A Stitch in Time

Quilt Trilogy #1

by Ann Rinaldi

Hannah is the strong one. The one who cares for her brothers and sisters; the one who's kept the family together. But now, everything is changing. Her father is more distant, and her siblings are starting lives of their own. That's when Hannah decides to make a quilt. A quilt of fabrics from people who are special to the family; people they trust. And when the sisters are separated, Hannah makes sure they each have a piece of the quilt. The quilt she hopes will bring her family together again.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult Historical Fiction, Romance

307 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Ann Rinaldi (b. August 27, 1934, in New York City) is a young adult fiction author. She is best known for her historical fiction, including In My Father's House, The Last Silk Dress, An Acquaintance with Darkness, A Break with Charity, and Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons. She has written a total of forty novels, eight of which were listed as notable by the ALA. In 2000, Wolf by the Ears was listed as one the best novels of the preceding twenty-five years, and later of the last one hundred years. She is the most prolific writer for the Great Episode series, a series of historical fiction novels set during the American Colonial era. She also writes for the Dear America series.

Rinaldi currently lives in Somerville, New Jersey, with her husband, Ron, whom she married in 1960. Her career, prior to being an author, was a newspaper columnist. She continued the column, called The Trentonian, through much of her writing career. Her first published novel, Term Paper, was written in 1979. Prior to this, she wrote four unpublished books, which she has called "terrible." She became a grandmother in 1991.

Rinaldi says she got her love of history from her eldest son, who brought her to reenactments. She says that she writes young adult books "because I like to write them."

Reviews

[Alicia Ruggieri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rarely finish books to which I'd give 3/5 stars... There are just too many good books in this world to read the so-so ones, for me. :-) This one, though, would have been a 4/5 star book, were it not for a pervasive theme that doesn't set well with me as a Christian and which I think would not be the best for teens to be inundated with.

So, the good:
* Excellent descriptions of the setting (colonial Salem, MA) and the seafaring culture -- I come originally from around the area she is describing and recognized the authenticity of Rinaldi's descriptions. I could nearly taste the salty spray of the sea at times. The author excelled at accurately describing the time period and the setting.
* Interesting storyline, especially with each of the children's storylines.
* Included the little details that make me as a reader want to read more about the real-life people included in this story.
* There is a really excellent emphasis on earned trust being essential to any lasting and good relationship.

The not-great:
* Due to an evil trait in the father, the children and their significant others feel at liberty to deceive, disobey, and at times embarrass him, sometimes for a "good" reason, but other times to satisfy their own desires to be avenged of his destructive work in their lives. This is the pervasive element I talked about above and which really ruined the book for me and makes me unable to recommend it.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a favorite from this author. The historical details about Salem, shipping, frontier exploration were all interesting, but the family story at the heart of this was very tense and stressful. I found myself alternately putting off finishing the story and trying to hurry through to be done with it.

A main theme in the novel was using other people to your advantage and how all of us do that. While this is true (to some extent) it didn’t make for very uplifting or compelling reading. There were several instances where characters bartered with one another’s lives, whether all parties were aware or not, to get their own advantageous end.

This story had some nice moments, particularly Hannah‘s romance with her childhood friend, but ultimately this was a downer of a book. I had requested the two sequels from my library but I am not particularly interested in slogging through more hard times for this family to see how the story resolves. I still recommend Ann Rinaldi, but this is one I doubt I will reread.

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Repairing and Blending the Fabric of their Lives”

In this first novel of the Quilt trilogy Rinaldi introduces readers to a gentle, compassionate 6-year-old protagonist, Hannah Chelmsford of Salem, Ma. The Revolutionary War has ended; the former colonists are moving West—to the wild frontier of Kentucky where the relations between the Shawnee and Americans are becoming strained, resulting in hostilities on both sides. Back in civilized New England the Chelmsford household, ruled by a domineering patriarch, is in turmoil as a result of secret grudges gradually coming to the fore.

Since the death of their mother two sons and three daughters have struggled with self-esteem issues, emotional survival and guilt about the past. Yet it remains Hannah’s cherished dream to create a family quilt--thereby reconnecting the broken threads of her parents’ and sibling’s lives. Her request for fabric scraps from some of her friends sparks resentment from her irascible father. This tyrannical man seems to hate his youngest, 12-year-old Cabot, yet he favors his willful, odd-eyed daughter, Thankful over her sisters. In fact Chelsmford blames Hannah, mistress of this dysfunctional family at a tender age, for conniving with Abby’s elopement to her Southern beau, and later for urging that he bring Thankful with him on his journey West.

