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The Enchanted Barn
The Hollisters, a bright, spirited, wholesome family, are compelled to move into the country. After many efforts to secure a home, Shirley, eldest of the Hollisters, contrives a way out by renting a magnificent old stone barn at a ridiculously low price, transforming it into a house. The owner of the barn is not an ordinary landlord, as you will see, for he is a young man with fine ideals, and he is not content with establishing Shirley and her family in the quaintly beautiful old place, but makes the world a much happier place to live in for all of them.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1918
479 people are currently reading
1639 people want to read
About the author
Grace Livingston Hill
610 books575 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 303 reviews
May 15, 2025
Nearly 120 years old, this book is about resilience, goodness, integrity and family. Populated with characters that seem too good to be true, but that’s exactly the point. Doing the best with what you have and staying true to yourself and your faith.
It was a lovely break from modern day literature. Pastoral in nature and simple in message, I was rooting for Shirley, her family and the Grahams from the start. Love in a barn? Crazy? Sure but by the time the book was nearly half-read, I wanted to live in a barn like that too!!
Maybe my 21st century sensibilities were showing a bit because I caught some anti-German sentiment (WW1 was yet to occur) and the goofy storyline involving a trip to Washington DC and secret US government documents was too silly for me!
Still, I remembered why I read every Grace Livingston Hill book I could get my hands on. I enjoyed the bucolic trip back in time and look forward to unearthing another GLH treasure soon.
It was a lovely break from modern day literature. Pastoral in nature and simple in message, I was rooting for Shirley, her family and the Grahams from the start. Love in a barn? Crazy? Sure but by the time the book was nearly half-read, I wanted to live in a barn like that too!!
Maybe my 21st century sensibilities were showing a bit because I caught some anti-German sentiment (WW1 was yet to occur) and the goofy storyline involving a trip to Washington DC and secret US government documents was too silly for me!
Still, I remembered why I read every Grace Livingston Hill book I could get my hands on. I enjoyed the bucolic trip back in time and look forward to unearthing another GLH treasure soon.
October 29, 2020
Published more than a century ago, this old Christian romance is FREE in a good audio version narrated by Gail Mattern. She has narrated several complete books by Grace Livingston Hill. Download the audiofile, or click the play arrows, at Librivox: http://librivox.org/the-enchanted-bar...
Audible also has a version performed beautifully by narrator Ann Hancock, who also narrated Re-Creations, another book about fixing up a home.
The Enchanted Barn is like a fairy tale, where love, hard work, courage, and faith outfox the forces of despair. A destitute family makes a home in an old stone barn, which unconventional and desperate act wins the interest of their debonaire millionaire landlord. A similar fixer-upper theme is found in April Gold, another charming Christian classic, also written by GLH.
The protagonist is the eldest child and "man of the family" — a young stenographer named Shirley. Because her father is dead and her mother is an invalid, she must work full time and manage her four younger siblings. At work, she finds herself in the midst of fraud and espionage attempts. Her courage and quick thinking saves the day (aided but not superseded by handsome, wealthy Sidney).
GLH wrote this in 1917, but there is no mention of the first world war. The story is set primarily in Philadelphia, but she never mentions that until the book is more than half over. Through storytelling, Hill attempts to portray Christ's love, while also extolling the merits of sibling love, filial love, and romantic love. She writes in third-person, with the POV primarily switching from Shirley to Sidney. Her writing style is too explicit for me. She leaves nothing to inference or interpretation, telling all. A "no-brainer" book.
The romance was sweet, predictable, and "clean" (of course). I think I liked the " Swiss Family Robinson" theme best — seeing the little family make a barn into a home, leaving the crowded city behind for fresh country air, where the invalid could begin to recover her health. The spy scenes were also fairly engrossing.
Characters:
Mrs. Hollister, an invalid, a widow, has five children:
Shirley Hollister, eldest child, a stenographer, age about 18-20
George Hollister, eldest son, age about 14
Carol Hollister, twin to George, age about 14
Harley Hollister, youngest son, about 9
Doris Hollister, 4 year-old toddler
Sidney Graham, millionaire landlord and businessman
Elizabeth Graham, his little sister, about 14
There is something charming and heartwarming about Hill's books, even though she does occasionally become heavy handed on the "Christian life of faith" messages. However, in some books she does not even mention the Bible, as with The Best Man.
