The Strange Proposal

Wainwright Duology #2

by Grace Livingston Hill

Mary Elizabeth Wainwright, carefree daughter of a famous family, had expected to have fun at her cousin's wedding. What she hadn't expected, however, was to end up being the maid of honor--or to have John Saxon, the handsome best man she met just before the ceremony, proclaim his love for her during the wedding recessional!

Now many forces threaten to pull Mary Elizabeth and John apart: distance, social standing, finances, a lost lava letter, belief in God, and a wealthy man who is determined that nothing--and no one--will stop him from claiming Mary Elizabeth as his own . . .

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

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

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

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that in this book the heroine is wealthy, strong, bold and ready to defend herself and others. She rarely needs rescuing but in fact does the rescuing both of her young cousin from the pretensions of his mother and also of her hero, despite his persistent pride. Of course the one area in which she does need help, finding her faith, is the most important of all. In that she is helped by both of those that she is later able to help in more material ways. I read this one before and I have to say that I always feel bad for Helen Foster whom we never meet but she is referred to a number of times and not usually in flattering ways.

[Lady Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 / 5

One of the longer of Hill's works that I've read so far, The Strange Proposal, I think, makes the best use of gender dynamics and turns things around a bit.

In most of Hill's stories that I've read so far, one consistency that I've noticed is that, if there is a religious lesson or "rebirth" taking place in the story, it's initiated or inspired by one of the main couple that has a religious background. Either that, or they're both good and religious people trying to make their way in the world, or at least they're both virtuous or inspire virtue in one another. In other words, there is this consistency of virtue through many facets and different plot dynamics...

BUT the gender dynamic of assertive-male-who-proposes/kisses/pursues is usually in place throughout all of them. This is a product of its day more often than not, and I have nothing against it, but I have come to expect it when I read older books like this. Man asks first, woman answers--the old-fashioned stuff, you know.

Which is why Mary Elizabeth's frank "you haven't even kissed me goodbye" took me completely by surprise, like a breath of fresh air that I didn't realize I needed.

Yes, it's John Saxon who does the lovemaking and proposes and admits his love first and all that, but the rest of the novel is of Mary Elizabeth's pursuit of living up to an ideal inspired by him, and also with a hungry heart to see and be with him again. It's she who's taking the assertive action, she who's setting things up for them to live comfortably together, and it's she who will more or less provide for them until John Saxon's career takes off, but there's absolutely nothing improper in how this is viewed by everyone. There's truly that sense of equality regardless of rank and whose money is whose, such that I was quite impressed that it wasn't all up to John to get things going in their relationship when Mary Elizabeth was taking on such an assertive role.

It starts off with "A Strange Proposal", it's true, but what's even more worthwhile is the responding actions to the proposal, all wrapped up in a drawn-out, satisfying ending. I truly enjoyed this reading as my first Grace Livingston Hill novel this year!

[Franny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was another one that I couldn't put down. It was sprightly and bubbly, dealing with the age-old question of, "Am I good enough for Christ?" The romance developed precipitately, just as the best man was walking down the aisle with the groom's cousin, who was asked to be the maid of honor when the original maid of honor couldn't make it at the last minute. Mary Elizabeth Wainwright is the only daughter of a widowed millionaire. John Saxon is a penniless student, studying hard to be a doctor. He sees the girl of his dreams coming up the aisle towards him, and believing her to be the missionary friend of the bride, tells her he loves her! He has to leave immediately after the wedding, so he doesn't feel as if he has a moment to lose. As he is leaving on the night train, she slips him her address and he writes her a love letter. Later on he finds out who she really is and is appalled at his temerity. I loved to see the development of these two young people's characters, set amidst the heat of a Florida orange grove in the dead of summer and a crucial, fatal illness that John's mother develops. I particularly liked the relationship that developed between thirteen year-old Sam and her cousin Mary Elizabeth. It is a moving, tension-filled story that was just great.

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

A Quickie Review

It's Grace Livingston Hill, the queen of Christian romance! What more do I need to say? Well, I guess I could say one thing: Fans of modern Christian writers such as Karen Kingsbury or Beverly Lewis should check the late Mrs. Hill's books out; despite their age, they have a timeless appeal.