Uneasy whispers about her maligned mother’s past creep gradually into the open, as Hannah faces serious challenges: to stitch her own portion of the Quilt, to effect reforms at her father’s new textile mill, and to monitor her confused young heart’s yearnings between Louis, a lost love now on the frontier, and for Richard, a childhood friend and protector, now a sea captain. This loyal and devoted daughter yearns for peace within her tortured family, secretly dreaming to somehow repair cruel damage done in the painful past. Will she ever achieve freedom from her father’s insidious control, whose financial manipulation controls even her fiancé? The carefully-crafted plot is cleverly layered onto an historical setting which includes details about Yankee shipping, the textile industry, and how the near West was won. Makes readers want to continue with the next book in the series.

(March 27, 2013. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

[Flor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real good but the book ending without making much sense. She was supposed to marry Richard then the marriage is being delayed. Then Thankful was to stay in some Indian camp. What is this? Besides that it was good.

[Don Heiman · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Ann Rinaldi’s The Quilt Trilogy book “A Stitch in Time: Can She Hold her Family Together?” was first released by Scholastic Inc. in 1994.   The historic fiction book is about Salem, Massachusetts’ 1788 fishing and frontier geographic domain.  The book’s prologue is about 12-year-old Cabot Chelmsford, his 15-year-old sister Abagail (Abby), and his 16-year-old sister Hannah.  Cabot and Abby are waiting by the Salem harbor for the arrival of Elias Hasket Derby’s ship “Cheerful Sally” under the command of Captain Nate Videau.  The ship had a load of rice and indigo.  Cabot and his sisters’ father Nathaniel was a Revolutionary privateer during the American Revolutionary War.  He believed that “slavers were morally depraved.”  Arrangements are underway for ship Captain Nate Videau to marry Abby.  The ceremony will be performed by Reverend Cutlet from Ipswich, Massachusetts.   Hannah was being courted by Richard Lander a portrait artist by trade.  The Prologue states that Richard Lander and Nathaniel Chelmsford have different beliefs about the morality of slavery. 
 
Richard Lander tells Hannah he loves her very much.  Hannah tells him she loves Louis who is a frontiersman from the Ohio territory.  She also tells him she won’t marry Louis because she doesn’t want to live in the Ohio frontier.  Hannah and her siblings Lawrence, baby named Thankful, Cabot, and Abigail were cared for by a maid servant and later by Mary Lander after their mother (Sara) died soon after she gave birth to Cabot.  The character Thankful is Hannah’s sister who according to her is “saucy, willful, and odd-eyed.  Her (Thankful’s) father takes Thankful with him on a trip to the Ohio frontier, where she is captured by Native Americans and ultimately chooses to remain with them.”   Mary Lander and her children spent many days living in Nathaniel Chelmsford’s home.  Nathaniel is British and he is very angry at the way British leaders treat American settlers.  He captains ships that acquire provisions for the American army outside of Boston and other sites related to the Revolutionary War.  His wife Sara fed British soldiers in the family home and spent many hours visiting with the British military leaders much to the destain of her husband.  Their daughter Hannah took on the responsibility of caring for her siblings.    As part of her caring activities, she decided to quilt blankets using remnants of her siblings and parent’s garments and fabrics.  Hannah is the book’s main narrator.  Her brother Lawrence fought in the Shay’s Rebellion; her sister Abby married Captain Nate Videau; and Richard Lander outfits the boat “Prince” which he uses to transport West African slaves to West Indies sugar plantations.   The book also describes the way Abby escaped from her father’s home and married Captain Nate in a faraway place.  When her father learned of her escape, he was very surprised and angry.  Shortly after Abba’s marriage nine states ratified the new Constitution of the United States; and a Custom Service was being created, and Custom Duties would be charged to consumers.  After Hannah turned down Louis’s marriage proposal, Louis married an Indian female, and they had a baby girl.  After giving birth Louis’ wife died; and Louis returned to Salem, Massachusetts.   With the baby in his arms, he visited Hannah and asked her to care for the newborn child for the next two months.  The child’s name is Night Song.
 
