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Re-Creations
When lovely Cornelia Copley's mother becomes ill, Cornelia must leave her beloved college and return home to care for her family. But things at home have changed a great deal. Her family is living in near poverty, in a shabby and dismal little house. And her younger brother has become rebellious and distant.
Cornelia is filled with dismay and self-pity. Then she overhears her youngest brother and her sister calling her self-centered and ungrateful. Suddenly Cornelia realizes that what they are saying is true--she has only been making matters worse! So she devises a strategy to repair the damage she has caused.
But is it too late? Can Cornelia find the right way to bring her precious family together again, and bring them a renewed sense of faith and hope?
Cornelia is filled with dismay and self-pity. Then she overhears her youngest brother and her sister calling her self-centered and ungrateful. Suddenly Cornelia realizes that what they are saying is true--she has only been making matters worse! So she devises a strategy to repair the damage she has caused.
But is it too late? Can Cornelia find the right way to bring her precious family together again, and bring them a renewed sense of faith and hope?
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
72 people are currently reading
381 people want to read
About the author
Grace Livingston Hill
591 books569 followersalso wrote under the pseudonym Marcia MacDonald
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.
niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.
niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
October 24, 2022
Great audio narration boosted it up to 4 solid stars. A real feel-good story, with adorable kids! E-book is probably in public domain, because the book was published in 1924, almost 100 years ago. I’m on a fixer-upper kick, from 🏚 to 🏡 . I selected Re-Creations for that reason. Like Hill’s other book, The Enchanted Barn, the house feels almost like a main character.
Sometimes I like to read about a group of people making a home together, fixing it up, making it more comfortable and beautiful, with few resources. From another classic GLH, see also April Gold, where a well-off family loses everything when the banks collapse during the depression, and move to a dismal little dump near the actual city dump. Time to fix it up and get a job. Or see also The Honor Girl, where the daughter of the family comes back home and fixes it up for her brothers and widowed father. Not to mention fixing up a TINY HOME in 1920s, in Not Under the Law, another home-making winner by Grace Livingston Hill.
This particular book is set in the 1920s in Philadelphia. A middle-income family hits rock bottom. The mother of 4 children takes a bad fall, suffers a breakdown, and enters a hospital / healing sanitarium. The Copleys must move into a dark, dingy, small home. Eldest daughter Cornelia must leave college (Dwight Hall, so possibly Yale, Connecticut) where she was studying interior decorating, art, and music and come home to care for the children. At first, Cornelia is angry and resentful about this. Her bitter reactions felt quite realistic. She gets over herself quickly and sets to work with a will. The two youngest children Louisa and Harry shine as they bravely help hold the fort together until mother gets released from hospital. Very touching and authentic, I thought.
Remodeling includes elbow grease, buckets of paint, needle and thread, trips to the city dump for discarded stuff, a friendly neighborhood carpenter, and numerous family-style meals.
The story has a strong Christian message especially in the second half. It also has a sweet, old-fashioned romance flavor. Fairy tale ending. 💕 The romance between Arthur Maxwell and Cornelia was nice, but not a huge part of the story. The enduring love between the downtrodden mother and father was touching.
Some Quibbles:
The opening premise is difficult to swallow — that this otherwise sensible family went into poverty to keep Cornelia at university, and that she never even knew they had moved, lost jobs, been hospitalized, etc. What? No mail with forwarding address?
The eldest son Carey (Kay) did not welcome or even acknowledge his birthday guest, Clytie — his girlfriend. And he didn’t seem to feel bad about ignoring her totally. I felt sorry for her. At least Cornelia did acknowledge that she set Clytie up for potential discomfort and embarrassment.
As for character development, Carey goes from wastrel to responsible too easily for me. However, it’s a short book and I did appreciate how the author allowed his character to grow through his love for cars and aptitude for machinery. Also, I liked that she allowed his character to remain stubborn, especially in how he guards his own business, his privacy.
There is a consistent “have-faith-and work-hard” Christian message. However, GLH can be quick to classify people. I didn’t like what felt like judgmental snobbery against the good-time girl, Clytie Amabel Dodd. Apparently, short tight skirts and bright red lipstick were very wicked indeed, in 1920. Not to mention DANCING! 🤪
Other home-making or fixer upper stories:
It started when I was in third grade, reading The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Much later, as an adult, I enjoyed how a bunch of destitute terrified prostitutes fixed up a “house of comfort” in fantasy author Michael J Sullivan’s The Rose and the Thorn. (Warning, grim bloody scenes!)
I also loved reading how an ex-con, delighted to be in the open air again, helped a young widowed mother fix up her broken farm in the 1940s, in the war-era historical novel Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer. Then there’s the unique aspects of home-making on an island, as per The Swiss Family Robinson and The Mysterious Island. I also enjoyed watching a dragon create a more comfortable cave in Victory of Eagles. Even on distant fictional planets I find fixer-upper stories, in I Dare, where the heroes transform a plastic monstrosity into a comfortable home and bring order to a chaotic city. I also tried a spooky romance novel about repairing a derelict old haunted mansion, Homebody. Lol. I’m all over the map.
Got any recommendations?
Sometimes I like to read about a group of people making a home together, fixing it up, making it more comfortable and beautiful, with few resources. From another classic GLH, see also April Gold, where a well-off family loses everything when the banks collapse during the depression, and move to a dismal little dump near the actual city dump. Time to fix it up and get a job. Or see also The Honor Girl, where the daughter of the family comes back home and fixes it up for her brothers and widowed father. Not to mention fixing up a TINY HOME in 1920s, in Not Under the Law, another home-making winner by Grace Livingston Hill.
This particular book is set in the 1920s in Philadelphia. A middle-income family hits rock bottom. The mother of 4 children takes a bad fall, suffers a breakdown, and enters a hospital / healing sanitarium. The Copleys must move into a dark, dingy, small home. Eldest daughter Cornelia must leave college (Dwight Hall, so possibly Yale, Connecticut) where she was studying interior decorating, art, and music and come home to care for the children. At first, Cornelia is angry and resentful about this. Her bitter reactions felt quite realistic. She gets over herself quickly and sets to work with a will. The two youngest children Louisa and Harry shine as they bravely help hold the fort together until mother gets released from hospital. Very touching and authentic, I thought.
