The Quilter's Legacy

Elm Creek Quilts #5

by Jennifer Chiaverini

Readers of Jennifer Chiaverini's popular and engaging Elm Creek Quilts series are treated in each successive volume to storytelling that expertly weaves the joys and intricacies of history, quilting, and family ties. In The Quilter's Legacy, a daughter's search for her mother's treasured heirlooms illuminates life in Manhattan and rural Pennsylvania at the turn of the last century.
When precious heirloom quilts hand-stitched by her mother turn up missing from the attic of Elm Creek Manor, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson resolves to find them. From scant resources -- journal entries, receipts, and her own fading memories -- she pieces together clues, then queries quilting friends from around the world. When dozens of leads arrive via the Internet, Sylvia and her fiancé, Andrew, embark on a nationwide investigation of antiques shops and quilt museums.
Sylvia's quest leads her to unexpected places, where offers of assistance are not always what they seem. As the search continues, revelations surface about her mother, Eleanor Lockwood, who died in 1930, when Sylvia was only a child. Burdened with poor health and distant parents, Eleanor Lockwood defied her family by marrying for love. Far from her Manhattan home, she embraced her new life among the Bergstroms -- but although warmth and affection surrounded Eleanor at last, the Bergstroms could not escape the tragedies of their times.
As Sylvia recovers some of the missing quilts and accepts others as lost forever, she reflects on the woman her mother was and mourns the woman she never knew. For every daughter who has yearned to know the untold story of her mother's life, and for every mother who has longed to be heard, The Quilter's Legacy will resonate with heartfelt honesty as it reveals what tenuous connections bind the generations and celebrates the love that sustains them.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Quilting, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Mystery, Contemporary

310 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-three novels, including acclaimed historical fiction and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series. She has also written seven quilt pattern books inspired by her novels. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, "In addition to simply being fascinating stories, these novels go a long way in capturing the texture of life for women, rich and poor, black and white, in those perilous years."

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to really enjoy Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt series. I'm not a quilter, but the characters are so engaging and I'm really enjoying the family history aspect the last two books have brought in. Going back and forth between present day and past - and letting the reader in on more secrets than the present-day characters know is a clever device that makes you want to tell Sylvia what you know as she tries to piece together the elements of her history. I'm moving on to "The Master Quilter."

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best one of this series so far. I like how she combines history, genealogy, and quilting along with the story.

[Trisha Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review posted here: http://onceuponatime-bookblog.blogspo...

The fifth novel in Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt series focus's on Sylvia's quest to find five of her mother's cherished quilts. Sylvia's mother died when she was a child and Slyvia has fond memories of learning how to quilt and making her own quilts. After the estate feel into debt, Sylvia's sister sold the quilts to pay for living expenses. After learning of this, Slyvia journeys across the country with her finance, Andrew, to try to find the lost quilts. The story was a little farfetched (to say the least), but I loved the historical details and the story. Slyvia's mother was such an interesting character and I enjoyed learning more about her life and how she came to live at Elm Creek Manor.

[Crystal Cichanowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of my favorite so far in the series. Just lovely

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the juxtaposition of the two stories of Eleanor and Sylvia. Sylvia is trying in her older years to track down some of her mother's special quilts that her sister sold. Meanwhile Eleanor is telling the story of her early young adult life and the making of the special quilts. It was quite interesting to see the family from both perspectives. Well written story that I very much enjoyed.

[Chattynatty Van Waning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has truly become my “go to” for when I want a good read. I especially liked this one as the story was centered around one of my fav characters from the series Sylvia. This is mainly the story of her mother, with some of Sylvia’s own story sprinkled in. A story that brings to the forefront how unkind we can be to our own family, and sometimes blood relations isn’t enough to bring people together.

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great edition to the Elm Creek Quilt series. This one starts with Sylvia, the owner of Elm Creek Manor, finally saying ‘yes’ to her longtime friend, Andrew.

As she begins to look for her mother’s wedding quilt, she finds that her sister had sold them all in a time of desperation. Sylvia’s friends try to help her track them down.

As this is happening, we go back in time to the late 1800s, and we learn the story behind each of the missing quilts and about, Eleanor, Sylvia’s mother.

This book is rich in characters and heartfelt stories. It is woven together with perfection. It is truly a beautiful read, and one I very much enjoyed.

5 stars

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed continuing the journey with the women and families of Elm Creek Quilts. I still find Sylvia rather selfish and annoying, I struggle to see her as a mature and wise elderly woman, but I definitely found the story of Eleanor to be engaging.