Content Concerns: Nothing of note.

Score: 5/5

[Anna Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Third time's the charm, I guess! I had a bad case of insomnia the other night, so I decided to finally take advantage of a sleepless night and read this GLH book that I have attempted 2 other times to read...but only got through chapter 4. Ugh.

Let's just say the premise is...rather trying to my sensible brain. Basically a dude falls in love with a girl when they meet for the first time as members of a wedding party. No conversation, no previous meetings, no introduction or anything of that kind. Just straight up lust *er I mean love* at first sight. (Can you tell I'm not a big believer in love at first sight.) Anyway, he then proceeds to propose to the girl as he walks her back down the aisle after the ceremony. And she actually considers it! Enough that he writes her one letter afterwards and she then decides to marry him. (I mean at this time, she has stalked the heck out of him with all her family and mutual friends...ah the days before Facebook stalking! How quaint!)

I am giving this a 2 star review because I actually loved the heroine. Gotta respect a girl who's willing to stalk some guy who's in love with her and who is also unafraid to buck societal norms to do the right thing and help a sick woman. Plus she was just a fun character! The male love interest was fun in the first book of this duology, but he got brainwashed by lust in this one (yep, once again, gonna call it like it is...love at first sight is basically lust). I also really liked the side character of Sam - the 13 year old cousin of the heroine. He was fun, and despite other reviewers stating that he wasn't "Christian" for sabotaging the villain's car, I felt that that particular prank was basically harmless and didn't really hurt the spoiled rich and evil man.

Overall, I can't say that I will read this book again. Heck it took me 3 tries just to read it the first time! I will say that it did get better as it went along though. I definitely enjoyed the last half WAY more than the first half (probably because I was just trying to slog through the ridiculousness of a marriage proposal as the first conversation - literally the first words - that a man speaks to a woman...I just can't...). I probably won't recommend, but honestly, this book might do it for some people. Lots of people enjoy the love at first sight trope, and I can respect that. So if that is your thing, this is probably a 4-5 star read!

[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.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book had the worst Christians of all. Grace tends to be judgmental in that she has a decided bias against higher education (other than Bible colleges, apparently), make-up, 'modern' women, women in pants, women in fashionable clothes, people who use slang/drink/smoke, churches that don't preach her way, etc. etc. etc.

This book seemed to be especially strong on preaching, and ironically the kid who's so Christian steals liquor, deceives the antagonist, and hurts the antag's car. The hero and his parents are pretty judgmental, too, which doesn't quite work with all the preaching going on in this one. And these are the good guys? The best Christians were the folks who weren't religious!

I like to read Grace's stories, but her version of Christianity makes me twitchy. I'd be really interested in reading a secular version of her stories or a version without the altar calls.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love at first sight! The last thing Mary Elizabeth Wainright expects as she wanders down the aisle as maid of honor is a proposal from the best man. Somehow though, as this couple comes to know each other better, this first passionate declaration proves to be prophetic. Though they come from different worlds, have different values, and very different families, they come together in unity under faith which truly is the cement which holds us all together.

I loved this story, and really enjoyed seeing the characters from "White Orchids" again. I especially liked this couple and wish like crazy I could watch them continue to grow as a couple into the future. As always, Grace leaves me wanting more than she gives, but in a good way. You end the story satisfied all the same, confident things will be beautiful from there, even if they face challenges and things are hard.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read. It is very Christian and sweet, but I am not sure I would read anything else by this author. I did enjoy the beginning and how he saw what he wanted and went after it. I didn't read the first book and all the characters at the beginning wasn't too bad, it can be a stand alone read. I guess what bothered me was the preachyness.Of coerce these aren't my beliefs in the book so it is hard to read about the k narrow-mindedness in the book, not that I am picking on that religion. It's just not what I believe and therefore hard to read.

[Breanna (Ragsdale) Spires · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good and, like always, she ended up with the right guy for her. :)

[Ameliedanjou]

This is the sequel to White Orchids, and starts at the wedding of those characters. May not work as well all by itself.