Remodeling includes elbow grease, buckets of paint, needle and thread, trips to the city dump for discarded stuff, a friendly neighborhood carpenter, and numerous family-style meals.
The story has a strong Christian message especially in the second half. It also has a sweet, old-fashioned romance flavor. Fairy tale ending. 💕 The romance between Arthur Maxwell and Cornelia was nice, but not a huge part of the story. The enduring love between the downtrodden mother and father was touching.
Some Quibbles:
The opening premise is difficult to swallow — that this otherwise sensible family went into poverty to keep Cornelia at university, and that she never even knew they had moved, lost jobs, been hospitalized, etc. What? No mail with forwarding address?
The eldest son Carey (Kay) did not welcome or even acknowledge his birthday guest, Clytie — his girlfriend. And he didn’t seem to feel bad about ignoring her totally. I felt sorry for her. At least Cornelia did acknowledge that she set Clytie up for potential discomfort and embarrassment.
As for character development, Carey goes from wastrel to responsible too easily for me. However, it’s a short book and I did appreciate how the author allowed his character to grow through his love for cars and aptitude for machinery. Also, I liked that she allowed his character to remain stubborn, especially in how he guards his own business, his privacy.
There is a consistent “have-faith-and work-hard” Christian message. However, GLH can be quick to classify people. I didn’t like what felt like judgmental snobbery against the good-time girl, Clytie Amabel Dodd. Apparently, short tight skirts and bright red lipstick were very wicked indeed, in 1920. Not to mention DANCING! 🤪
Other home-making or fixer upper stories:
It started when I was in third grade, reading The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Much later, as an adult, I enjoyed how a bunch of destitute terrified prostitutes fixed up a “house of comfort” in fantasy author Michael J Sullivan’s The Rose and the Thorn. (Warning, grim bloody scenes!)
I also loved reading how an ex-con, delighted to be in the open air again, helped a young widowed mother fix up her broken farm in the 1940s, in the war-era historical novel Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer. Then there’s the unique aspects of home-making on an island, as per The Swiss Family Robinson and The Mysterious Island. I also enjoyed watching a dragon create a more comfortable cave in Victory of Eagles. Even on distant fictional planets I find fixer-upper stories, in I Dare, where the heroes transform a plastic monstrosity into a comfortable home and bring order to a chaotic city. I also tried a spooky romance novel about repairing a derelict old haunted mansion, Homebody. Lol. I’m all over the map.
Got any recommendations?
May 11, 2024
I believe this is one of my favorites of Mrs. Hill's novels. It is less a romance than a sweet tale of a young woman who must give up her last few months at college to help out at home when her mother is ill. At first she is depressed by the run-down home that her family had to move into, but as she realizes her selfishness, she puts her all into improving the place and being a good influence on her siblings. It kept me quite riveted though it is a simple enough story. It made me ashamed of my lack of industry over the years and encouraged me to be as hardworking and selfless as the heroine of the story. In the end she still uses her interior decorating skills as a business, but it is pretty much a from-home business.
April 9, 2017
College girl is called home early to help take care of her family through her mother's extended illness. One brother has fallen in with the wrong crowd, another is embittered, the sister is overworked, and the father depressed. What can a girl do? Get the whole family together to make a pleasant home! A flurry of fireplace building and gingerbread baking begins. I just love it. The romance is nearly an afterthought as the main focus is on love of family. And gingerbread.
Edit to add: I REALLY wish they had published these books with era-appropriate covers. How adorable could it have been, right?? Also, I think one character changes last names halfway through from "Knowlton" to "Maxwell".
Edit to add: I REALLY wish they had published these books with era-appropriate covers. How adorable could it have been, right?? Also, I think one character changes last names halfway through from "Knowlton" to "Maxwell".
October 11, 2024
I really enjoyed this sweet story, mostly about a sister making a home for her family while her mother is recovering from illness and her family is in reduced circumstances. She also finds that things often work out when she takes her troubles to God.
This was a sweet, enjoyable story.
This was a sweet, enjoyable story.
September 21, 2020
I adore all the passages about redecorating in this 1924 book!
January 3, 2020
This is a sweet book by G.L. Hill. Cornelia is enjoying her time at college learning to be an interior decorator. She feels important to her friends there, and looks forward to an exciting career.
Her dreams are dashed when she gets a lettter from her father, telling her that things have fallen apart financially for him, and the stress has created health problems for her mother. She has to come home because there is no more money for college, and she must also take care of the family while her mother recovers away from home.
When she arrives home, she finds things in a bad state. The old home is gone, the family is living in a tumble-down old house in a poor neighborhood, and her beloved older brother has fallen in with a bad crowd.
At first she is depressed, but then she realizes that she can improve things. She is able to use her decorating skills to make her home a place to be proud of.
This is one of my favorite GLH books. I have read it several times, I think because of the descriptions of how Cordelia and her family work together to make the old house into a home. The dinner party that they throw is fun to think about with all the little fancy things they put together for cheap.
Her dreams are dashed when she gets a lettter from her father, telling her that things have fallen apart financially for him, and the stress has created health problems for her mother. She has to come home because there is no more money for college, and she must also take care of the family while her mother recovers away from home.
When she arrives home, she finds things in a bad state. The old home is gone, the family is living in a tumble-down old house in a poor neighborhood, and her beloved older brother has fallen in with a bad crowd.
At first she is depressed, but then she realizes that she can improve things. She is able to use her decorating skills to make her home a place to be proud of.
This is one of my favorite GLH books. I have read it several times, I think because of the descriptions of how Cordelia and her family work together to make the old house into a home. The dinner party that they throw is fun to think about with all the little fancy things they put together for cheap.
May 19, 2021
This book was so much fun. I always love reading the books written by Grace Livingston Hill, and every one of them keep me up till all hours of the night ... the whole time I’m telling myself I need to go to bed, but dying to read more of the story.
What I loved: I loved the way Cornelia grew from being a pouting, self-centered, selfish young lady to a caring, selfless, loving person who cared about family more than anything else. I also enjoyed the way she creatively redecorated their run-down, drab house and made it into a home. She loved her brother back into the arms of the family by making their home atmosphere warm and inviting.
What I didn’t like: Some of the ideas and “rules” of etiquette in Ms. Hill's books seem old-fashioned and outdated, but in other ways they are endearing and interesting.
In the end, I gave this book five stars. All the books of Grace Livingston Hill teach strong family values and moral character, and the characters always grow and learn to have a stronger faith in God. I would highly recommend this book to anyone loving a good, clean, Christian love story.
What I loved: I loved the way Cornelia grew from being a pouting, self-centered, selfish young lady to a caring, selfless, loving person who cared about family more than anything else. I also enjoyed the way she creatively redecorated their run-down, drab house and made it into a home. She loved her brother back into the arms of the family by making their home atmosphere warm and inviting.
What I didn’t like: Some of the ideas and “rules” of etiquette in Ms. Hill's books seem old-fashioned and outdated, but in other ways they are endearing and interesting.
In the end, I gave this book five stars. All the books of Grace Livingston Hill teach strong family values and moral character, and the characters always grow and learn to have a stronger faith in God. I would highly recommend this book to anyone loving a good, clean, Christian love story.
April 5, 2019
I found this book recently, one of my favorite authors, and realized I'd never read it. It didn't look as appealing as the others, but I ended up loving it!
It was pretty old-fashioned, having been written in 1924, but for the most part I sure love the morals of those days, and I appreciated the character development of this story.
The main message of the story was "Love them back." The main character's brother has become seemingly morally lost, and needed the love of his family, and their dependence on the help of the Lord to bring him back.
Sweet read!
It was pretty old-fashioned, having been written in 1924, but for the most part I sure love the morals of those days, and I appreciated the character development of this story.
The main message of the story was "Love them back." The main character's brother has become seemingly morally lost, and needed the love of his family, and their dependence on the help of the Lord to bring him back.
Sweet read!
September 27, 2013
I was given this book by my great-grandmother and I ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would. The author is fabulous at weaving real-life worries in with lovely imagery and a plot that keeps you turning pages! Would definitely recommend!!
September 10, 2015
Cornelia is just the sort of heroine I like. Strong and self reliant, but not always perfect sometimes selfish, sometimes impatient, sometimes just discouraged, but she picks herself up and tries again.
Read
January 25, 2008Hill, Grace Livingston
May 28, 2009
These few books that I have read by Hill are wonderful in seeing just what tremendous influence women can have in the world.
December 14, 2009
Reminds me somewhat of another favorite for re-reading, EMILY OF DEEP VALLEY by Maud Hart Lovelace.
January 27, 2013
One of my all time favorite books.
July 30, 2014
Love this book! So sweet!
July 4, 2015
Good
Enjoyable and uplifting. I wonder why so many words are necessary for a review. I would do more reviews if I could just rate it.
Enjoyable and uplifting. I wonder why so many words are necessary for a review. I would do more reviews if I could just rate it.
Read
May 7, 2016Lovely
This is a book displaying so many human emotions that we have experienced. Love , disappointment, joy, soul searching and fears that we all have had at one time or another.
This is a book displaying so many human emotions that we have experienced. Love , disappointment, joy, soul searching and fears that we all have had at one time or another.
December 15, 2020
Rating: 5 / 5
Based on the summary, I'll admit that I went into this book with a bit of trepidation as to whether I would like it or not. It seemed to me to be a sort of reverse-Cinderella situation, wherein the family was welcoming and humble and did a lot of hard work but then the heroine, Cornelia, would be absolutely horrid and unappreciative to them until someone got her to see the light through Christ.
Boy, oh boy, was I wrong!
Granted, it's the summary that misled me. For, while it is an accurate summary, let's just say that it's an accurate summary for only about the first 10% of the book or so. Cornelia, in short, is only in a bad mood at the beginning over everything and very sullen that first night when she comes home, which discourages her family greatly as to whether they did the right thing in having to call her back from college. But then, literally as of the next morning, Cornelia quickly gets her act together and goes about fixing up the house with gusto, and no bad attitudes (from her, at least) follow at any time in the story! Instead, she's truly the interior decorator of her house and her family life, bringing about hope, beauty, and a sort of peace and connectedness over the household.
So, the summary aside, all of this story was quite delightful and all 300 pages (a bit longer than most of the Grace Livingston Hill books I've read so far) were full of interesting content to keep the story going!
The appeal, I should mention, wasn't just from Cornelia herself, but from all of her family. There's Harry and Louise, her younger brother and sister who at first comment on her as being a snob, but then quickly warm up to her once she shows that she does care about them and gets to work trying to improve their home. And then there's Carey, Cornelia's younger brother just on the cusp of manhood, who's grown distant from his family, the usual going out late at night and drinking/smoking combo as a form of rebellion. I thought that the way that Hill wrote about his reform and how Cornelia goes about it was very accurate and true to life, and presents good family morals as well and how to handle the lost sheep in our lives. Never by force or coercion, but softly, subtly. Cornelia was a master at this and I felt quite a lot of admiration for her and how she handled the situation.
Also, add to the family dynamic at least two good + one bad love interest, one so-so questionable friend, and a whole lot of drama against trying to get Carey to reform, and you've got several entertaining chapters ahead of you! The best for me was definitely the few several chapters that described the dinner party Cornelia put together--I just whizzed by those pages when reading everything!
So, yes, all in all, this was a super pleasant surprise and among the top on my list of Grace Livingston Hill novels! (Which is a list that I'll eventually have to get around to actually making, once I've read all her novels, but so far I think that this book can easily go within the top 10!)
Based on the summary, I'll admit that I went into this book with a bit of trepidation as to whether I would like it or not. It seemed to me to be a sort of reverse-Cinderella situation, wherein the family was welcoming and humble and did a lot of hard work but then the heroine, Cornelia, would be absolutely horrid and unappreciative to them until someone got her to see the light through Christ.
Boy, oh boy, was I wrong!
Granted, it's the summary that misled me. For, while it is an accurate summary, let's just say that it's an accurate summary for only about the first 10% of the book or so. Cornelia, in short, is only in a bad mood at the beginning over everything and very sullen that first night when she comes home, which discourages her family greatly as to whether they did the right thing in having to call her back from college. But then, literally as of the next morning, Cornelia quickly gets her act together and goes about fixing up the house with gusto, and no bad attitudes (from her, at least) follow at any time in the story! Instead, she's truly the interior decorator of her house and her family life, bringing about hope, beauty, and a sort of peace and connectedness over the household.
