Stranger Within the Gates

by Grace Livingston Hill

Sylvia's impulsive young brother has come home from college with astounding news--news that throws the entire Garland family into confusion: He is married, and to a most unsuitable young woman named Florimel! But Sylvia determines that she will reach out in love to the difficult and selfish young bride.

But Florimel has plans of her own--plans to get her hands on her young husband's inheritance. And in the process of carrying out her plans, she stirs up such strife and discord it seems that the Garland family will be torn apart, a fact that leaves Sylvia overcome with despair.

And Sylvia's despair only intensifies when the crisis at home seems to leave her no choice but to turn her back on her own chance at love. . . .

Genres: Romance, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Christian Romance, Inspirational

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

also 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

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

The basic plot left me with too many questions to really enjoy it. However, Florimel is the best GLH villain I have read. Beautifully over-the-top and I wish her and her pajamas well.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet book by a good author. The thing I admire most about Mrs. Hill's books is that she shows such a clear picture of a godly family, no matter what their circumstance. In this book, a widow and her children have been left well-off after the death of their husband and father. One of the sons has decided he is a bit more grown-up than he really is, and when he meets a young woman who seems to really need him, he decides to be her savior by secretly marrying her.

The family is shocked. In a few days, he shows up with his new wife for the Christmas holidays, and she begins to show what she is really like. It's not good! It is almost unbelievable that she could be that awful, even to the modern-day reader. The situation allows for the author to give some good advice on how to deal with trying circumstances which we could all use today.

When I read Mrs. Hill's books, I can usually figure out how the story will end. I have to say that this book did not end the way I expected it to, but it does have a satisfying ending. I would recommend it, even though it contains the worst "bad girl" that I have read about in one of the GLH romances.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

GLH threw a serious problem at her protagonists in this 1939 novel: a hasty, unwise, unsuitable marriage. If you've read much GLH, you'll know that marriage is serious and marriage is for life.

I'm not totally satisfied with the solution in the end, but I'm not sure there is a great one, so I guess she did the best she could. It just felt unsatisfying, though, a little hasty, and a lot of loose ends keep niggling at me.

But I LOVED the Christian element of this book. Many of GLH's books contain multi-page discussions about being saved, which isn't my brand of Christianity, so I find them a little tiresome. Christianity was well-woven into the plot of this story, however, and it didn't seem artificial or pasted in. Instead, it showed how sincerely relying on God could change people for the better. I found this very inspirational and liked the story a lot more because of it.

A great Christmas read!

[Laura Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tops my list for a gleefully sadistic read.

All I have to say about it is ORANGE DRAGON PAJAMAS. Which the villain-heroine parades in at one point, shocking the wholesome Christian family in the 1930s. If you too were overexposed to sanctimonious religious fundamentalists in your upbringing, you may too find a great deal of joy in reading this story about such a pure, wholesome family very nearly broken up by a MODERN WOMAN. A hard, flashy girl.

It is now my life goal to be a hard, flashy girl with a set of orange dragon pajamas.

[Brianna Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILER ALERTS. ---This was a good novel, but flawed. It's an older novel, maybe first published around 1939. A widow named Mary Garland is sitting at breakfast with her three children that live at home. She has two sons away at college. She gets a letter from one of them, her 18 year old son Rex, informing her that he's gotten married. The entire family is stunned. This is where it gets a little too syrupy for awhile. There's a lot of, "Mother Dear, what can I do?" moments. The family considers it a disgrace, something shameful. They are well-off people, and respected in the community. They feel as if Rex should have finished his degree first. They didn't even know he had a girlfriend, and now he's married. It turns out that although they are Christians, they had grown apart from having a personal relationship with God, and without realizing it had just been going through the motions. The mother realizes this, and the entire family starts praying together. This event has shaken them spiritually. Mary tries desperately to get a hold of her son, but he proves elusive. This happens just days before Christmas. The book is told in the third person from the point of view of several of the characters. The daughter, Sylvia, who is attending a local college, has a crush on a boy named Rance. She overheard one of the professors telling someone else about what a brilliant student Rance is. "A man who's going to make a mark." There seemed to be something strange about Rance and his role in the novel. It turns out that when Sylvia brings him home to meet her family, her oldest brother knows him. Rance's basketball team from an out-of-state college had spent the night with Paul's team after a game because of a weather issue or something. Paul and Rance had spent a lot of time talking, (half the night?) and after Rance went back to the state he was then living in, Paul tried to track him down, with no success, but now here was Rance dating his sister!!! Sylvia told her mother and Rance himself what she had overheard the professor saying. What was it about this guy? When Rex did come home, he knew Rance's name because of how much Paul had talked about him. After conversing with him one time? That all just seemed weird. Then, finally, there is a chapter explaining Rex's marriage. A manipulative woman, named Florimel, who's a waitress, convinces Rex she's in terrible danger from a stalker. Rex goes into a pie shop for a bowl of soup and ends up married to Florimel within a couple weeks, because she persuades him that's the only way he can protect her. According to Florimel, if her stalker knows she has a husband, he'll lay off. Rex is only 18, but it seems hard to believe he could fall for that. Then the teenager takes his new bride to his family home for Christmas, and her personality changes from a helpless, sweet damsel in distress to a bitch on wheels. She goes out of her way to insult his family and embarrass him. For instance, when Mary, her new mother-in-law, tries to have a talk with her, Florimel says something like, "Why would I want to talk to you? I never did like old people." Oh yes. And it gets even worse. The family's Christmas Day is one they'll never forget, after Florimel almost burns the house down. And then, there is an abrupt ending that is quite a surprise. We find out what Florimel has been up to the whole time. I felt like it was too abrupt, because there was no foreshadowing. I did think the religious aspect of it was well done. Mary and her children decide to let God take control of the situation. To just go with the flow, basically. They try to be as gracious to Florimel as they can. to no avail, but no one tries to push her out of a window or anything. In the end, it does all work out.