Captain Richard Lander of the restored ship named the “Prince” decided to help Hannah locate her brother Cabot William Chelmsford.  Lander and Hannah also decided to meet Captain William Burnaby of the British ship named the Neptune.  They boarded the Neptune and showed the captain a letter they received from Thankful.  The letter said Burnaby was Cabot’s natural father and Sarah is his birth mother.  He said that he may be Cabot’s father, but he is not certain because Sarah had died and never told him about Cabot’s birth. He also confirmed that Cabot came to meet him the day before Hannah and Richard Lander arrived.  Burnaby is now planning to return Cabot to the parentage of Nathan Chelmsford.  He also told Hannah he wanted to give her money to pay for his education. 
 
Hannah learned that Nate and Abby survived the wreck of the “Swamp Fox” ship in the Caribbean.  They were rescued by the crew on the ship “Suffolk.”  They are recuperating in the Canaries Islands.  Hannah then received a letter written in the Canaries by Abba and delivered by a messenger.  The letter featured the sinking of the boat they were on.  The sinking was caused by a violent storm.  Abby and her husband were saved by Captain James Barr of the Suffolk and his team of shipmates.  She told Hannah in the letter that she was able to find her quilt patch on the sinking boat.  She requested Captain Barr for a fabric that he owned for her to weave into her quilt patch. She told him he will always be remembered for his bravery and kindness by her family and close loved ones who see the quilt with her patch.  Soon after receiving the letter Hannah took baby “Night Song” to the nearby Christian Church where she was given a Christian name and baptized. 
 
Margaret’s betrothal Richard party arranged by Hannah was accosted by two men demanding that the Indian baby “Night Song” be removed from Salem immediately.  Indians according to the men are not allowed to be in Salem.  Hannah and Parson Bentley among others were appalled.  Richard Lander told the men they do not represent the people of Salem.  Richard then took the baby and told the men her linage and told one of the men to hold her in his arms.   The baby smiled and cuddled in his arms.  She then took the child back and the men left.  Hannah had fabrics associated with everyone for her quilt stitching except for Abby and Thankful.  Louis’s came back after a two-month military recruitment of 250 soldiers to fight in the frontiers for American Revolutionary freedom.  He told Hannah his parents who live in Philadelphia disliked Indians and would not want to be in the presence of Night Song.  Hannah was very angry by his parent’s bias.  His parents told him to take his daughter back to the Indian settlements to be raised and cared for.  He asked Hannah to take Night Song under her care until he returns from the frontier warfare.  She told Louis, “I Will be glad to have her.”  She also told him she wanted to christen her with the name Georgiana.  He agreed and told her, “Make her turn out like you.”  She asked him to give her a piece of fabric for her quilt.  He gave her a piece of his homespun frock coat.  He told her he will send her money to help fund his daughter’s care.  Mrs. Haffield White who knew and admired Hannah’s mother learned about Hannah’s care of Night Song and she visited Hannah to tell her that a movement is underway in Salem to closedown Hannah’s father’s manufactory.  There is widespread concern about how women employees are mismanaged and overworked.  Many of the women workers were married to Revolutionary soldiers who were fighting and not at home.  The women labored six day weeks and long 12+ hours each day at the manufactory.  They operated cotton carding and spinning machines.  Many are also war widows with children at home.   Salem wants the pressure on women employees to end, or they will work hard to shut down the factory.  A committee was formed to make this occur.  If this happens Hannah will face a financial care giving dilemma.  Mrs. White asked Hannah to visit the mill, spend time with the female workers, and advocate for less work hours with more time off.  Hannah’s father is not in Salem to manage the change.  The burden is on Hannah.  The Beverly Cotton Manufactory is in dire straits.  Mrs. White then told her that Hannah’s sister was kidnapped from her father by Indians.  “The child is gone.”  Hannah encourages her father’s partner Mr. Geoffrey Leonard to increase the women workers food allowance, have Minister Bentley’s team prepare food baskets, and develop a program for teaching workers to wear comfortable working attire.  These changes have a strong impact on the survival of the manufactory.   She also told Mr. Leonard to stop taking church donations out of his worker’s pay and then give the money to his St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.  She next arranged for him to pay stipends to home weavers for the comfortable work clothing.  She also arranged for fabric donations from many Salem businesses.  While making these arrangements her father returned to the family home in Salem.   Her brother Lawrence went in search of Thankful.   Louis also agreed to help in the search for the kidnapped daughter.  Hannah’s father accepted Night Song living in his home under Hannah’s care.  At Night Song’s christening he sponsored a large party and to celebrate baptism.  Her Christian name is “Georgianna.” 
 