So, the summary aside, all of this story was quite delightful and all 300 pages (a bit longer than most of the Grace Livingston Hill books I've read so far) were full of interesting content to keep the story going!
The appeal, I should mention, wasn't just from Cornelia herself, but from all of her family. There's Harry and Louise, her younger brother and sister who at first comment on her as being a snob, but then quickly warm up to her once she shows that she does care about them and gets to work trying to improve their home. And then there's Carey, Cornelia's younger brother just on the cusp of manhood, who's grown distant from his family, the usual going out late at night and drinking/smoking combo as a form of rebellion. I thought that the way that Hill wrote about his reform and how Cornelia goes about it was very accurate and true to life, and presents good family morals as well and how to handle the lost sheep in our lives. Never by force or coercion, but softly, subtly. Cornelia was a master at this and I felt quite a lot of admiration for her and how she handled the situation.
Also, add to the family dynamic at least two good + one bad love interest, one so-so questionable friend, and a whole lot of drama against trying to get Carey to reform, and you've got several entertaining chapters ahead of you! The best for me was definitely the few several chapters that described the dinner party Cornelia put together--I just whizzed by those pages when reading everything!
So, yes, all in all, this was a super pleasant surprise and among the top on my list of Grace Livingston Hill novels! (Which is a list that I'll eventually have to get around to actually making, once I've read all her novels, but so far I think that this book can easily go within the top 10!)
September 10, 2019
This is one of Grace Livingston Hill's better books, set in the 1920s. It opens with Cornelia having to leave her beloved college right before she can get her degree in interior decorating. A family emergency has called her home: her mother is in the hopsital and they've just moved. A wonderful older woman on the train home befriends her and suggests that she could see it as a challenge to apply what she learned in college. The idea take ahold of Nell, as she is nicknamed, and soon she is deep into straightening out the mess the movers made. She learns that her family has lost just about everything and is living in a very poor neighborhood with all of their nice things sold, plus father had been ill a year and lost his job and they never told her so she could stay in school and not worry! Her younger brother and sister fill her in on the details until her desolation at leaving school is replaced with a firm resolve to make their lives easier and get things ready for her mother to come home from the hospital.
But the biggest challenge of all is her wayward brother, Carey. Carey used to be Nell's inseperable chum, but now was living a carefree life without a job and without pospects. He smokes like a chimney and hangs out with a guy who has money and fast cars, and is often gone all night or even several days on "joyrides" - and he has a flapper for a girlfriend. Cornelia and the family take on the challenge of trying to restore Carey to manhood before mother gets home, for surely his dissolution was a big part of what wore their mother down.
It's a Grace Livingston Hill book, so there's a romance of course, but in this book you get three romances for the price of one. There is the love of their father for their absent mother, who comes home toward the end of the book. There is the "right girl" who helps steer Carey toward a promising future. But, most of all, there is the son of the woman on the train, who gets entangled in their lives right when an old flame brings tempation back into his life: a woman that he used to be engaged to until he discovered she was still married to someone else! He is drawn to Cornelia instead.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed the hommaking aspects of Cornelia's story: the decorating, the cooking, even the cleaning. She was trying to make a house a home and save her brother as well as make a restful place for her mother to return to, so the motive made it wonerful. As a bonus, she got to start her interior decorating business after all.
But the biggest challenge of all is her wayward brother, Carey. Carey used to be Nell's inseperable chum, but now was living a carefree life without a job and without pospects. He smokes like a chimney and hangs out with a guy who has money and fast cars, and is often gone all night or even several days on "joyrides" - and he has a flapper for a girlfriend. Cornelia and the family take on the challenge of trying to restore Carey to manhood before mother gets home, for surely his dissolution was a big part of what wore their mother down.
It's a Grace Livingston Hill book, so there's a romance of course, but in this book you get three romances for the price of one. There is the love of their father for their absent mother, who comes home toward the end of the book. There is the "right girl" who helps steer Carey toward a promising future. But, most of all, there is the son of the woman on the train, who gets entangled in their lives right when an old flame brings tempation back into his life: a woman that he used to be engaged to until he discovered she was still married to someone else! He is drawn to Cornelia instead.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed the hommaking aspects of Cornelia's story: the decorating, the cooking, even the cleaning. She was trying to make a house a home and save her brother as well as make a restful place for her mother to return to, so the motive made it wonerful. As a bonus, she got to start her interior decorating business after all.
April 19, 2025
Book - 4.5 stars
Narration by Anne Hancock - 4.5 stars
This would have been a 5 star book for me if Grace Livingston Hill had not had such a misplaced love of intrigue and included kidnapping in the plot. I've noticed she had a tendency to over-the-top melodrama and used repeated occurrence of crimes in her novels that just don't seem to fit with the rest of her writing. That said, I still love reading and listening to her books.
Narration by Anne Hancock - 4.5 stars
This would have been a 5 star book for me if Grace Livingston Hill had not had such a misplaced love of intrigue and included kidnapping in the plot. I've noticed she had a tendency to over-the-top melodrama and used repeated occurrence of crimes in her novels that just don't seem to fit with the rest of her writing. That said, I still love reading and listening to her books.
October 28, 2021
Grace Livingston Hill's "Re-Creations" is a sweet family story with worries and a bit of suspense and drama. I loved the religious message and found it interesting in 1924 that the author addressed that college can change some and bring them farther from God. Grace Livingston Hill would be amazed at not only the colleges of modern times, but the young school age being lead further away from religious sentiment. Truly sad state of affairs and Cornelia's college friends treating faith as being a zealot.
Story in short- Cornelia must give up college even though she is nearly finished, to come home and take care of her family because her mother is ill.