[Mary Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Grace Livingston Hill's books, mainly because she writes from a different era. Though the publishers tried to update her books by putting a 70's picture on the front, her stories are still set in the classic Grace Livingston Hill time period, the 30's and 40's. This was a time in our history where life had rules, there was a distinct right and wrong, and classes of people were defined differently than today. Not that it was better, it was just different; unlike our world today where everything is relative to our feelings. The Bible played a major part in people's lives, but the sins of today were going on then too.
Grace Livingston Hill's books always have a beautiful and exciting love story, one where Christians and non-Christians lives collide. I read her books to my 97 year old mother-in-law, Anna, and she relates in a different way than me. I am awed by the way people lived in that time period, and she actually lived in the 30's. When Grace describes clothing of the day, Anna remembers having a dress made out of that material. If I don't understand an idiom of that day, Anna explains it to me. These are wonderful books to share with an older friend or relative. You can read them aloud and not worry that people listening will be shocked by any passages. Instead they will be encouraged.

[Elizabeth]

Gee whiz! I think I might rate this one star except I hate to do that even for dead authors. This was ROUGH! There were parts I enjoyed—the whole Garland family and their neighborhood friends. But wow, the suffering Rex experienced is just way too over-the-top. Florimel had no redeeming qualities at all. It was all just too much, outsize consequences for Rex despite the faith thread through the book. I know foolhardiness can have painful consequences in real life…but…I don’t know. Just not my cup of tea, I guess. The Christmas setting was nice at times. I loved Sylvia and Rance’s romance. Let’s take out Florimel altogether. 😂

[Lady Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 / 5 (rated down because I did not finish reading it the first time around and therefore have yet to experience the full story)

Although the Garland family are charming and it was lovely to see their faith at work and rekindled when they are faced with a troubling challenge, I had to give up on this story about halfway through because:

- Florimel was making me annoyed and negative in general, and this is a tiring month for me so I don’t need that in my books right now

-and the time setting of the story is near Christmas, which, had I known, I would have read a month earlier. I think I’ll reserve it as a Christmas read as-is for this year instead, and at that time give it a proper and full review.

I’ll try another one of Ms. Hill’s stories for now, I think.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes Grace Livingston Hill truly needs to be written in the context of the time period in which they were written. Perhaps in today's world, the idea that a son away at college would come home with a wife is a tragedy, something to be ashamed of, and the ruination of possibly the entire family. A man at college is not even considered to be "of age" to marry - and in this case that's very much true. He's barely even 19 at the time of the 'incident.'

To the family at home, waiting for the errant son to turn up with his bride, there is much speculation and trouble. How will the affect the budding romance of Sylvia, his sister.

I dropped this a star on the rating because this really was a rather heavy-handed cautionary tale aimed at young people to think carefully about who they would join themselves with. But all the same, the way this family banded together when it mattered, was absolutely beautiful. And the resolution, while maybe have been pulled out terribly quickly at the end, satisfies and leaves you thinking that life will be OK for this family in the future.

[Georgia Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a testimony

If when you read this book and your life is not what it should be in the Lord Jesus Christ, when you are finished it should be. I for one will be changing a lot in daily decisions and how I speak to those around me. Prayer will be the first thing I think of when difficult situations come my way and they most certainly do everyday. If Grace were alive today I would thank her for this reminder. May God Bless you, as much as He Blessed me, when you choose this book to read.

[Partridge Public]

Hill, Grace Livingston

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Grace Livingstone Hills books, they're my comfort reads. This one felt like it had a bit of a rushed ending, but it was still good!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

wow. just wow. This sinks to a level of melodrama that's surprising even for Hill in her later years. The entertainment is there but it is not intentional. wow.

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a little sappy, but for a good, clean, feel-good romance Hill fills the bill!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite the barn-burner (pardon the pun) and not your typical Christmas themed novel. I honestly had a difficult time getting through this one as the antagonist was so dreadful. One wondered how on earth the characters were going to get out of their horrible predicament, but as usual Grace Livingston-Hill delivered...albeit not until the 2nd last page of the book, haha. I gave this one a 3 star rating because I found it quite depressing and I prefer something a little more light during the Christmas season. My recommendation is to not read it at Christmas time or else be prepared. It did have an excellent message about trusting the Lord and how God brings good out of adversity, but I found it a tad preachy in places.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminds me of Mansfield Park in the sparky villainess way. The horrible girl who swoops in and craps on their ordered, sanctified life reminds me strongly of Mary Crawford.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not long like

Found this boring. Too religious for me. Kind of book you figured out once you began it. Don't waste your time

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Grace Livingston Hill! My favorite part:

"...he might have begun to see how he had been depending too much on his family and the way he had been brought up, the traditions of the Christian ages, and not at all on a personal Christ. Though he had been brought up to believe in Jesus Christ as his Savior, he had never as yet yielded his will and his whole life to Christ. His Christian life, such as it was, had consisted mostly in maintaining great principles which his dearly beloved and respected family considered right, and which therefore he chose to consider right. But they had been to him heretofore just an atmosphere, a pleasant background and nothing more."

In so describing her character, Grace absolutely nails it - the difference between "Christian morality" and true "Jesus allegiance"!

[Anna Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars because I expected to hate it going in and actually hated it less than anticipated. Still didn't like it, but I didn't have to bribe myself with cookies to finish it (and it was an easy skim-read). Reminded me of Job's Niece except with a happy ending and character growth, so that was a pleasant surprise.

One more GLH book down!

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic GLH! I enjoyed it!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

My copy is a Lippincott Company true first edition with dust cover missing.