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used the family tree diagram in the front of the book frequently. The topic of finding missing quilts is explored, and we learn about Sylvia's family.
I really like this series.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well-written book. I loved how the story weaved in the present, the past and pieces of unique history, along with a reminder of how quilts can be historic pieces that weave a story.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so nice to rejoin the Elm Creek Quilt series and the familiar characters created by Jennifer Chiaverini. I thoroughly enjoy these books.

[Sorcha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resolving to locate her mother's heirloom quilts after so many years, Sylvia Compson embarks on a cross-country investigation of antique shops, quilt museums, and other, more unexpected places, where offers of assistance are not always what they seem. And as Sylvia recovers some of the missing quilts and accepts others as lost forever, she reflects on the woman her mother was and mourns the woman she never knew.

Following on shortly after book #4 (the Runaway Quilt), this continues to focus on Sylvia and her investigating her family's past. Sylvia and Andrew are now engaged, and Sylvia is shocked and disappointed to find that her estranged sister sold off all their mother's quilts before she died. In a desire to have her mother's wedding quilt for when she and Andrew get married, she starts searching for them to mixed success. The book interweaves chapters between Sylvia and her mother, a supposedly sickly woman who elopes with one of the Bergstrom men.

Once again this book combines a lot about Quilt history and the difficulty attributing quilts to specific people (especially when the pattern has been published in a magazine and the quilter doesn't name and date the quilt). Family relations continue to run through the book, especially of those between mothers and daughters.

Some threads are left open for the subsequent books. One thing that I wasnt convinced by was Andrew's children's objections to the marriage - Amy in particular seemed to object to it over much on what seems to be a fairly flimsy excuse - Sylvia being 7 years older than their father and already having had an excuse, they object cos they dont "want her to be a burden when she gets sick again".

[Shannon White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how these books weave the family history with historical events as ways of allowing the reader to have context of the passage of time. This story had some great feminist themes and also some personal tragedies.

One part of reading this book that may not have resonated prior to recent events, for me, was the framing of the Spanish Flu in context of the story. As we are just coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2021 is when I discovered this book) it allowed me to reflect on how we truly will repeat things we do not fully understand from our collective histories.

As a quilter - I loved the missing quilt search and of course references to the various blocks, designs, real life designers and various techniques.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chiaverini has a fertile imagination and she makes up a backstory for Sylvia Compton with something like love. Sylvia is getting a little better in interpersonal relations, now that she is ready to marry (and does, during the course of this story) but she occasionally goes off the rails and says exactly what she thinks. At her age, she should be entitled to this, but it is rather hard to take, regardless.

The quilts (twelve stitches to the inch!) sound lovely, especially the lilac and elm. Even the seven stitches to the inch that Sylvia is able to produce sound like a typo. What kind of needles yield that kind of stitch length? I might get five on a good day.

[HadenXCharm · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a heartwarming cozy series this is. In this book, Sylvia hunts down her mother's lost quilts, as well as grapples with being rejected by Andrew's children as they get married.

We've heard so much about the Bergstrom family, we now get to hear a bit about Sylvia's mother's story and her side of the family. Her father is some kind of factory baron, skimming money off of the backs of his workers and keeps trying to union bust.

We've got some similar sister drama to what Sylvia and Claudia go through-- Eleanor has an older sister, Abigail, who is always moaning that her life is soooo hard and that she neVeR gEts to dO aNythiNG-- meanwhile, Eleanor, her little sister of 9 ACTUALLY never gets to do anything and is presumedly going to die young, and Abigail literally says 'wow, I wish I got to die young, then I'd get spoiled like you-- even though Abigail is literally the spoiled golden child. She's somehow jealous of the attention her sick sister gets. Really petty and bratty.

The historical portions of the book take place during the rise of unions fighting the capitalist class, women's suffrage, the spanish flu, and WWI. Eleanor's nanny, Miss. Amelia Langley, shapes a lot of Eleanor's young life with her progressive opinions. We got to see a women's suffrage meeting, in which the debate was had on whether to focus on the right to vote for white women, or to include black women as well. It's well known that a lot of suffragettes were incredibly racist upper-class women. Apparently the old lady in the meeting was supposed to be Susan B. Anthony.

We also got a chilling interlude about the 'spanish' flu, which was funny in a way, since this book was written like 20 years before Covid, but so many of the things in there mirrored what happened during Covid, i.e. people insisting that churches remain open because god will save them, people not wanting to wear masks, and then a single stupid fucking idiot condemns the entire town to death because he thinks he's special.

