An Uncertain Dream

Postcards from Pullman #3

by Judith McCoy Miller

When Pullman Car Works employees walk out in protest of their wages and high rent, Olivia Mott is torn between her loyalty to the company and her love for Fred DeVault. Amidst the turmoil in Pullman, Fred is asked to act as a local delegate to the national convention of the American Railway Union, but when the delegates vote in favor of a nationwide boycott of the famous Pullman sleeping cars, Olivia wonders if Fred will ever be able to return to the company town. What will become of their growing affection for each other? Who will prevail in the company strike?

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Romance, Historical, Christian Romance

376 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

Judith McCoy Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels. Judy and her husband make their home in Topeka, Kansas.

Reviews

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The finale to the Postcards from Pullman series didn't bring the fun or finality I expected after reading the first two installments of this trilogy, in fact, there were two (and a half) characters completely ignored as the neat ending was wrapped up in perfectly creased paper and a fluffy bow.

So much time was spent on the history of the strike and the tedious day-to-day affairs of those (though related) who were not the forerunning characters with whom I had bonded during the rest of the series, that the fun, sassy, and comical wit which drew me in was lost completely.

I appreciate an ending, I was just hoping for a little more info and a less rushed conclusion.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the third of the trilogy and the book I enjoyed the most from a historical viewpoint. The characters continued to be well developed and the storyline kept my interest, but the theme of the strike of the Pullman workers was excellent. The cause for unrest which led to the strike and the effects of the strike on the participants and their families was well done. The greed and indifference of capitalism (corporate conduct which I know first hand)continues to be despicable! BTW, checked the historical facts...well done! This trilogy is recommended if you enjoy historical fiction.

[Edward Ruder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who is the romance between?

Is the romance between Olivia and Fred, or the author and unions? I pretty much had to force myself to finish the book. I’ve read other books by this author that were pretty good, but this series wasn’t. She really lost her perspective and pushed the union good / company bad mantra. Lets just say the romance story totally got lost, (but she tries to catch it all up in the last few pages after chapter after chapter after chapter of union this strike that) unless the romance was really between Miller and unions.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this series a lot. I wish she would have wrapped up the ending a little bit better because there were a couple of characters who had open endings. Other than that, this was a great series!

[Becky Taggart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty disappointing. I LOVED the first book. I felt like it struck the perfect balance of the romance and everything else. But the romance got watered down with every chapter/book after. I skipped so much of this book cause it was so focused on the strike and the other side characters. I loved Fred in the first book, but I feel like he was also watered down by the time we got to what was supposed to be the resolution of their romance. I think their romance was drawn out and do I didn't care that much but the time they finally got together. The author used the time gaps between the books to "explain" the progress in their relationship, but it just felt lazy and confusing. First book was amazing, but didn't end with a resolution, so you had to read the second one, and that one was just a lot of misunderstanding and wondering from the characters. I'm glad that we got more of Charlotte in the second and third book, but the author COMPLETELY dropped the ball with her ending. She doesn't have one.

[Kimberly Burkhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first 60% of the book, it was mostly about the strike of the workers. Though I love the history aspect of it, I was hoping for a little more romance. I did get to see a little more of Charlotte's POV. The last part of the book is where the romance came back. But it felt rushed. After reading two books before this about Olivia and Fred's relationship, this book kinda just wrapped things up real quick for me. I didn't get the satisfaction I was hoping for. And some of the other characters storylines were just left hanging.
As an overall series, I really enjoyed learning about the town of Pullman. Infact, I hope to one day visit it and learn more about it. The romance for me could have been flushed out a little better but I still enjoyed the series and will read more from this author.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this at a secondhand store not noticing that it was the third of a trilogy. I'm pretty sure I read the first one years ago though.

Anyway, I gave 1 star because I like historical fiction and 1 star because I liked most of the characters.

That's all I can give because the accounts of the strikes were repetitive and dragged on. I didn't enjoy the writing style. I would have given 3 stars but the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. And Fred & Olivia 's back and forth about getting married was annoying. Fred was simply annoying.

I would have liked to hear more about Charlotte and Matthew, but their story was startlingly underdeveloped.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book in the series and I have to say that I enjoyed it more than the first. Maybe it was because I knew most of the characters and their personalities.