“Well, I never thought Cornie Copley would turn out to be that kind of a nut. Think of her going to the station to meet her mother-in-law just before the ceremony! Love certainly is blind. Girls you needn’t ever worry, lest I’ll do anything of that kind, not me!” cried Natalie. “That man must be some kind of a nut himself, or else she’s been all made over somehow.” Jane tiptoed and shut the door; and then in a whisper she said, “Girls, I want to tell you. I believe it’s religion. It’s odd, but I believe it is. I heard her talking about praying for somebody down in the hall when I stood up here waiting for my trunk to be unlocked by her brother. She was talking to her little sister, and they seemed to be praying for something or somebody, and she mentioned the church every other breath since we came, and the minister, and—look at there! There’s her Bible with her name in it. I opened it and looked, and he gave it to her. ‘Cornelia from Arthur.’ That’s what it says. And see that card framed over the table? It’s a Christian Endeavor pledge card. I know for I used to belong when I was a child. She’s going to have the Christian Endeavor society all at her wedding, too. I heard her say the Christian Endeavor chorus was going to sing the wedding march before they came in, and she talks about the minister’s daughter all the time. You may depend on it,"
"it’s religion that’s the matter with Cornie, not being in love. Cornie’s a level-headed girl, and she wouldn’t go out of her head this way just for falling in love. When religion gets into the blood it’s ten times worse than any falling in love ever. I wonder what her Arthur thinks of it. Maybe he means to take it out of her when he gets her good and tied.”
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
"But this money affair that Father laid so much emphasis upon was something that she could not quite understand. If Father only understood how much money she could make once she was an interior decorator in some large, established firm, he would see that a little money spent now would bring large returns."
"Of course, she was sorry her mother was sick, but Father spoke hopefully, confidently about her, and the rest would probably do her good. It wasn’t as if Mother were hopelessly ill. She was thankful as any of them that that had not come. But Mother had always understood her aspirations, and if she were only at home she would show Father how unreasonable it was for her to have to give up now when only a year and a half more and the goal would be reached and she could become a contributing member of the family, rather than just a housekeeper!"
"so she had grown quite away from the home and its habits. She began to feel, as she drew nearer and nearer to the home city, almost as if she were going among strangers."
"You’ll do it yet. I can see it in your eyes. But here we are at last in the city, and aren’t you going to give me your address? Here’s mine on this card, and I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve found you. "
"Almost immediately a tall young man strode down the aisle and stood beside the seat. It seemed a miracle how he would have arrived so soon, before the passengers had gathered their bundles ready to get out. “Mother!” he said eagerly, lifting his hat with the grace and ease of a young man well versed in the usages of the best society. And then he stooped and kissed her. Cornelia forgot herself in her admiration of the little scene. It was so beautiful to see a mother and son like this. She sighed wistfully. If only Carey could be like that with Mother! What an unusual young man this one seemed to be! He treated his mother like a beloved friend."
"Then she caught a glimpse of her father at the train gate, with his old derby pulled down far over his forehead as if it were getting too big and his shabby coat collar turned up about his sunken cheeks. How worn and tired he looked! Yes, and old and thin. She hadn’t remembered that his shoulders stooped so, or that his hair was so gray. Had all that happened in two years?"
“M’m!” said the son, watching Cornelia escape from a choking embrace from her younger brother and sister. “I should think that might be interesting,” and he walked quite around a group of chattering people greeting some friends in order that he might watch her the longer."
Cornelia Copley is called home to help take care of her family. She has been going to college for an interior design degree, her mother has to be sent away for rest and her father needs help with her brothers and sister. She was thinking if she could finish her degree she could start making money for the family. Her dad had told her in the letter that he is unable to pay for school any longer. On the train Cornelia meets a nice lady who is trying to make her see that all is not bad. The lady exchanges addresses with her, because she would like to see if Cornelia is able to help use design to her new family home. Cornelia is briefly introduced to the lady's son.
"Louise chimed in with a tale about a play in school that she had to be in if Nellie would only help her get up a costume out of old things. But gradually the talk died down, and Louise sat looking thoughtfully across at her father’s tired face, while Harry frowned and puckered his lips in a contemplative attitude, shifting his gum only now and then, enough to keep it going, and fixing his eyes very wide and blue in deep melancholy upon the toe of his father’s worn shoe. Something was fast going wrong with the spirits of the children, and Cornelia was so engrossed in herself and her own bitter disappointment that she hadn’t even noticed it."
"Cornelia gasped and hurried in to shut herself and her misery away from the world. Was this what they had come to? No wonder her mother had given out! No wonder her father—But then her father—how could he have let them come to a place like this? It was terrible!"
"The wallpaper was an ugly, dirty dark red, with tarnished gold designs, torn in places and hanging down, greasy and marred where chairs had rubbed against it and heads had apparently leaned. It certainly was not a charming interior. She curled her lip slightly as she took it all in. This was her home! And she a born artist and interior decorator!"
“I guess maybe I better go to bed,” said Louise suddenly, blinking to hide a tendency to tears. It was somehow all so different from what she had expected. She had thought it would be almost like having mother back, and it wasn’t at all. Cornelia seemed strange and difficult."
"She worked too hard. I shall never forgive myself!” He suddenly buried his face in his hands and groaned. It was awful to Cornelia. She wanted to run and fling her arms about his neck and comfort him; yet she couldn’t help blaming him. Was he so weak? Why hadn’t he been more careful of the business and not let things get into such a mess? A man oughtn’t to be weak. But the sight of his trouble touched her strangely."
"Cornelia’s eyes were filled with tears now. She had forgotten her own disappointments and the way she had been blaming her father and was filled with remorse for the little mother who had suffered and thought of her to the last. She got up quickly and went over to gather the bowed head of her father into her unaccustomed arms and try somehow to be daughterly."
"brought depression upon her spirits once more, and she lay a long time filled with self-pity and wondering how in the world she was ever to endure it all.
Nellie has come home ut to such a poverty stricken home. Louise and Harry try to entertain their sister, but Cornelia is just thinking of herself and all her disappointments that she doesn't notice theirs. She starts to blame her father and how could he let things get so bad. She is to share a bed with Louise, she barely knows how to conformt them, after her father mentioned that her mother had to ave an operation did she begin to not think of herself but after returning to her dreary room, she returned to self pity."
"Suddenly she was stung into action. They should see that she was no selfish, idle member of the family group. At least, she could be as brave as they were. She would go to work and make a difference in things before they came home. She would show them!"
