on Kindle.
September 7, 2020
So, so old-fashioned but I still loved it.
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May 23, 2021I read this book and found it to be inspiring. It’s mainly about the importance of being a homemaker. Although written in 1928 the main message can still be applied today
January 1, 2023
Loved it! Quick read. It gives some old-fashioned advice that can still be applied today.
October 20, 2023
Simple, short and beautifully inspiring
July 19, 2024
A beautiful short story about wifehood... Will be sharing with the ladies!
March 6, 2017
Beautiful inspiring story.
This was a quick read but so encouraging for homemakers. If you're feeling overwhelmed and discouraged in your role as a homemaker give this one a read.
This was a quick read but so encouraging for homemakers. If you're feeling overwhelmed and discouraged in your role as a homemaker give this one a read.
March 24, 2016
I re-read this short story every year (or a couple times a year). Each time I get inspired to keep doing what I know I need to be doing. I have yet to find a hard copy of this story (if I could find one, I'd buy it right away), so I saved a copy on my blog and printed off a copy to keep for myself. If you haven't read it, you need to. You can find my link to the story here: http://www.stonesoupforfive.com/2014/...
March 18, 2012
Super quick read. You will be reminded of your value as a wife and homemaker. This little book can be read in 30 minutes but don't toss it aside afterwards. Put it to action and feel better about yourself and your value as a woman. Worldliness isn't the answer.
June 17, 2013
This is a great read to get a different perspective on life when you're feeling too busy and overwhelmed. It also makes you think about the great impact of taking time to listen and try to help someone--even a stranger.
August 21, 2013
I loved this story , it is a well written and highly motivating little book. It is short sweet and easy to read. I highly recommend this story for all women who feel worn out or in a rut. I can't express enough how wonderful this book is.
April 1, 2019
A thought-provoking short story about a woman who helps her husband with his "man's work" on the farm. At some advice from a stranger stopping by, she stops helping him and does her own work again, which she has been neglecting, and sees immediate results.
November 15, 2011
This is a great short story (written in 1926) for stay-at-home moms to read:
http://theprudenthomemaker.com/whenqu...
http://theprudenthomemaker.com/whenqu...
September 18, 2013
I am glad for this little gem. It is a quick read, and a helpful reminder of why to do the mundane. It helps it not be so mundane.
September 22, 2013
Super quick read... my women-libber friends would likely not enjoy... I, on the other hand, loved it.
January 23, 2015
A lovely short story and excellent reminder about the importance of homemaking. Read it here:
http://theprudenthomemaker.com/live/w...
http://theprudenthomemaker.com/live/w...
January 25, 2015
Very good and very wise.
February 3, 2018
lovely inspiring story
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews