Daughter of the Loom

Bells of Lowell #1

by Tracie Peterson, Judith McCoy Miller

With the extraordinary changes to society and families ushered in with the Industrial Revolution, the quaint countryside of Lilly Armbruster’s youth has been transformed, bringing to some great wealth and to others, tragic loss. Forced to work in the mills as her only means of survival, Lilly is deeply resentful of the powerful mill owners she believes have stolen her father’s farm and caused his premature death.

Though intent on avenging herself, Lilly is torn when she discovers her one-time betrothed, Matthew Cheever, is hand-in-glove with the "lords of the loom." With her heart conflicted and her ideals faltering, Lilly’s values -- and tenuous faith -- will be put to the test.

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

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Tracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.

pen name: Janelle Jamison

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 very painful, oh my God let it end, stars.

I read this book for IRL book club, and I admit had it not been for that reason I would have bailed very early on. Definitely not the kind of material that appeals to me. In fact, I think it fails on almost every level. I did not find the characters realistic enough to be engaging, I found elements of the story preposterous, and while the blurb regarding the author lauds her meticulous research, I felt she dealt so little with any historical details that she might have gleaned the facts from a very cursory examination of a school textbook that included life in an early 19th century mill town.

Where it fails the most egregiously, for me, however, is in its understanding of Christianity and God. Our main character, Lily, begins the story set upon seeking retribution from the textile industry that has replaced her father’s farm. She does this with the full conviction that God has sent her to exact punishment. In this endeavor, she sets a fire and is responsible for serious injury to a fellow worker. She never confesses her part in this, but she nurses the injured girl and admits to herself that she must seek God’s forgiveness for what she has done. That apparently makes it okie-doakie. Ah, were it only that simple!

There are numerous bad men in the tale, none of which receive any punishment sufficient to their crimes. In fact, one of them is given a promotion and a chance to leave his wicked ways, and immediately does. But, who among us could believe after all the evidence of his lack of remorse, his predatory attitude and his abuse of power that he would go straight with only a minor talk by some church elders?

Oh well, I could go on, but you get the idea–this is a book for the very young and naive, who can still believe that the good are nearly perfect and the evil are only waiting for the right moment to be inspired to mend their ways. I like my characters to have depth, my religion to have complexity, and my history to have allure.

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls)]

DNF @ pg.22-ish
I cannot get into this story, y'all. I've tried for days.

I can already tell it’s going to take a while for me to like her…she feels so young, which seems to be a common thread in this author’s books I’ve attempted to read recently. She’s determined to cause trouble for the mill that caused her father’s death and thinks that God has called her to do that…hmm. Just sayin' that I’ve read books with serial killers who had that same thought and it never goes well.

Side note: Not sure why the description says it’s the end of the 19th century (therefore late 1800s), when it’s actually set in 1828?? 🤔

I didn't read enough to have any content notes, really.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read many different genres, most books and movies these days have much sex and cuss words in them, and I am NOT a prude or boring HONEST all you have to do is see my reading list as proof! lol. On occasion I get tired of them and find myself searching for Tracie Peterson, Judith Miller and other authors that write historical, Christian and Amish based books. I really enjoyed this book and intend on purchasing the others in this series. I highly recommend this book as well as others by these authors and others in these types of genres for a refreshing occasional break or full time reading in this day and age. I felt that this story truly was something that could have happened and the characters were well thought out and believable. Another great book! :-)

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction is among my favorite genres because it not only takes you to a different time and place, but one that actually existed, and into which any of us could very well have been born. This novel had a rather convoluted plot, and engrossed me from the beginning. These days, it's hard to imagine a life before all of these modern conveniences...but, this book does a very good job of illustrating that time in our history.

[Carol Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this engaging love story between Lilly and Matthew, woven around interesting historical era of the development of milling in America in the early 1800s. Great characters and pace, and fascinating commentary on the complexities of modernisation and its effect on people's lives.

[Joleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I was learning about Lowell MA textile manufacturing life in early nineteenth century and was enjoying it. Then about 1/4 of the way through it things kept bothering me.
Lily is determined to ruin the manufacturing business in the town of Lowell, MA. In her estimation it has ruined her happy farm life by buying up all the farmland and by putting up monstrous buildings, and destroying the beauty of her town. After losing everything she goes to work in one of these plants hoping to wreak havoc enough to make them fall, and thereby bringing back the farmland. Mind you, this is a perfectly sane young lady who actually believes this is a mission from God. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say she was deluded. As a Christian and a bible reader, she can't possibly believe God could cause her to seek retribution by destruction of property, and put to death the only source of living hundreds of people are depending on. That's the first item. (She does start a fire, which causes her some heartache, but she repents, works double to help her friend out who was burned, and that's the end if her retribution).
But throughout the book travesties happen at the hand of truly rotten people, travesties which are either swept under the rug, ignored, or dealt with in such ways that NONE of them are caught, disciplined, or in many cases, stopped. Some are found out, but instead of bringing the law into it, they are actually given accolades and encouraged in a higher position of responsibility, in order to bring about "a change of heart".
A member of the company's board is seen coming out of a hovel after he's the cause of a woman screaming in the poorer Irish slum area where prostitution is sought out. It is ignored and Matthew (Lily's ex-boyfriend and lawyer for the plant) is told to just accept it.
A man (supervisor of women-workers) who gropes women employees, and who seeks "favors" for rewards, is never reported for this behavior nor brought to justice.
The working conditions are atrocious, the pay is low, and accidents abound. Nothing is done, nor is anyone seriously seeking to improve any of it.
Everything is done in a passive way, and the authors seem okay with this, since none of it was approached differently.
It was frustrating. I won't give it a lower rating because it was well written, for the most part, and low ratings should be reserved for books you either want to throw against the wall, or you just can't stand finishing. I did want to finish it, but Lily's complete acceptance in the end of all the conditions disappointed me.
I won't be reading this again, nor can I recommend it.
Just thought of one more thing... I don't know who came up with the title, but it's wrong. Lily is no daughter of any loom. She's a farmer's daughter and hates anything having to do with the textile looms. So why they call it this is baffling to me.

[julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was a very sweet one, about a girl, Lilly, who has to figure out how to forgive those who have come in and industrialized her small farming community. She begins work in the textile mills that have invaded her community with the idea of sabotaging them, and while she does come around to repentance and forgiveness, it's not a sudden, flipping of the switch, 'Oh, I guess I was wrong" type of change. There's more growth to it than that. I'm also not quite sure I like the thought that a woman needs to have a man in order to be taken care of, but I suppose since this is set in the 1820's, I can live with that. Back then, that seemed to be the case more often than not--one reason the girls saw working in the mill as a good thing. They could earn money in an acceptable way to help their families while they waited for Mr Right to show up.

There are a few other threads of story here, but as this is the first in a trilogy I didn't expect them all to be tied up neatly, though Lilly's story was. This story also relies heavily on the fact that these people are all very religious--the girls in the mill are required to attend church every Sunday as part of their contract. It's nice to read a book that doesn't shy away from religion.

[Kate S · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book and the next two in the series were given to me by a friend's mother. As I work my way through books I own but have never read, there will be several unusual things which come up in my reading list. This was a nice story, just not really the kind of thing I truly enjoy reading.

[Sheila Samuelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 Stars!!
Review:
This was my first time reading a book in this series but only my 3rd time reading a book by Tracie so i kinda knew what to expect but sadly i was hoping to enjoy this book more then i did, if it hadnt started off so slowly.

The Characters were fun and interesting to read about Lilly was definately my favorite since i felt the grief she was feeling after losing her father as ive been going through that for the past year and a half.

The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in Lowell, Massachusetts while reading, especially when the scenery was described.

Overall an OK Book 1 in this Historical Fiction Series about Daughters of Mill Workers!! I will read more in this series and by Tracie in the future, i just hope the other books in this series arent as slow starting as this one was.

