Rolling Years

by Agnes Sligh Turnbull

A first-rate panoramic novel of three generations -- the setting shifting from New Salem to Pittsburgh. The theme of love down the generations, with the shift in time deftly conveyed:- the change in the relations of a woman and her husband, the differences in religious thought and its influence on the lives of the little community, personality dominating events.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Novelist Agnes Sligh Turnbull was born in 1888 in New Alexandria, PA. After a dozen years as a short story writer, Turnbull wrote her first novel, The Rolling Years, published in 1936. In the 14 additional novels she wrote over the next 40-plus years, Turnbull built a thorough chronicle of the Scots who settled and farmed rural Westmoreland County. Turnbull died in 1982.

Reviews

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronicle of three generations (1870-1910) of an American family livng in a Scottish Prebyterian community in western Pennsylvania. Turnbull's novels are gentle reads with memorable characters.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the historical setting, especially looking into the strict Calvinist beliefs, how they molded the lives and relationships of the characters and how they changed over the years. I enjoyed the relationships across the generations, and the family ties that proved stronger than disagreements when crisis arose. This is a gentle, easy book that makes me laugh and cry.

I read this book for the first time when I was in high school and loved it. Unfortunately, I loaned it to a friend and never got it back. Every five or 10 years, I seek it out at the library and read it again...it's about time for another read, and maybe to share with my daughter now

[Lita Bouquard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this years ago and am searching for a copy. My library only has 1 copy in the closed stacks. How sad that no one has read this book in years. It was one of the first books I read when I left the children's section of the library. I remember rereading it several times. It reminds me of Virgin River series in that is is the recalling of everyday events in the life of 3 women. The setting was late 1890"s? through generations. It was heartwarming and a real look at life as it was back then. I will look for other books by this author if available.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love her writing!

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like other books of its kind and era.

I found this author by doing my family history and reading a letter between relatives a generation or two back, where one told another that she'd heard Turnbull's books were a good representation of my ancestors' lives--the Presbyterians in western Pennsylvania. Judging by what I know of books, that area, and my family history, I'd have to guess that that's accurate.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting window into what life was like in western PA 100+ years ago, but too much of the book is about making pretty dresses and finding prince charming.

[Cindy Work · Rating 3 out of 5]

(From Leon Porch)
The Rolling Years is the first novel by the American writer Agnes Sligh Turnbull (1888 131982) and it is set in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh.

It is a family chronicle (1852 131910) of three generations of Scottish-American Presbyterians in rural Western Pennsylvania and their struggles to maintain their strict faith. The first generation is Daniel and Sarah McDowell, a farm couple. Sarah bears 12 children (of whom five survive) to her dour Calvinistic husband; her bitterness about her repeated, difficult confinements is effectively shown. The second generation is about their children, David and Jeannie. David moves to Pittsburgh where he becomes a judge. Jeannie marries a minister who has been serving as the local school teacher to earn money to complete his education. Jeannie's daughter, Constance, represents the third generation. She becomes a school teacher and struggles to find her place in a changing world. The novel dramatizes the gradual weakening of the strict Calvinism of the Scottish immigrants in an increasingly secular society.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

ILL FROM THE OREGON STATE LIBRARY.