Richard Lander returns after 13 months at sea on his boat “The Black Prince.”  When he arrived, he gave Hannah fabric for her quilt.  The fabric was brocaded with gold thread.   Mattie prepared a tray of hot chocolate for Hannah to enjoy the next morning after Richard’s return from his voyage.  While Hannah drank the chocolate mix, Mattie bathed and dressed baby Night Song (Georgianna).  Richard Lander who Hannah loved was visiting her father.   After the visit he walked with Hannah in the flower garden pathways and proposed marriage.  On the walk Richard’s Black Prince boat was being unloaded, the boat cargo had of 158,544 pounds of black pepper from Sumatra.  The cargo also had black Hyson tea, porcelain, silk, many curios including gold, shells, and elephant teeth.  His import duties were over $9,000.  He also owed money to Hannah’s father who was an investor in his cargo.  He and his team of investors paid for over half of the cargo.  Hannah agrees with Richard Lander that they should pay her father and his investor team before they marry.  She and Richard want to be free of her father’s control.  Richard will take a second cruise to acquire cargo to fund the payments to Hannah’s father.  The epilogue chapter discusses Thankful’s life in the Shawnee Indian tribe.  Louis visited the Shawnee Tribe where he found Thankful.  She told Louis she loves being a member of the Shawnee Tribe and being free from the overbearing parentage and behavior of her father.  She told him to share her love of the Indian nation with Hannah.  He honored her request!  She also told Louis to tell Hannah that she (Thankful) was working on a fabric for her family quilt.  She is fashioning it from a doeskin and beaded fabric. On her his note the book ends. (P)

[Kailia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to try and make this a short review because I can't really say much without giving everything away!

First and foremost, I've heard a good deal about Ann Rinaldi's writing. She is a historical fiction writer and I love, love, love this genre. So this became the first book I read by her and I loved it. It gave a good insight to what life in 1788 was like. Further more, this story took place in Salem, Massachusetts where the Salem Witch Trails were held. Until this book, I didn't read much about this sea post town and how the war had affected it.

Even more than that, I loved Hannah's character from the beginning. She was a strong willed, courageous girl who went to all odds to keep her family together. As the reader, you have to give Hannah a lot of credit because so much is going on in her life! Not only goes her sister elope, her father, brother and another sister go out west, and soon Hannah's once betrothal comes to Salem with a half-Indian baby.

As the story progressed, Hannah became more and more independent and she grew up into a woman. There were ups and downs, times when she wanted to scream or cry, but she held in. Ann Rinaldi wrote a book that caught my attention and kept it. Maybe it's the history geek in my saying that this was an engaging read.

But one thing in this book that was interesting to me was Abigail's (she's one of Hannah's younger sisters) elopement . Her beau, Nathaniel, was 24 while she, Abigail, was get this, 15. I think I'm still getting used to the fact that back then, such marriages weren't that...weird? But I thought it was interesting how well Rinaldi wrote about Abby and Nate's relationship. Though they weren't mentioned a lot, I could see how two people of such different ages could be together.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read these books more than once since purchasing them for our daughters in the 1990's. They are complex enough for adults and do not contain swearing or sex although there is romance.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I was expecting. I have also read Girl in Blue by Rinaldi and loved it, so I decided to try this series. A Stitch in Time was a very fast read and I want to know more about Hannah and her life. However, I think the other two books in the series are about totally different people. It was kind of weird to read about the new country of America while learning about it in summer school history. It's so weird - once you learn about something, you seem to notice it more and more. Just in the first few pages I read about Shay's Rebellion, the closing of Boston Harbor, troubles with the rebellions, and ships utilizing the slave trade. And I understood the implications and background behind all of them. It's amazing how much history affects our daily lives. This book perfectly expressed people's reactions to things such as Indians and slaves. It gave a voice to the people I had been learning about. Rinaldi really knows her stuff. I love historical fiction and am going to read the next two in the trilogy soon.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a boring book! I read it on the recommendation of the school librarian. She heard I took an interest in reading historical fiction and suggested Ann Rinaldi. I found it to be light on the historical side and even worse on plot. I was so sick of hearing about the mother that fed the British and Hannah's woes as her family rifts further apart.




The rest has spoilers, but I refuse to censor my whole review because I think people need to know what kind of snooze-fest their in for. If you even have a mild interest in this book, don't read on. You have been warned.




