[Rachel Merriman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was interested in the setting of this story and I generally like these authors, but I did not like this book. (For one thing, despite the action in the story, I got bored with it and put it aside, reading several books before going back and finishing it.) I enjoy a story of redemption. I do believe in forgiveness of sin and the God given grace for people to completely change their lives. However, it seems the author forgets that forgiveness of wrong doing does not mean that individuals won't or shouldn't face earthly consequences for their actions. Imagine if a large manufacturing or retail company moves into your small town and puts all small business out of business, forcing residents into working for them and then treats them poorly. You feel the best or only recourse is to burn the business down. In doing so, you severely injure someone. You repent and then go on with life seemingly unaffected. Repenting and changing is good, but YOU'RE STILL GOING TO GO TO JAIL. In short, Lilly was an arsonist who didn't seem to have any personal consequences for her actions. Imagine if the other girl had died: Lilly would have been guilty of manslaughter, as well. Imagine if Matthew and his employer found out he was married to a woman to who set fire to the business. I imagine he wouldn't be employed there much longer. That's another thing: Matthew is an idiot. So, at the end of the story, his girlfriend tells him her brother was planning another arson against the company, but- don't worry- he's a changed man despite his immoral past. Oh, and he suddenly showed up in town again. Matthew says: that's great, let's go dance now. What if his employer knew that Matthew knew about the threat and did nothing about it?

And I know this is the first book in the series and the story isn't done. Maybe some of these things will be addressed later.

One final thing that bothered me was the relationship between the abusive man (ALREADY forgot the character's name) and his wife. I personally have not been in a physically abusive relationship, but I do know that it's complicated. And, again, people can change their habits, but in this scenario, I find it unlikely. An abuser definitely does not change by being 'tricked' into stopping their actions, as it seemed happened in this book. This part seemed insensitive to people that are actually in this situation. It made me a little angry.

Anyway, I won't be finishing this series.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

book review Daughter of the Loom
by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

This book was excellent, well written and a good story plot that developed
and kept going in a way that kept me interested all the way through.
This is part of the 3 books, Bells of Lowell series, and this is book one.
The story takes place in 1828, in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the Industrial Revolution
of America. In Chapter One, the main character, Lilly Armbruster, is portrayed as a
determined, but struggling displaced farm girl, who is forced to work in the new
weaving mills because the land her parent's farm was on was bought, and then developed
for industrial uses. She's angry, and grieving, because her life has been drastically changed,
and her dad recently died, after her mother.
Other characters are Matthew Cheever,part of the organization that
is running the Lowell mills, Kirk Boott, mill owner, Addie and Mintie, sisters who run
separate boarding houses for the mill workers, and various young women who live
at the boardinghouse, and work in the same mill as Lilly.
The Christian perspective is intertwined in the story, and a couple of times,
you are told how to be born again, and enter the Kingdom of God. Lilly struggles
with her faith at times, but she has a supportive group of people who show her
answers to her conflicts, eventually.
I highly recommend this book, it's CLEAN Christian historical fiction, and you would
never be embarrassed to be seen reading it. No sexual situations, no questionable relationships. Those types of additions to Christian books just make it cheap and trashy, and, are
becoming somewhat common amongst SOME Christian author's stories. This book, Daughter of the Loom, has no mention of
anything that conflicts with the Bible, as far as I can tell, so relax, and enjoy learning about the
development of Lowell Massachusetts during part of the Industrial Revolution. It's a really
enjoyable read, and you can learn some real American history too.

[Gayle Pace · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW:

This book is a sweet historical romance about a young woman who loves the farm life and the peacefulness of the town and country which she lives in. Her name is Lily. Lily is extremely angry and unhappy since brick mills have started to take over the farmland. Her no good brother has gambled away what her mother and father left them when they died. Lily is all alone and extremely bitter. She has vowed to bring down the mills even if she has to do it herself..