"She knew now that those beautiful things of her mother’s were gone, and her strong suspicions were that she was the cause of it all. Someone else was enjoying them so that the money they brought could be used to keep her in college! And she had been blaming her father for not having managed somehow to let her stay longer! All these months, or perhaps years for all she knew, he had been straining and striving to keep her from knowing how hard he and her dear mother were saving and scrimping to make her happy and give her the education she wanted; and she, selfish, unloving girl that she was, had been painting, drawing, studying, directing class plays, making fudge, playing hockey, reading delightful books, attending wonderful lectures and concerts, studying beautiful pictures, and all the time growing further and further away from the dear people who were giving their lives—yes, literally giving their lives, for they couldn’t have had much enjoyment in living at this rate—to make it all possible for her!"
"Suddenly the tears blurred into her eyes at the thought of the little disappointed sister yet taking care for her in her absence. Dear little Louie! How hard it must have been for her! And she remembered the sigh she had heard from the kitchen a little while ago. Well, she was thankful she had been awakened right away and not allowed to go on in her selfish indifference."
After hearing Louise and Harry talk before going to school about the sacrifices that were made so that Cornelia could go to college, Nellie could not believe this until, while investigating and seeing the good furnture sold replacing it with shabby things. The house is no longer kept as her mother would have it is a mess and things not put away from recent move but what about Carey, his room is a big mess and there are cigarettes butts, had he changed so much. Nellie decided she must tackle this mess first.
"Down the dull little street she sped, thinking of all she had to do in the house before the family came home, trying not to feel the desolation of the night before as she passed the commonplace houses and saw what kind of neighborhood she had come to live in, trying not to realize that almost every house showed neglect or poverty of some kind. Well, what of it? If she did live in a neighborhood that was utterly uncongenial, she could at least make their little home more comfortable."
"More rapidly they passed this time, but the eyes of the woman took in all the details: the blank sidewall where windows ought to have abounded; the shallow third story obviously with space for only one room; the lowly neighbors; the dirty, noisy children in the street. She thought of the girl’s lovely refined face and sighed."
“I imagine she’ll confine her attention to the interior of her own home if she does anything at all. I’m afraid if I came home from college to a place like that, I’d beat it, mother mine.” His mother looked up with a trusting smile. “You wouldn’t, though!” she said sunnily and added thoughtfully, “And she won’t either. She had a true face. Sometime I’m coming back to see how it came out.”
"Would they notice the difference and be a little glad that she had come? They had taken her for a lazy snob in the morning. Would they feel any better about it now?"
“Harry Copley! You answered her real mean! You go upstairs and apologize quick! And then you beat it and change your clothes and get to work. I’ll help her. We’re going to work together after this, she and I.” And seizing a large slice of gingerbread in her passing, she flew up the stairs to find her sister."
Nellie had gone to the market, she had some money that her mother had given her for a dress before she became ill, but Nellie had not spent it yet. She was happy to buy a nice dinner and decided to make ginerbread too. She started to clean the house but she had to start in Carey's room before she could feel right. The lady at the station and her son had some time on their hands, so she wanted to drive by her new friend's house, they are both surprised how run down the neighborhood looks but the lady feels that her young friend will make good. Harry and Louise come back home and see the change which lifts their hearts.
Story in short- Cornelia must give up college even though she is nearly finished, to come home and take care of her family because her mother is ill.
“Well, I never thought Cornie Copley would turn out to be that kind of a nut. Think of her going to the station to meet her mother-in-law just before the ceremony! Love certainly is blind. Girls you needn’t ever worry, lest I’ll do anything of that kind, not me!” cried Natalie. “That man must be some kind of a nut himself, or else she’s been all made over somehow.” Jane tiptoed and shut the door; and then in a whisper she said, “Girls, I want to tell you. I believe it’s religion. It’s odd, but I believe it is. I heard her talking about praying for somebody down in the hall when I stood up here waiting for my trunk to be unlocked by her brother. She was talking to her little sister, and they seemed to be praying for something or somebody, and she mentioned the church every other breath since we came, and the minister, and—look at there! There’s her Bible with her name in it. I opened it and looked, and he gave it to her. ‘Cornelia from Arthur.’ That’s what it says. And see that card framed over the table? It’s a Christian Endeavor pledge card. I know for I used to belong when I was a child. She’s going to have the Christian Endeavor society all at her wedding, too. I heard her say the Christian Endeavor chorus was going to sing the wedding march before they came in, and she talks about the minister’s daughter all the time. You may depend on it,"
"it’s religion that’s the matter with Cornie, not being in love. Cornie’s a level-headed girl, and she wouldn’t go out of her head this way just for falling in love. When religion gets into the blood it’s ten times worse than any falling in love ever. I wonder what her Arthur thinks of it. Maybe he means to take it out of her when he gets her good and tied.”
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
"But this money affair that Father laid so much emphasis upon was something that she could not quite understand. If Father only understood how much money she could make once she was an interior decorator in some large, established firm, he would see that a little money spent now would bring large returns."
"Of course, she was sorry her mother was sick, but Father spoke hopefully, confidently about her, and the rest would probably do her good. It wasn’t as if Mother were hopelessly ill. She was thankful as any of them that that had not come. But Mother had always understood her aspirations, and if she were only at home she would show Father how unreasonable it was for her to have to give up now when only a year and a half more and the goal would be reached and she could become a contributing member of the family, rather than just a housekeeper!"
"so she had grown quite away from the home and its habits. She began to feel, as she drew nearer and nearer to the home city, almost as if she were going among strangers."
"You’ll do it yet. I can see it in your eyes. But here we are at last in the city, and aren’t you going to give me your address? Here’s mine on this card, and I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve found you. "
"Almost immediately a tall young man strode down the aisle and stood beside the seat. It seemed a miracle how he would have arrived so soon, before the passengers had gathered their bundles ready to get out. “Mother!” he said eagerly, lifting his hat with the grace and ease of a young man well versed in the usages of the best society. And then he stooped and kissed her. Cornelia forgot herself in her admiration of the little scene. It was so beautiful to see a mother and son like this. She sighed wistfully. If only Carey could be like that with Mother! What an unusual young man this one seemed to be! He treated his mother like a beloved friend."