[Donald A. Messenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I always enjoy reading grace Livingston hill novels. She is very strong in her spiritual advice. I wish there were more books like that today.

[Reeds]

sequel to White Orchids

[Terry Yaceyko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book today. There was an unexpected twist in the story line - I didn't have any idea what would happen next.

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace Livingston Hill's "The Strange Proposal" is the next in Wainwright-Duology two story series, it is the reversal of "White Orchids", which had rich man poor girl, instead rich girl poor man. I loved both books and the message of God. In Orchids there is a so called bad guy that really was not too bad, whereas in Proposal, there is a dastardly villain! Grace's religious romances are so comforting and even when this book was published, there was criticism of the so called fever of Christ, as is notes in the story, present in today's society is so much more. Camilla and Jeff are brief characters as well as her mom and Miss York, the nurse. Jeff's parents and also his uncle are in this story so much more and a better understanding of them. The stories occur so close to each other.

Story in short- John Saxon is Jeff's best man and falls in love with the maid of honor thinking she is a Christian but is she?


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“Saved?” said Mary Elizabeth with a puzzled expression. “Just what do you mean by that?” “Why, saved! Eternal life and all that! ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Dontcha know that? Everybody
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knows that. That’s John 3:16, ya know.” “Why—it seems to me I’ve heard it somewhere,” said Mary Elizabeth uncertainly, perceiving that she was losing favor fast with her young companion.



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He raised his eyes again to find Mary Elizabeth, wondering if she might not have vanished, if she could possibly be there in the flesh and not be a figment of his imagination. He met her eyes again and found her broadcasting that keen delight in what they were doing, found himself responding to that glint in her eyes, that bit of a smile
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at the corner of her lovely mouth. It was as if they had known each other for a long time. It couldn’t be true that he had only just now seen her and for the first time felt that start of his heart at the vision of her! It couldn’t be true that he had never been introduced to her!

❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert ❌❌❌❌❌
I was so glad that Boothby was not able to accomplish his plan to abduct Mary Elizabeth, he just wanted her to break her. I loved that Sam helped in keeping the villain in check, by letting air out of his tires. I loved that Mary Elizabeth's father is happy about her marriage to John. I also loved the surprise wedding. Jeff's mother is such a self centered not really appreciating real genuine people, she actually thought Boothby superior and her pet camp had a lot of sordid aspects. Mr. Whitlock from Orchids was a misguided man whereas in Proposal, Boothby is a rake. I also loved Richie and all except Mrs. Wainwright’s wanting to help out and the enthusiasm too! Also interesting that Stephanie is still just going to parties, as Boothby saw her at one. Luckily for Jeff he saw his mistake before it was too late!

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“Why, she’s quite all right, I guess. I haven’t seen her yet, but she’s an old schoolmate of Camilla’s. She’s on her way here from California just
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to attend the wedding. Camilla says she’s a great Christian worker and interested in Bible study, so I guess you’ll hit it off. Anyway, I hope she won’t be too much of a bore. She’s expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon sometime. Somebody will fill in for her tonight at the rehearsal I believe, so she won’t be around long enough to matter anyway. Her name is... Foster—I think that’s it. Yes, Helen Foster.” Nobody had told John about a washout on the road halfway across the continent, a wreck ahead of
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Helen Foster’s train, and a delay of twenty-four hours. He had not heard that, in spite of frantic attempts to reach an airport from the isolated place of the wreck in time to arrive for the ceremony, the maid of honor had telegraphed only two hours before the wedding that she could not possibly get there. He had spent most of the day in shops, perplexing his mind over the respective values of this and that article of evening wear, and arrived at the hotel only in time to get into his new garments and arrive at the