It appears the town has taken sides. Boarding houses with up to 8 girls per room are up and down the streets of the town that has now lost it's name. Lily doesn't like to give in. Some of the people who were against the mills have now accepted them. She can't understand why a ex-boyfriend and former farmer has turned and is now a mill executive.It seemed like the characters were just happy, happy, happy. They were always nice, forgiving and loving. The only character who really appeared to be REAL was Lily. She got angry, was bitter, mad and wanted things back like they were. It seemed like when a character could stand up and go against what everyone else is doing, it fell flat. All it took was I'm Sorry and all was well.. Life doesn't work that way. Christians are just like everyone else. They get made, angry , sad and all the other emotions we all wish we sometimes didn't have.I felt that the book was really slow paced and I just about gave up reading a couple of times. It just didn''t hold my interest. I think we need a little realism here. I would say , read the book and come up with your own conclusion. Not every thinks the same or likes the same things.

I would give this book 3.5 Stars.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Christian Book.com for this unbiased review.

[Mercy Cobb · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you enjoy sweet romances set in a historical setting to completely move you away from real life and any true conflict or character growth then this is a good book for you. I had to force myself to finish this book. I kept seeing hopeful elements that this book would deviate but kept getting annoyed and yelling at the book. Not because I was emotionally involved and cared about the characters. I could not relate with a single one and they all seemed surfacfy happy go lucky Christians who live in a world where everyone automatically forgives each other and is nice to people. Except for the main character who erratically get angry and offended at every little thing. Lilly's attitude aggravated me to no end. All the characters lacked development and were not used to their full potential at all.
There were several potentially great moments to exhibit character growth and challenges. A couple examples are when Lily has the chance to stand up against an abusive husband or where she makes a foolish choice that harms a a friend. It all ended easily with just a ""sorry", "it's ok".
This book was hugely disappointing. It left me completely disgusted with the "happy Christian world" of "romance" that plagues the Christian market which has absolutely no basis in truth or reality.
There. Tried my best to be positive.

[Keri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Industrial Revolution has always been one of my favorite eras in American history and when I saw Daughter of the Loom, I was instantly drawn into the story.

Lilly Ambruster hates everything about the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts because they have not only replaced the beautiful farmlands she called her home but also because her once betrothed has joined the Associates running the mills. But after the death of her father, Lilly has no choice but to join the mill girls and work for the very industry she so despises. Can Lilly learn to forgive and maybe even learn to love again?

I have a mixed reaction concerning this book. The parts involving mill life and the industrialization really intrigued me, as well as the romance. On the other hand, the religious aspect seemed out of place at times and verged on being a little bit boring and out of character. Lilly also didn't grow on me, just because her stubbornness concerning the mills grew irritating. Up until the end of the book she believed the entire town was on her side in hating the mills, when it was clearly the other way around.

While the historical aspect pulled me in and the romance inspired me to keep reading, there were points when I set the book aside for weeks because entire chapters dealing with faith grew boring in the middle of the action concerning the Association and mill workers.

[Melissa Levine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a VERY BORING story. I had a really hard time getting through this. It seemed to take years just getting past the 1/4 mark. All that business talk at the beginning, majorly dull time there. The author should be glad that I didn't just do one star. I gave it two because I liked Miss Addy, she was a sweet character. I did like how she and her sister, Mintie, both ended up with someone special. I don't think I was really a fan of anyone else in the story. I didn't feel connected to anyone either, so whatever happened to them...well whatever, didn't really care. I just wanted to the book to end already. Thankfully I finished it!! Yeay! I would have liked the author to finish the part dealing with the little boy though, considering Lilly thought her brother had a child. I get it's a series, but I don't think I could manage dealing with another book by this author. So no thanks.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, this book had so many flaws. The main character, Lilly, had a chance to really learn forgiveness in both being forgiven and forgiving. Unfortunately those situations were so shallow or nonexistent. Lilly makes a huge judgement in error that resulted in some serious consequences. a little guilt and a very little thought was all her punishment. Really? Ugh!! It was so phoney! Lilly also ran hot and cold towards her romantic interest. Her change of heart towards him was SO underdeveloped it was laughable. So many "secondary plots" were left unresolved which just bugs!! This is one of 3 books.Definitely won't be reading the others.