I did feel that the story moved a bit slower than I would have liked but I still liked it very much. I was glad to see Charlotte growing up and treating others better.

I look forward to the conclusion of this series. I'm curious to see what happens with some of the characters that I like as well as those I don't care for.

[Christina Sinisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reviewing for myself, rather than the review team this time.

I'd still give the same numbers, but will be briefer...I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed learning about a time in history when I knew very little--the depression of the 1890s and the Pullman strike. However, I would say that I might have liked a little less history and a little more connection between the hero and heroine.

Having said that, I'm actually considering finding the next book, just because....

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during the Pullman railway strike, this book helps the reader feel very involved in the conflict between management and union workers. Strangely enough, a fairly minor character ended up being one of my favorites because of his personality and choices - Chef Rene’. The ending was satisfying, and I didn’t foresee things working out in the manner they did.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book to fulfil the goal read a book you meant to read in 2018. i am sad to see this series end. with the first book i was less than impressed, but the characters grow on you. i still stand by the fact that in places it does seem a bit preachy, but overall i really enjoyed the book.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Musings

I grew to love these characters and will miss them. A few thing have been left in resolved but I shall use my imagination to complete their stories. Glad I found this series. Happy reading!

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978-0-7642-0278-0

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fastly wrapped up a story that took 3 books to tell
The story. Read only if you have the time to read all three.

[Samantha cicconi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the whole series

Love this series
Caught my attention from page one, book one
Have read series 2 times ( never before )

[Cherish Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed to drag a bit more than the first two but overall I enjoyed the series.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The storyline of a railroad car employee strike was hard for me to get into this series; probably because I lived thorough a strike with my spouse and young children. Otherwise, I enjoyed this authors writing.

[ryan lugay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really likes this series!!

I greatly enjoyed reading this series. I loved the history, I loved the characters and how she woven the story together. I felt like it ended a little abruptly and didn't really finish some of the characters stories completely but all in all Very enjoyable!!!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third and final book in the Postcards from Pullman series, so I had high hopes for it. I enjoyed the previous two books, even though I had so many questions after I finished reading them. for the most part, all was resolved in the final book, but there was a lot about this one that I didn't like.

First of all, in book two, Olivia is still fighting off the unwanted advances of her boss, Mr. Howard. He is convinced they should be a couple and she is either too naive to notice, or too afraid to risk losing her job to say anything. Either way, everyone else around her knows that he is weirdly possessive of her. But in book three he has suddenly stopped all contact with her, and doesn't seem to care that she has chose someone else. I found this hard to believe because he was so obsessed with her before, and now he is okay with letting her get away.

Secondly, the description of this book says Fred may not be able to return to Pullman after getting involved with the American Railway Union, which is true in a sense. If he loses his job due to union affiliation, he can't live in Pullman anymore, but the way the description is worded makes it seem like he is in danger is he returns. Not true! Fred comes and goes from Pullman often and has no issues.

My final complaint with this book is actually the ending. We all know Fred and Olivia end up together, but I personally wanted more info! Do they have the wedding they dream of? Does Fred's new job prove successful? Does Olivia find other employment? And what happens to Charlotte? We know she returns to Chicago, and has a new romantic interest but we know nothing of what happens to them in the long run.

Overall, the book was enjoyable but I had hoped for a better ending.

[Shawn Mullin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Potential to be good but left with unfinished business.

The story over all was good. There were too many characters to follow and the series ended with no conclusions for some of the characters. It just felt over all it was rushed and not well thought out.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strike! The strike! The strike that got so much talk in the second novel, Whispers From The Rail, is finally here. The time? 1894. The place? Pullman, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois. Olivia, Fred, Charlotte their stories continue on in this third and final installment.

Olivia Mott, an assistant chef, has been courting (on and off) Fred DeVault, one of the leaders of the strike, for years--since she first arrived in America from England. With some complications I might add--her naivety, her lies, his stubbornness, his jealousy, his pride--not to mention the whole seeing other people thing. But now the impossible has happened: he's finally admitted (after 700 pages or so) that he wants to marry her! Will things be that simple after all?

Charlotte. The spoiled Lady Spencer whose reputation was shattered when she conceived a child out of wedlock. She's been to England (and back again) and now is living with her son, Morgan, in Chicago. Still staying with the ever-faithful Mrs. Priddle. Still working for Marshall Field. But now there's a man in the picture. The journalist Matthew Clayborn whom we first met when he was flirting with Olivia in the second book.