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church at the hour appointed. He was there just a few minutes before Jeff. And so he had escaped the excitement and anxiety that resulted from the news of the missing maid of honor. He did not know how hurriedly and anxiously the troublesome question of whether or how to supply her place at this last minute had been discussed and rediscussed, nor how impossible at this last minute it had seemed to get even a close friend to come in and act in a formal wedding without the necessary maid of honor outfit.
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“Get Mary Beth! That is, if you don’t mind having one of my cousins instead of one of your own friends. Mary Beth always has oodles of clothes along with her of every kind. She’ll find something that will do. She’s just arrived, and she’ll love to do it. You haven’t met Mary Beth yet, have you? She’s my
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very best cousin and just got back from abroad. Shall I go get her? She’s only down the hall a little way. Just show her what you want and she’ll manage it somehow; she always can.”
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“Who is she?” whispered Sallie Lane to Mrs. Sampson. “Some relative of the groom, I heard.” “But I thought it was to be Helen Foster!” “Oh, hadn’t you heard? There was an accident and Helen’s train was late. They had to get somebody at
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the last minute. Don’t you see her dress is different? It isn’t the same stuff, doesn’t stand out so stiff and crisp, and it’s terribly plain. Too bad! I heard the bridal party all had their dresses made off the same pattern.” “I like it. It kind of fits her. Say, don’t they look wonderful together? I shouldn’t wonder if they’re engaged or something. Look at the way he looks at her! They certainly know each other well.”
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“I love you,” John was saying in a low, thrilling voice, a voice that was almost like a prayer. And Mary Elizabeth, quite conscious now of the many eyes upon her, kept that radiant smile upon her lips and the sparkle in her eyes as she looked up to catch the low words from his lips. “But you couldn’t, of course, all at once like that!” she said, smiling as if it were a good joke. “Is this supposed to be the newest thing in proposals of marriage? I’ve never had one going down a wedding aisle,
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though I’ve been maid of honor several times before.”

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“If my gloves had been off, I suppose you might have thought there was,” said Mary Elizabeth with a sudden memory in her eyes. “Your gloves?” said John, looking down at the little scrap of a hand that lay there like a white leaf on his arm. Then suddenly he laid his other hand upon hers with a quick investigating pressure and looked at her aghast. “Then—you mean—that I am too late?” he asked, caring not that they were now in the midst of the giggling bridesmaids whispering what mistakes they had made, and how this one and that one had looked. “Oh, not necessarily!” said Mary Elizabeth, now with a wicked twinkle in her eyes. “It was only an experiment, wearing it tonight. It came in the mail a few days ago with a very persistent letter, and I thought I might try it out. But there’s nothing final about it!”
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He was the fool, of course, he told himself. He had gone off on a whim, and no girl in her senses would take sudden words spoken like that seriously. Oh, he had probably messed the whole thing up now. She wouldn’t even recognize him when she got to the hotel or would call a lot of her friends to protect her. What a fool! What a fool he had been! He hadn’t thought that he could ever be impulsive like that!
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“Where is that ring?” he said.
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“Here, in my handbag,” she said, sweetly offering him a tiny scrap made of white beads and gilt. “Did you want it?” “Was it a joke you were playing?” he accused sternly. “Oh, no,” she answered lightly. “I told you it wasn’t at all final. I’ve had that ring several days, and I just thought I’d try it out tonight and see if I cared to keep it.” He hesitated a moment, still holding the little ungloved hand that lay so yielded in his own.
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“Then... there is no reason why I may not tell you of my love!” “Well, I would have to consider that,” said Mary Elizabeth gravely. “It was rather unexpected, you know. But here we are at the hotel. Don’t you think perhaps we’d better get out now?” John helped her out, thrilling with the thought of touching even the hem of her garment, guarding her flowers, picking up her glove from the cushion, touching her belovedly, his heart pounding away with an embarrassment and trepidation that was quite new to him. John was usually at his ease anywhere, and he had been in the world enough not to feel strange. But he felt like a fool when he thought of what he had been saying, and recalled the keen, bright retaliations.
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Then the elevator door clanged back and they stepped into the big room smothered in ferns and palms and flowers, and there in a distant arbor that seemed almost like an orchid-hung hammock in one of his own Florida forests, the bride and groom were taking their places, Camilla smiling up at Jeff so joyously that John’s heart gave another leap. Would such joy ever come to him?