[Julie Bihn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this free for Kindle and enjoyed it. I didn't think the romance was the best aspect at all--I was more drawn to the friendship between the girls and the side story romance, than the relationship between the so-called "hero" and the heroine. There are the standard misunderstandings causing problems, and the heroine does at least one really stupid thing that causes major problems, but those are fairly common for the genre.

I would have actually preferred to see more detail about the mills, but I know in historical romance, the history is supposed to take a back seat. Still an enjoyable book (for free).

[Lynn Ratliff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story of finding self and recognizing that our ways are not God's ways. The authors weave a story of the horrid working conditions of early industrialization and how bitterness and anger can cloud our vision of God's will for our life. Lilly loses nearly everything and becomes bitter and vindictive. Through a very loving friend she learns that what she thought was God was only her selfish ways. She soon learns to break through the anger and listen to God. A few loose ends points to a series but a very good book by itself.

[Merredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a historical fiction book set in Lowell, MA, right at the time they started the textile mills. I was interested in it because i didn't know much about that part of history, and I'm from MA. But it was more a random gooshy story that happened to be back then. I did learn some of what those mill girls lives were like, which was interesting. overall, this book was ok. not bad, not great. It was too tied up too. I won't read the rest of the series.

[Tinamari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there was nothing inherently wrong with the storyline at face value, the characters and setting seemed rather one-dimensional. The change which occurred in the heroine did not happen in a gradual way, but rather quite suddenly with no apparent reason; similarly, her feelings toward her eventual fiance were cold one moment and warm the next. This frustrates the reader; one would like to walk the path of change in a character with them, but this story does not allow one to do so.

[Adrienna · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the early beginning of this read, it is not catching my interest. First time reading this author and was recommended by an author-friend to check out Judith Miller who is a co-author on this project. I will see if it catches my interest about 10% or so; otherwise will pass and go to my next read. Gave it 13% and will have to pass onto another read.

Leisure eBook read 2014; digital library read.


Adrienna Turner
Dream4More Reviewer, www.dream4more.org

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this author in the religious section of a used book store, and thought I'd see what was at the library and give it a try. I have a hard time finding books clean enough for my liking and figured this would be okay. It was basically a historical romance. My mom would call it a bathtub book. But it was clean!!!

[Mandy Spigle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read from Tracie Peterson. The Belles of Lowell series transports you to a different time when life was tough and finding true friends was even tougher. The chronicling of these girls lives during the industrial revolution will make you laugh, cry and thank God for your 8-5 desk job! Be ready to be sucked in to a series you won't want to put down!

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those freebie friday links which I chose as I have said because my grandmother was a mill worker before she met my grandfather. I got the rest of the trilogy because of the writing. It is a bit simplistic in its faith stance, but sincere in its belief system. A "sweet" book. Looking forward to the others

[Sandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok . It caught my interest because it took place in the mills of Lowell Ma. and I do like historical fiction . I have lived in that area and have been in some of those mill buildings repurposed as studios, galleries and housing. I enjoyed the story but at times struggled to finish it

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet and good historical including the way people looked at different cultures, the Irish, the Negroes,etc. Tells of America's history of making cloth from cotton after separating from the English oversight. The character of Lilly is a growing heart and mind, seeing for herself right and wrong she was taught in the Southern culture of slavery.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have liked other Tracie Peterson books, but this was was dull! I LOVE history, and I seem to like these Christian historical romances (in general). But this one, ugh. I couldn't make it through it, and I haven't quit a book in the middle in a long time.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is highly recommended to absolutely anyone who likes history it is about a girl named lily whos family died leaving her brother in charge he then sold the farm and she was forced to go to tpwn and work at a mill the book shows the hardships they went throughto make a living in a mill.

[Kim Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read more about how the industrial revolution affected small farming communities in New England around the 1820s. It had some romance, suspense, history, class and society clashes, and some Christian themes as well.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very good book. I enjoyed reading it. It took me a bit longer to get into the book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters and plot of the story. I can not wait to read the next book in the Bells of Lowell series.