Love is definitely in the air in this final installment--even Mrs. DeVault, good-old-Fred's mother, finds love. Can you guess with who?

That's not to say An Uncertain Dream is all happy-and-gushy. There's plenty of hardships--not just convulluted episodes either--the strike, unemployment, tensions between the police (and army) with the strikers and innocent bystanders, women's rights, sexual harassment, hunger and poverty.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Uncertain Dream is the third in the Postcards from Pullman series.
The Postcards from Pullman series is a Christian historical fiction series set in Pullman, Illinois in the 19th century. Olivia Mott is a young chef at the Hotel Florence in Pullman. Life in Pullman has become stressful as the workers strike and George Pullman refuses to meet their demands. With her boyfriend Fred at the front of the striking workers, Olivia finds herself in a hard situation with her job.

Lady Charlotte Spencer is faced with tragedy in England. She travels back to Chicago with her young son and her new purpose in life. She also discovers that love can come at unexpected times.

Overall, it was a good book and a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I really enjoyed learning the history of the Pullman Company over the course of the three books.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the series Postcards from Pullman, this final book was my favorite. I was surprised that the ending was left open—-at least more open than I expected. I enjoyed this book more than the previous two because I found humor in this book from the character Matthew Clayborn. I laughed out loud several times from the dialog. Like the other books in the series, An Uncertain Dream is filled with life-long lessons of moral richness. The ending was suitable and the series improved from this final book. My one complaint of the book is, as found in the previous two books, I found some of the characters too naive and some of the plot too predictable. However, I enjoyed it and would highly recommend the entire Postcards from Pullman series to all young women.

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'An Uncertain Dream' in 1884. In Pullman everyone works for Pullman Car Company owned by Mr. Pullman. The salaries are low and the rent gets higher everything is bought from the company store. The people are outraged at the prices and can not make ends meet. So the only thing that can come out of this is a strike! The town has meeting after meeting to discuss what needs to be done. Olivia is torn between her love for Fred DeVault and the loyalty to the company. Charlotte has gotten her child back and is doing her best to work and raise him herself. This is a very moving trilogy I enjoyed it and was entertaining it keep my interest throughout although there were no real surprises in it.

[Jennah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series, I liked how each book was a continual of the main character. This is my first time reading a book that involved a story about a strike so it was interesting to read. I am still confused about how the strike ended, though. My favorite character was Chef Rene, he was always funny and I just enjoyed reading what he had to say. I loved the Christian lesson that was taught in this book. We always blame God when bad things happen to us but when something good happens we say it is "luck". We should praise God for both the good and the bad things because He allowed it to happen and He will use it for our good and His glory.

[Betty Ost-Everley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith McCoy Miller created a historic series based on the real town of Pullman, Illinois. In this third and final book of the Postcards from Pullman series, Miller continued the plot line from the previous two books in nice fashion. While most of the character's story lines were concluded nicely, there were at least two that were left dangling. Since I know what eventually happened to the town of Pullman (four years post-strike), perhaps Miller was intending to resolve all of that in a future book. I thought it was an enjoyable read, and her meticulous research was evident.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miller is another author I've been wanting to test out. Now that my wish has been satisfied, I can say I won't be actively searching her novels out.

This book was fine. It had a plot and I was quite relieved to see none of that "I just met you! I'm in loove!" nonsense, but it wasn't incredibly engaging.

The characters had well, character, which is not something just any book can boast, but beyond that everything else was pretty average.

I don't regret reading it, which is always good but it dragged a lot at certain points so I won't be jumping to read more.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a satisfactory conclusion to this great series. Most questions were answered and the major one that wasn't...you can guess what happens. It did seem to end rather suddenly after taking 3 books to reach the end, but then again...it took 3 books to get there, so I can't say it wasn't expected (if that makes sense)!
I've enjoyed the Judith Miller books I've read. I really appreciate how clean they are!

[Pamela T Lindau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much better closure

I admit that after reading the first two books in this series that I was very disappointed with how they left me hanging. But, that being said, I did purchase the 2nd and 3rd books in the series because I needed to see how it all ended. Was not disappointed. If only history had been taught this way in school, I may have enjoyed it much more. Very entertaining rendition of this time in history.