I love how Chiaverini weaves multiple plot threads together at once and creates parallels through the generations. Eleanor and Abigail are both shown running away and defying their parents with their marriages. Sylvia and Andrew are going through something similar because their marriage is rejected by Andrew's children, but they do it anyway.

That's one thing I didn't get. I don't understand why Andrew's kids are so against the marriage. They're not just dubious about it, they're like STRONGLY against it, and the reasons they gave are such bullshit. 'It'll make our dad sad and hurt him to be in love with you, because you're so old that you're gonna' die soon, and he'll have to mourn you-- So we're going to hurt our dad and make him sad by alienating him in his twilight years and refusing to be in his life in protest of the marriage.' Makes no fucking sense.

Also, do these kids realize that all relationships end? Your relationship with your parents, your siblings, your spouse, your children, your friends, every single person you know, all relationships end one day, because we all die. Does that mean we should spend our lives in a locked room because if we met another person and became emotionally attached to them, we'll be sad when they eventually die? That's ridiculous. I kept thinking maybe there was something more, like they were worried their dad's money would be spent on Sylvia's medical care when she eventually gets too old to keep going-- Disgusting selfish brats, which is wild, considering both kids are in their early 40s at the least. They're grown adults with teenage kids of their own. Rotten apples.

Another thing-- Eleanor was a bad mother. The way she favored Claudia literally mirrored how her own abusive mother favored her healthy sister, Abigail. She should have empathized with Sylvia, considering she was in her same position, but instead her excuse was, 'Sylvia is strong enough to take the neglect and favoritism towards her sister.' Her whole family gaslit Sylvia into thinking she was the bad child and that Claudia is better than her, when it was literally the opposite.

The christmas party and the wedding was so sweet. The ending as well, when she finds her mother's quilt and her legacy that was carried forward by Amelia Langley. I can't wait to read the next book.

[BellaGBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

(...)

The books switch perspective between contemporary time and history. One part is the life of the Elm Creek Quilters now, and the other part tells the story of Sylvia’s family from the moment they moved to Waterford halfway the 19th century. This particular book focuses on the history of her mother, called Eleanor, who grew up in New York around the turn of the 20th century. Eleanor has a heart condition which the doctors fear will lead to an early death. Consequently, her whole family treats her as a dying small bird and the only one who treats her as a normal person is Frederick Bergstrom who sells horses to her father. Frederick harbours a secret love for Eleanor. When Eleanor has to flee her family home in New York to avoid a forced marriage he offers to take her to Waterford. Eleanor agrees and they get married soon after.

(...)

What I like most in this series is the changing perspective between the contemporary and historical part of the story. Each book in the series focuses on a particular member of the Bergstrom family, so each book gives you new clues to piece together their complete family history. This also makes me interested in the other books in the series, which is a smart move by Chiaverini. Both the contemporary and historical perspective are told from the perspective of a woman. Its focus is on how the women find a place for themselves in the world and happiness at whatever time they are living. It is interesting to read how historical events and times impact that. However, some of the historical parts of the book felt unrealistic to me. The Bergstrom family seems to be caught up in ALL major events in American history. Be it the abolition movement, the Titanic, the Spanish flu or the Second World War. It was especially unrealistic because the Bergstrom family are somehow always on the ‘right side’ of history. I get that Chiaverini wants to use the family to write about American history, but I think she is too ambitious.

Despite these shortcomings, I thoroughly loved this book. I cared about the characters, and it was interesting to read about their lives, despite it being unrealistic at times. Focusing on the female perspective and quilts also adds something very wholesome to the books. Quilts are often associated with groups of women working on them in companionship. This is combined with a quiet kind of freedom because through a quilt a woman has always been able to express and explore her individual taste and personality. This is done in solidarity with other women. In these books the same kind of solidarity and warm feelings are present. This makes the books a perfect feel-good read when you need a pick-me-up.