*** Jeff and Camilla are married and she was supposed to have her good friend Helen for her maid of honor but train trouble caused her to not be there on time. John Saxon is the best man, he had heard from Jeff that Camilla's friend Helen is a Christian and very active but he did not hear that she could not be there, so when he saw beautiful Mary Elizabeth, his heart gave a leap, she had taken Helen's place. When walking with her down the aisle he confessed his love but then he saw an engagement ring on her hand, she jokingly told him it was not final. He felt relieved but this should have told him something.

[Crysti Is A Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A typical Grace Livingston Hill book😅 a comforting read for me because I know exactly how everything will turn out: the good guy marries the pretty girl, the bad guy gets his just deserts, and everyone (except the bad guy) lives happily ever after😅

[Linda Hendrex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a romantic page-turner! It is the sequel to WHITE ORCHIDS, so you might want to read the first book of the series before starting on THE STRANGE PROPOSAL. It picks up where the first book left off and if you loved WHITE ORCHIDS, you'll be pleased to catch up on your favorite characters AND also meet more of the big, wealthy Wainwright family. You will even be treated to a brief "cameo" appearance by the villainess of WHITE ORCHIDS!

I loved that THE STRANGE PROPOSAL had enough action to make things exciting, but not so much drama that it is stressful to read. I have noticed that Grace Livingston Hill sometimes gets a little too melodramatic for me, but in this book, there was action, fun, and humor, as well as drama and conflict. One of her best IMHO.

As always in Grace Livingston Hill books, the lines between good and evil are very clearly drawn with no ambiguous in-between space. The good guys are OH-SO-GOOD and the bad guys are OH-SO-BAD! The story revolves around John Saxon (Jeff Wainwright's friend from WHITE ORCHIDS), Sam Wainwright (Jeff's little brother from WHITE ORCHIDS) and introducing Mary Elizabeth Wainwright (Jeff and Sam's favorite cousin). You will find yourself asking if "love at first sight" is wise (or if it is even possible) and you will know exactly who you are rooting for and who you despise from the very first chapter!

The villain in THE STRANGE PROPOSAL is one of Grace's over-the-top bad guys that you LOVE to HATE, and the conflict is rip-roaring and hilarious! You will find that the heroine is a strong, self possessed young woman with a good heart, who has a lot of grit, and is not easily swayed by evil when it comes her way. She can stand up for herself and as you read the story, you will find that God's protecting presence is surrounding her in places where she is more vulnerable than she knows.

And as with ALMOST ALL OF GLH's BOOKS, THIS IS AN UNAPOLOGETIC CHRISTIAN STORY, where the Gospel message is clearly spelled out about sin, salvation, and how to know Jesus as your personal savior. Gotta love Grace!

[EuroHackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The heroine, Mary Elizabeth Wainwright, and her young cousin Sam were absolutely delightful and when the story focused on them, it was light, readable, and flowed quite well. I would've read an entire book about their summer adventures by the sea. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the hero, John Saxon, who was a sanctimonious asshole so full of pride that he nearly cut off his nose to spite his face. He was haughty, snobby, and boring - apparently the sort of born-again Christian who was never told that Pride was one of the seven deadly sins. He's so focused on what he can make of his life on his own terms that he literally can't see the answer to his prayers when it's right in front of his face!

The book begins with the wedding of Jeff Wainwright and Camilla Chrystie, the couple from White Orchids. John is Jeff's best man. In White Orchids, he was a pretty nondescript guy with a quiet confidence that drew others around him like bees to honey. Young Sam Wainwright fell into a group of boys who went on a trip into the Florida swamps, which John led, and Jeff went along to keep an eye on his brother. Both of them came out the other side as born-again Christians, with Jeff finally seeing how he could bridge the gap to his precious Camilla.

The John Saxon of White Orchids was an okay fellow. The John Saxon of this novel was anything but. All he knows of the maid-of-honor is that her name is Helen Foster and she's a Christian aid worker out west. He doesn't know that Helen was unfortunately held up at the last minute, and Jeff's cousin Mary Elizabeth was good-natured enough to step into the role at the last minute. No, all John Saxon knows is what he's been told about Helen, and when he sees Mary Elizabeth walking down the aisle, he falls head over heels in love with her. She's beautiful! angelic! gorgeous! and best of all, she's a Christian aid worker! Finally, he has met a woman worthy of his love.