"Then she caught a glimpse of her father at the train gate, with his old derby pulled down far over his forehead as if it were getting too big and his shabby coat collar turned up about his sunken cheeks. How worn and tired he looked! Yes, and old and thin. She hadn’t remembered that his shoulders stooped so, or that his hair was so gray. Had all that happened in two years?"
“M’m!” said the son, watching Cornelia escape from a choking embrace from her younger brother and sister. “I should think that might be interesting,” and he walked quite around a group of chattering people greeting some friends in order that he might watch her the longer."
Cornelia Copley is called home to help take care of her family. She has been going to college for an interior design degree, her mother has to be sent away for rest and her father needs help with her brothers and sister. She was thinking if she could finish her degree she could start making money for the family. Her dad had told her in the letter that he is unable to pay for school any longer. On the train Cornelia meets a nice lady who is trying to make her see that all is not bad. The lady exchanges addresses with her, because she would like to see if Cornelia is able to help use design to her new family home. Cornelia is briefly introduced to the lady's son.
"Louise chimed in with a tale about a play in school that she had to be in if Nellie would only help her get up a costume out of old things. But gradually the talk died down, and Louise sat looking thoughtfully across at her father’s tired face, while Harry frowned and puckered his lips in a contemplative attitude, shifting his gum only now and then, enough to keep it going, and fixing his eyes very wide and blue in deep melancholy upon the toe of his father’s worn shoe. Something was fast going wrong with the spirits of the children, and Cornelia was so engrossed in herself and her own bitter disappointment that she hadn’t even noticed it."
"Cornelia gasped and hurried in to shut herself and her misery away from the world. Was this what they had come to? No wonder her mother had given out! No wonder her father—But then her father—how could he have let them come to a place like this? It was terrible!"
"The wallpaper was an ugly, dirty dark red, with tarnished gold designs, torn in places and hanging down, greasy and marred where chairs had rubbed against it and heads had apparently leaned. It certainly was not a charming interior. She curled her lip slightly as she took it all in. This was her home! And she a born artist and interior decorator!"
“I guess maybe I better go to bed,” said Louise suddenly, blinking to hide a tendency to tears. It was somehow all so different from what she had expected. She had thought it would be almost like having mother back, and it wasn’t at all. Cornelia seemed strange and difficult."
"She worked too hard. I shall never forgive myself!” He suddenly buried his face in his hands and groaned. It was awful to Cornelia. She wanted to run and fling her arms about his neck and comfort him; yet she couldn’t help blaming him. Was he so weak? Why hadn’t he been more careful of the business and not let things get into such a mess? A man oughtn’t to be weak. But the sight of his trouble touched her strangely."
"Cornelia’s eyes were filled with tears now. She had forgotten her own disappointments and the way she had been blaming her father and was filled with remorse for the little mother who had suffered and thought of her to the last. She got up quickly and went over to gather the bowed head of her father into her unaccustomed arms and try somehow to be daughterly."
"brought depression upon her spirits once more, and she lay a long time filled with self-pity and wondering how in the world she was ever to endure it all.
Nellie has come home ut to such a poverty stricken home. Louise and Harry try to entertain their sister, but Cornelia is just thinking of herself and all her disappointments that she doesn't notice theirs. She starts to blame her father and how could he let things get so bad. She is to share a bed with Louise, she barely knows how to conformt them, after her father mentioned that her mother had to ave an operation did she begin to not think of herself but after returning to her dreary room, she returned to self pity."
"Suddenly she was stung into action. They should see that she was no selfish, idle member of the family group. At least, she could be as brave as they were. She would go to work and make a difference in things before they came home. She would show them!"
"She knew now that those beautiful things of her mother’s were gone, and her strong suspicions were that she was the cause of it all. Someone else was enjoying them so that the money they brought could be used to keep her in college! And she had been blaming her father for not having managed somehow to let her stay longer! All these months, or perhaps years for all she knew, he had been straining and striving to keep her from knowing how hard he and her dear mother were saving and scrimping to make her happy and give her the education she wanted; and she, selfish, unloving girl that she was, had been painting, drawing, studying, directing class plays, making fudge, playing hockey, reading delightful books, attending wonderful lectures and concerts, studying beautiful pictures, and all the time growing further and further away from the dear people who were giving their lives—yes, literally giving their lives, for they couldn’t have had much enjoyment in living at this rate—to make it all possible for her!"
"Suddenly the tears blurred into her eyes at the thought of the little disappointed sister yet taking care for her in her absence. Dear little Louie! How hard it must have been for her! And she remembered the sigh she had heard from the kitchen a little while ago. Well, she was thankful she had been awakened right away and not allowed to go on in her selfish indifference."
After hearing Louise and Harry talk before going to school about the sacrifices that were made so that Cornelia could go to college, Nellie could not believe this until, while investigating and seeing the good furnture sold replacing it with shabby things. The house is no longer kept as her mother would have it is a mess and things not put away from recent move but what about Carey, his room is a big mess and there are cigarettes butts, had he changed so much. Nellie decided she must tackle this mess first.
"Down the dull little street she sped, thinking of all she had to do in the house before the family came home, trying not to feel the desolation of the night before as she passed the commonplace houses and saw what kind of neighborhood she had come to live in, trying not to realize that almost every house showed neglect or poverty of some kind. Well, what of it? If she did live in a neighborhood that was utterly uncongenial, she could at least make their little home more comfortable."
"More rapidly they passed this time, but the eyes of the woman took in all the details: the blank sidewall where windows ought to have abounded; the shallow third story obviously with space for only one room; the lowly neighbors; the dirty, noisy children in the street. She thought of the girl’s lovely refined face and sighed."
“I imagine she’ll confine her attention to the interior of her own home if she does anything at all. I’m afraid if I came home from college to a place like that, I’d beat it, mother mine.” His mother looked up with a trusting smile. “You wouldn’t, though!” she said sunnily and added thoughtfully, “And she won’t either. She had a true face. Sometime I’m coming back to see how it came out.”
"Would they notice the difference and be a little glad that she had come? They had taken her for a lazy snob in the morning. Would they feel any better about it now?"