This is only part of the review. Read the full review at Bookworms United

[Jo Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the Elm Creek Quilts books are hit or miss. I personally prefer the stories that take place in recent times, at the quilt camp and not the ones that go back in time to Sylvia's time as a child. However, this one, #5, was much better, maybe because the flashbacks were about Sylvia's gentle mother Eleanor, and the horrible life she endured with her selfish and morally ugly parents.
The Quilter's Legacy starts with Sylvia searching the attic for her mother's old quilts, that Sylvia remembers using as a child. Sadly, Agnes tells her Claudia sold them all, when she and her good-for-nothing husband ran the property into the ground. Heartbroken, Sylvia says she will search for them and Summer helps by creating a web page that can report lost or stolen quilts.
Beside wanting to hunt down the sold quilts, Sylvia is faced with another dilemma--Andrew's grown son and daughter, especially his daughter, Amy, are against his marriage to Sylvia, partly because Sylvia is a few years older than Andrew AND had suffered a stroke a while back. Amy thinks Sylvia will break Andrew's heart when she dies before him. Yes, another horrible person for us all to hate, on top of Claudia, and now Sylvia's mother's rotten parents.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book although since it was on Kindle, there were no pictures of the quilts mentioned, which I would have enjoyed. Other than that, I couldn't put it down and actually was up until 5 am reading.

[Lindsay InAustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a quilter and a former long time resident of Central PA, I love this series of books. The characters are beautifully crafted, and the settings are so accurately described. But this one was particularly poignant. This book, published in 2003, includes the time the Spanish flu ravaged the world, including Pennsylvania. The townspeople in the story abided by mask rules and the shutdown of gathering places initially and escaped any infections for awhile but soon abandoned masks, reopened churches against rules, and violated quarantine… and the deaths piled up. They experimented with homemade recipes ( some quite dangerous) as “cures.” And more died. It was heartbreaking to read a book written and published so long before COVID, and see the same behavior…and the same deadly consequences. Normally, these books are wonderful escapes… this one was in large part. But reading about what people could have learned from but did not was a chilling reminder of our failure to learn from history. Highly recommend this boo and the rest of the series but this one may strike too close to home for many.

[Adrian Colon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this story on a whim years ago, and I'm still fond of it. It was a slow day at work, and I didn't know what else to do with myself, so I rummaged through the random assortment of magazines and novels in the employee lounge. I happened up this book, and I don't remember what it was about the book that caught my interest, but I picked it up and started reading it, and once I did, I couldn't put it back down. I couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and longing while reading Sylvia's story and "walking" beside her as she learned these untold truths about her mother. Which made me realize how little I must know about my mother. She was a woman with her own story before she was the woman I would call mom for the entirety of my life, but I never considered that. In addition to the eye-opening revelation, the beautiful sprinkling of historically accurate past events in an obvious fictitious tale made this story stand out to me. I'm a bit of a history buff, and I love how Jennifer Chiaverini added some history to the story without making it the entire focus.

[Diane Bubier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book series. There is history and the intriguing history that is found in quilts and how sewing and those who excel at it have managed to make it into an art form as well as a practical part of our lives. The character growth in all of these is wonderful and I love small town stories. It’s also nice to see all the places Andrew and Sylvia visit. The one thing that I had trouble with, and actually I do know of people who object to this sort of thing and that is the children of Andrew objecting to the marriage of their dad to Sylvia. It’s incomprehensible to me and yet I have in years gone by I have seen it where children didn’t think their parents should marry or they assumed that because somebody is old, they can’t be doing things like traveling and sports and things like that. There are some people that seem to think that old people are on the brink of death, even when they’re quite obviously not.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvia is searching for information about the wherabouts of her mother's quilts, so she and Andrew (with some help from Summer) head out on a quest. Meanwhile, they hit the road to let Andrew's family know about their plan to marry.

I love the way Chiaverini alternates the story of Eleanor (Sylvia's mother) with the present day story of Sylvia's search for the quilts and Andrew's conflict with his children. The historical story is filled with tales that fill in the Bergstrom history and connect the reader with Sylvia's ancestors, and the current story is one many people can identify with -- the difficulties involved when adult children don't see eye-to-eye with their elderly parents.

If you are a fan of the series, this is a "must read" since it fills in so many of the blanks in Sylvia's past. Plus....SPOILER --

who doesn't want to see Andrew & Sylvia finally get married?

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The background on Sylvia's family of origin and early childhood are an interesting story in of themselves and add so much to the complex character Chiaverini has created in Sylvia Compson. The details about the Spanish flu are chilling and helped me put some of my own family's history into perspective, since my grandmother lost a newborn in that epidemic. The description of how it affected the Bergstrom family brought tears to my eyes as I pictured my grandparents' tragedy. Although I loved the historic family saga most, the story of Sylvia and Andrew and Sylvia's search for her mother's quilts is interesting, too; and there is much food for thought in contemplating Sylvia and Andrew's December relationship and Andrew's family's less-than-supportive reaction. I'm sure we haven't heard the last word on that situation, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.