He doesn't bother to introduce himself or even confirm that he's talking to Helen - he just assumes that he is and on the way back down the aisle after the nuptials, he confesses his immediate love to Mary Elizabeth and ends up proposing to her that night as he grabs the midnight train home. He writes her a torrid love letter and only realizes what an ass he's made of himself when he goes to address it, and realizes that the woman he's confessed his love to is *not* a Christian aid worker, but a worldly Wainwright! A millionaire's daughter who is probably laughing at him and his presumptions! Never mind the fact that he considers Jeff Wainwright, the heir of a millionaire, to be one of his dearest friends. His cousin is obviously not a Christian, and therefore obviously not worthy of his love. But - oh! He just can't help himself, and sends the letter anyway, explaining that he realized who she was much too late but hoping that she might accept the love of a penniless doctor-in-training. Ugh, I wanted to throttle John at this point.

I was very glad that the narrative moved away from his judgmental sad sack self and onto Mary Elizabeth, who was equally enamored of John (and knew who he was the entire time, so no mistaken identities there!). She learns more about him from Jeff's brother Sam, and is intrigued. She decides that she needs a change of pace in her life, so she and Sam escape to the family's old summer cottage. There, Sam does a bit of proselytizing to Mary Elizabeth and gets her interested in learning more about the Bible and God, but she's intimidated and thinking she might not be good enough for the elusive John Saxon.

Meanwhile, she's quite literally beating off suitors with a stick, including one who wants to run roughshod all over her. His name is Boothby Farwell (what a name, LOL!) and he's a regular mustache-twirling villain straight from central casting. Mercifully, Mary Elizabeth can more than handle herself around him, and firmly tells him where to get off even when he won't accept her "no" as a final answer. Even with Boothby brings along a gang of her social scene to her beach house (quite uninivited), she refuses to go off with them. This girl has spirit and backbone and knows what she wants! Quite why she wants a sanctimonious sad sack isn't quite clear, but she knows she deserves more than Boothby Farwell, and never falters in this.

Meanwhile, John has returned home to the Florida orange groves and his mother is deathly ill, so he sends a message to his prayer partners, including Sam, asking for their prayers. Sam shows the message to Mary Elizabeth, and she determines that she will help him in every way possible, up to and including finding and flying one of his former instructors (an imminent physician) directly to his house in rural Florida to operate on his mother! She has limitless funds, and she wants to help, so why not? She arranges for everything but has Sam actually meet John when they land, since Sam has the better relationship with him.

The doctor saves Mrs. Saxon's life and the group of them stay down in Florida as she recuperates, with the Wainwright contingent sleeping on the plane, which was literally landed across the street from the little shack where the Saxons live and toil. Eventually they bring Mrs. Saxon back to the summer cottage up north for her health (I've never heard of a doctor claiming a sick patient needed harsher climate, rather than mild, but okay). Mary Elizabeth and her father work on John Saxon's pride and he finally agrees to marry her even though he is basically still a student and can't keep her "in the matter to which she is accustomed," as if she couldn't support her own damn self.

If he knew just how much they'd fixed him up, and how much the Wainwright fortune was already supporting him - with Mary Elizabeth's cousin buying the Saxon family property for way more than it was worth so that they had no excuse not to go north for her health - he'd probably have a stroke. Mr. Wainwright practically had to browbeat him into marrying Mary Elizabeth sooner rather than later. Ugh, I can only imagine how trying it will be to live with him and his pride. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

In the meanwhile, Boothby Farwell chases Mary Elizabeth down to Florida but spends so much time being drunk that he has multiple accidents and doesn't actually catch up with her until after she's married, at which time he can't do anything nefarious like kidnap her to force her hand, so he basically retreats with his tail between his legs.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit once we got away from John's inner monologues. Mary Elizabeth didn't lose any of her spirit, and didn't have any big conversion or the like to John's way of thinking. She doesn't change much at all, which I was supremely happy for. She and Sam were shining delights, and I'm glad we were able to spend as much time as we were with both of them. Sam might be a born-again Christian, but he's also a 13-year-old boy and he doesn't lose his sense of mischief, especially when it comes to foiling Boothby.

[carrietracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes, I just grab books off the shelf at the library, without knowing much about them. The edition at my library looked sweetly old-fashioned, and I expected something along the lines of The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer but a book, or perhaps a more grown-up version of the old Beverly Cleary high school romances like Fifteen. It was not at all what I anticipated. The plot was about what I expected, although the dialog was not terribly interesting, nothing snappy or witty or unexpected. What surprised me (and was not immediately evident from looking at the cover at start) was that this is unequivocably a Christian book, with Bible study sessions and the gentleman lead tearing his heart out over whether or not his lady fair would be worthy of his love and pure in her love of Christ. So, I'm guessing that for a select set of readers, it really is a sweet if old-fashioned love story that relates to their own values and lives as followers of Christ, but that for those that lead a more secular existance, or follow a different religion, the merits of this book are not enough to overcome the religious tone and it is best left on the shelf.

[Lo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice spinoff of White Orchids.
Once again, I enjoyed Livingston's characters. Boothby is a fun villain. I liked the developing friendship between 21 year-old Mary Elizabeth and her 13 year-old cousin, Sam. My brother and I match those ages, so it was fun to read about their antics. :)
The couple falls in love at first sight (at least, the man does) and they don't spend much time together at all. Yet, the satisfying ending left me with a smile.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this author years & years ago. Must say I have not read any of her books for a long time. This book was one the library had on sale. For the most part I enjoyed it. Its a story about a wealthy family and a poor guy struggling to go thru' medical school. He meets the rich girl at a wedding and is completely taken with her without realizing she is so rich. This author is very religious so much is on converting characters. The story was good and enjoyable reading.

[Abigail Kopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit confused by how the author thrust a bunch of characters in without explanation, but I was able to follow along pretty well. Turns out this was a second book to a series... oops? Well, I found that the characters and their character arcs were really interesting, the only thing worth scratching my head about was how soon they fell in love. I mean, if it's God's will, then I guess it will happen fairly quickly.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wealthy and beautiful young woman becomes a substitute maid of honor at a wedding, and so she gets to walk down the aisle with the best man. They have instant chemistry, and he proposes to her right there. But can they work out all the details: differences in wealth, social ranking, and religion? Since this is a Grace Livingston Hill novel, you figure true love and sincere religion will win the day.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My parents would have been young teenagers when this book was written and I enjoy having a glimpse of what the world was like when they and my aunts and uncles were young. Although times have changed it is interesting to note that human nature has not changed at all. The "love at first sight" part of the book is hard to swallow, but reading it was a pleasant escape.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I shouldn't have liked this book as much as I did because it was so fluffy and the part that takes place in a FL Orange grove made me think that Hill probably has never been to FL. But still, an enjoyable little fluffy Christian romance read.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical GLH book, but with a little less than a romantic courtship. Boy sees girl, boy falls in love with girl. Boy asks girl to marry him, she thinks he is joking. They write letters, fall more deeply in love and get married.

[Frances Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

Another happy ending to a fairy tale romance. There was a usual villain who was wealthy and obnoxious, but a young cousin thwarted his every move. Every thing fitted nicely into place, and a snobbish aunt was reconciled at last as well.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the GLH books from my childhood. I'm still getting rid of it but this one had more believable characters. I enjoyed it!

[Stevie McHugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Portrait of a Real Man

The Strange Proposal is the perfect name for this utterly charming book. Family is a beautiful theme and interactions between family members are true-to-life, though these families “stick” in a way that is beyond my personal experience. At the heart of all is Jesus Christ and a real man who falls head over heels in love.

[Cloretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love her books.

Grace. Livingston Hill, one of the best authors in her era. She mixes troubles for the females with the best ideas for the. Who get the girl. With the added touch is the son of God as the area of prayer and reading of the Bible.