“Harry Copley! You answered her real mean! You go upstairs and apologize quick! And then you beat it and change your clothes and get to work. I’ll help her. We’re going to work together after this, she and I.” And seizing a large slice of gingerbread in her passing, she flew up the stairs to find her sister."
Nellie had gone to the market, she had some money that her mother had given her for a dress before she became ill, but Nellie had not spent it yet. She was happy to buy a nice dinner and decided to make ginerbread too. She started to clean the house but she had to start in Carey's room before she could feel right. The lady at the station and her son had some time on their hands, so she wanted to drive by her new friend's house, they are both surprised how run down the neighborhood looks but the lady feels that her young friend will make good. Harry and Louise come back home and see the change which lifts their hearts.
January 20, 2019
Always loved Grace Livingston Hill
I just love the sweet, homey atmosphere of her books. I remember reading this as a teen. My mom loved Grace Livingston Hill and this brings her back. Thanks Mom.
I just love the sweet, homey atmosphere of her books. I remember reading this as a teen. My mom loved Grace Livingston Hill and this brings her back. Thanks Mom.
January 18, 2024
**Edit: After the FOURTH re-reading of this book in two years, I've decided that I was hasty in my half-star penalty during my first read. I now fully give this book a 5 star review and will fight you if you say otherwise. This is one of GLH's masterpieces, and my go-to re-read if I'm in the mood for gingerbread....which is fairly often, if I'm being honest. It is a safe-space read that will be comfort-food reading for me forever. I now whole-heartedly rate it in the top 5 (3?) GLH books I've read.**
This was probably a 4.5 star read, but I'm rounding up because the re-readability of this book is quite high. While I didn't like it quite as much as "The Enchanted Barn" or "Brentwood"...as I'm sitting here writing this review, I'm asking myself why that was? Maybe the more I stew on it, the more I'll like it and regret that half a star that I took off the Goodreads score...in fact, I'm kind of liking it more as I'm thinking about it already!
First of all, the main character, Cornelia, was more normal than some of the other extremely holy characters of other books (not that I have any problem with that...just sometimes it feels a little more forced than others). She was selfish and disappointed to be leaving college, but after she overheard her younger siblings talking about her bad attitude, she resolved to change it. Her younger brother had gotten in with a bad crowd, which was cringe-worthy (and is the reason for the half star drop in ratings), but Cornelia was determined to love him back to the good side. Her journey of faith throughout the book was also realistic and believable. And the romance element was not rushed in the least! They actually dated for an entire year before getting married!
Probably the main reason why I should be giving this book a 5 star rating (and indeed, why I'm rounding up instead of down), is because of the actually believable timeline of events. No insta-love, no magically changed brother overnight. This book felt like a slice of life story that actually could have happened! The characters were also enjoyable and realistic, and overall, I just quite enjoyed it! I'm sure this will come up on my re-reading list at some point or other, and I may even try to purchase it at some point! Overall, definitely one of GLH's better books and ranks right up there with the best!
This was probably a 4.5 star read, but I'm rounding up because the re-readability of this book is quite high. While I didn't like it quite as much as "The Enchanted Barn" or "Brentwood"...as I'm sitting here writing this review, I'm asking myself why that was? Maybe the more I stew on it, the more I'll like it and regret that half a star that I took off the Goodreads score...in fact, I'm kind of liking it more as I'm thinking about it already!
First of all, the main character, Cornelia, was more normal than some of the other extremely holy characters of other books (not that I have any problem with that...just sometimes it feels a little more forced than others). She was selfish and disappointed to be leaving college, but after she overheard her younger siblings talking about her bad attitude, she resolved to change it. Her younger brother had gotten in with a bad crowd, which was cringe-worthy (and is the reason for the half star drop in ratings), but Cornelia was determined to love him back to the good side. Her journey of faith throughout the book was also realistic and believable. And the romance element was not rushed in the least! They actually dated for an entire year before getting married!
Probably the main reason why I should be giving this book a 5 star rating (and indeed, why I'm rounding up instead of down), is because of the actually believable timeline of events. No insta-love, no magically changed brother overnight. This book felt like a slice of life story that actually could have happened! The characters were also enjoyable and realistic, and overall, I just quite enjoyed it! I'm sure this will come up on my re-reading list at some point or other, and I may even try to purchase it at some point! Overall, definitely one of GLH's better books and ranks right up there with the best!
January 25, 2020
story got better as it went along but First you have to accept the ridiculous premise that this family of 5 was willing to throw the whole family into abject poverty even to the point of losing their home and moms antique furniture just so spoiled oldest daughter can go to college to become an interior decorator. In fact it was only because over worked mom who was also starving herself so that their would be enough food for the other kids she ended up hospitalized so older sister was pulled out of school to help out. Once she got over pouting about that and grew up the story improved. Not a favorite by any means
July 30, 2020
When Cornelia returns home from college, she's feeling put upon and childishly wants to throw a tantrum. When she realizes just how much her family has sacrificed for her, and how sick her mother is, all this changes.
This is a sweet story of change and doing the right thing even when it's hard. Cornelia is so petted and spoiled at the beginning of the book, I wanted to shake her. But watching her work to create a pleasant home for her family with all the very real frustrations which would come of this, made for a heartening read. I like how her growing faith is linked to her growth as a person. :)
I always come away from books like this with a desire to do better in my own life.
This is a sweet story of change and doing the right thing even when it's hard. Cornelia is so petted and spoiled at the beginning of the book, I wanted to shake her. But watching her work to create a pleasant home for her family with all the very real frustrations which would come of this, made for a heartening read. I like how her growing faith is linked to her growth as a person. :)
I always come away from books like this with a desire to do better in my own life.
March 20, 2016
I've read this book dozens of times. It's one of those relaxing, go to books... Every time I read it, I roll my eyes at some of the gender stereotypes and elitism it contains. Yet, I keep going back and reading it again. It's a nice story...I like the parts where she is making over their home. The romance is kind of an afterthought.
January 3, 2017
If every young woman was as talented as Cordelia...
August 16, 2015
Sweet story of a girl who leaves college to help her family, interior decorating and romance/protégés.
August 17, 2024
The best parts of GLH's books are the passages about thriftiness and making a beautiful home with few resources.
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