[kmm1985 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this addition to the Elm Creek Quilts series... I have read many of them, but somehow missed this one (I have been reading them in the order I am able to check them out from the local public library). It was wonderful to learn the story of Sylvia's mother, Eleanor, her story, and how the quilt bug was introduced to the family.

The uncanny, eerie thing is that I read this book in the middle of our state's lockdown during COVID-19 sequestering. I had picked up the book, events began to transpire, I pulled it off my pile and began to read. Imagine my SHOCK when I hit the chapter about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. Uncanny, but then again, there are no coincidences in God!

Working my way through all of J Chiaverini's books, one at a time...

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Quilter's legacy is #4 in the Elm Creek Quilts novels written by Jennifer Chiaverini. I gave it a 4 star rating but if I could I would give it a 4 1/2. In this series there is always a running story about a quilt or a quilt camp but that is only a small part of the storylines. The author says that people who assume her books are only about quilts obviously have not read them. But the quilts are important to the character development. This novel tells the stories of the Spanish flu, women's rights and the love of family as well as a a long standing love affair of the heart. The author digs into history so her novels include many accurate details of the timeline in which the story is written. It is well written, interesting and is a very good read.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Present day continues with Sylvia Compson, master quilter and owner of Elm Creek Manor, determined to locate her mother, Eleanor Lockwood Bergstrom's, heirloom quilts after so many years. After searching all over the Manor's attic, with none to be found, she travels cross country with her beloved, Andrew at the driver's seat... investigating antique quilt shops, quilt museums, following every lead they hear of.
There are many flashbacks and generational stories from 1899 through 1927 that tell us of many family secrets lost through the years. In my opinion, this may be one of the best in this series so far, I guess because I am becoming so attached to the characters.
Written as the fifth in series, but I think it is better read after The Union Quilters.

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written novel with an intriguing storyline. The description of the fabrics, quilt patterns, and stitching techniques made the story become a richer narrative that engaged my imagination so completely that I felt as if I was holding the quilts in my hands. The interwoven storylines from Sylvia and Elenor were done in such a way that I didn't feel the jarring confusion that often accompanies books that have multiple time periods particularly when they are centuries apart. Although this is the first book I have read in the Elm Creek Quilts series I didn't feel at all like I was missing information that I needed to follow the story. I'm truly looking forward to reading more from this series.

[Andrea Dowd · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing "The Quilter's Legacy", I couldn't quite put my finger on why I didn't connect with the story or even care that much about any of the characters. Sylvia's hunt for her mother's quilts is a very sad and unfulfilling search, wrapped around the story of her mother's life, which is also sad and unfulfilling. Intertwined with those stories are the stories of how families can disappoint and kick those loved ones to the curb.

All in all, this book is sad. And though it ends with a wedding, a brochure that unravels a mystery that is half-baked, it still ends with estranged families. Unless you want to wrap up your Elm Creek series, this is a skip.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another offering in the Elm Creek Quilts series. These are quick, cozy reads but what I really enjoy about them is how the author not only has the main thread of the people who live at Elm Creek Manor but also includes the historical details that were happening at the times of their memories. In this particular story we discover that Sylvia's aunt perished on board the Titanic. The main story line here is about Sylvia remarrying and trying to track down her mother's handmade quilts that had been sold by her sister. The book alternates between the present and the past so that the reader is able to learn quite a bit about Sylvia's mother and her own childhood. A lovely read.

[Julie Cave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I am hooked on this series! Each title is so different but all integrate quilts and quilters and of course a bit of conflict into the storyline. This one centered on several missing antique quilts and a search across America to find them, and if possible return them to their original owner's family. In this particular title, Sylvia, owner of the Elm Creek Quilts manor, is the main character in search of her Mother's quilts, with the assistance of her main love, Andrew. Along the way, a major conflict turns up when his two adult children, adamantly opposed to his marrying Sylvia, try and stop an upcoming wedding.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Quilter's Apprentice years ago and found this title in the same series while on vacation. I was surprised by the historical fiction alternating chapters but loved how the author so expertly wove the story lines together revolving around four very special quilts. As sometimes happens in stories with many characters, or characters with large families, I had a hard time keeping who was who straight. I often wish the author had drawn a map or family tree. It was an enjoyable read. My favorite quote: "She was the warp and he the weft of their married life, two souls who had chosen each other, not knowing the pattern their lives would form."