The ending epilogue pisses me off to no end. Thankful being worshiped and refuses to go home because of her own selfishness. She doesn't even consider the fact that her brother and Louis can never go home to their families because she's being such a brat. And what's with this quilt?! Threadbare meaning at the most. "Oh, you can only contribute to the quilt if the family trusts you. Will you give me a piece of cloth for the quilt?" Lame.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first part of the quilt trilogy by Ann Rinaldi. It starts off in 1798 and centers around a girl named Hannah and her family. Her father is ultra-nasty; her mother is dead; she has a younger sister who is basically a total brat, and a younger brother who is fascinated with ships.

The book is basically a story of the family and how it goes through a variety of changes. There's a good bit of romance, but also a good bit of nastiness from her father, from another man, and a bad situation for women workers in a textile mill.

There's nothing of any major historical importance about the book, other then it gives one a view of events going on at that time in the nation's history including the increasing number of wars with Native Americans as settlers were pushing further and further west.

The other two books will continue the story of further generations in the family.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Does anyone remember John Jakes and his big series of books about a family moving out west and all their heartaches, etc? This is kind of like that on a much smaller scale. Hard to get into b/c not much in-depth about any one character, but a LOT of events happening that swirl around one person, and a lot of characters in her life. A good review of life at that time, I suppose. Not my fav by this author.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book and the connection that Rinaldi brought to the family that is falling apart. When a family does fall apart there is often one person, in this case Hannah, who tries to be the connecting force. Hannah tries to connect everything in her life together by creating a quilt. It is a quilt of trust as she tries to bring those she trusts together in a post revolutionary Salem, Massachusetts.

[Breda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I'd love this quite as much reading it for the first time as an adult, but in middle school, I found it SO romantic. I was fascinated by the setting, which Rinaldi always shines when writing, and this book definitely contributed to my lifelong love of tall ships. The maritime culture suffused through this book is wonderful. I didn't like the sequels quite as much, but this one captured my imagination, and it does hold up to later rereadings.

[Rachel N · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Stitch in Time seemed a bit slow at first, but then I started to care about the characters. By the end, I was wishing I had the sequel so I could keep reading about this post-Revolutionary Salem, Massachusetts family. I love historical fiction. The perfect occupier for a rainy-day-stay-at-home-with-a-headcold read. (Reads like a Hallmark movie.) 6th grade reading level.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this exciting and engaging story about a family seemingly becoming ripped apart. Heather tries really hard to keep them altogether even when challenged with so many different things and issues of trust. I love the idea of a trust quilt that she makes with only fabric from loved ones the family trusts.

This is my series selection.

[Victorianromantic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might be alone in my saying this, but this was a rather good book. Nobody that has read it seems to agree with me, and it does get slow in parts, but I pleasured to see how this part of family history began.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a disfunctional family in the post-revolutionary war era and of one daughter always trying to hold everyone together. It is very powerful and a little haunting. I am excited to read the rest of the series.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Rinaldi was one of my favorite authors growing up. She writes historical fiction for young adults and does a fantastic job. I remember her books well. I think I may re read this one to see if it is as good as I remember even 10 plus years later.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

How much do I enjoy Historical novels and Rinaldi is the expert. It is obvious that she has done much research! Her characters are well developed and the story-line is intriguing. I am ready to read the next book in the series!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! There was a little of everything in it -romance, defiance, ect... This was the best of the trilogy in my opinion (of course I didn't like that the trilogy took on different generations in each book).

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this series to see if it was appropriate for my 12 year old. While the story line was okay, there was adultery/affairs (no details, but was throughout the book) as well as a couple instances of blasphemy.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I am finally done with this book! It was slow going for me until the middle of it and then the pace started to pick up and get really interesting. I may even read the other two books in the series. I would recommend it for anyone who likes historic fiction books.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Ann Rinaldi, and I really enjoyed the whole series. Rinaldi was the turning point between my vehement denial that historical fiction was of any interest to me and my love of the genre.

[Hannah Kendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I wish it ended a little differently. I would love to know how Richard and Hannah's life turned out. I love Ann's writing style and cannot wait to read more of her books!

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

How are all of Ann Rinaldi's books so good?! I don't love all of them; not all of them are the same level of Ultra-Amazing as In My Father's House; but I don't think I've read a single one that wasn't solid.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked on her writing. They are researched history books with the character experiencing the events. This book disappointed me when I could not continue the trilogy.

[Dale]

Lisa C. and I loved her books

[Hadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salem, MA, 1788-91
Social structure of New England town
Trading voyages
Conflict with Indians
Early mills and conditions of girls working there

[Nancy Bielski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember looking at this book at BN for a LONG time...finally bought it and loooved it.

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really quick read. I enjoyed it, and will probably look for the rest of the books in the series.