I like fixer-upper / home finding-or-making books. Just the sort of thing I might have enjoyed when I was in grade school. It's like a combination of The Boxcar Children and Little Women (and Little Men), and the movies with Debbie Reynolds as Tammy -- or was it Sabrina? -- meeting a millionaire. In many ways, Grace Livingston Hill reminds me of old Hqn romances by Betty Neels, as for example The Right Kind of Girl.
Audible also has a version performed beautifully by narrator Ann Hancock, who also narrated Re-Creations, another book about fixing up a home.
The Enchanted Barn is like a fairy tale, where love, hard work, courage, and faith outfox the forces of despair. A destitute family makes a home in an old stone barn, which unconventional and desperate act wins the interest of their debonaire millionaire landlord. A similar fixer-upper theme is found in April Gold, another charming Christian classic, also written by GLH.
The protagonist is the eldest child and "man of the family" — a young stenographer named Shirley. Because her father is dead and her mother is an invalid, she must work full time and manage her four younger siblings. At work, she finds herself in the midst of fraud and espionage attempts. Her courage and quick thinking saves the day (aided but not superseded by handsome, wealthy Sidney).
GLH wrote this in 1917, but there is no mention of the first world war. The story is set primarily in Philadelphia, but she never mentions that until the book is more than half over. Through storytelling, Hill attempts to portray Christ's love, while also extolling the merits of sibling love, filial love, and romantic love. She writes in third-person, with the POV primarily switching from Shirley to Sidney. Her writing style is too explicit for me. She leaves nothing to inference or interpretation, telling all. A "no-brainer" book.
The romance was sweet, predictable, and "clean" (of course). I think I liked the " Swiss Family Robinson" theme best — seeing the little family make a barn into a home, leaving the crowded city behind for fresh country air, where the invalid could begin to recover her health. The spy scenes were also fairly engrossing.
Characters:
Mrs. Hollister, an invalid, a widow, has five children:
Shirley Hollister, eldest child, a stenographer, age about 18-20
George Hollister, eldest son, age about 14
Carol Hollister, twin to George, age about 14
Harley Hollister, youngest son, about 9
Doris Hollister, 4 year-old toddler
Sidney Graham, millionaire landlord and businessman
Elizabeth Graham, his little sister, about 14
There is something charming and heartwarming about Hill's books, even though she does occasionally become heavy handed on the "Christian life of faith" messages. However, in some books she does not even mention the Bible, as with The Best Man.
I like fixer-upper / home finding-or-making books. Just the sort of thing I might have enjoyed when I was in grade school. It's like a combination of The Boxcar Children and Little Women (and Little Men), and the movies with Debbie Reynolds as Tammy -- or was it Sabrina? -- meeting a millionaire. In many ways, Grace Livingston Hill reminds me of old Hqn romances by Betty Neels, as for example The Right Kind of Girl.
February 6, 2018
Loved this sweet story! I tend to enjoy stories where the heroine has to do home makeovers, turning a less-than-ideal abode into home-sweet-home and Shirley and her enchanted barn did not disappoint. This is not quite Little House on the Prairie make-do-with-little given that the wealthy landlord is so generous with providing upgrades to the barn -- GLH had her hero and heroine making an old barn comfortable and chic well before it was vogue with today's celebrities and glossy home magazines ;-) But, Shirley and her family certainly have a brave spirit going to the barn in the first place and I love the her family and the Grahams influence one another and both benefit one another. I loved Sidney Graham. Loved that the Grahams are kind-hearted and generous rich people. Loved the relationship between Sidney and Shirley and that it really developed out of respect and admiration and friendship and that they were kindred spirits. I was surprised at a little bit of drama and gangster stuff at the end--it was very mild but still exciting. A great read, my first GLH and I look forward to more.
August 26, 2020
It started out so promisingly but the longer it went on the worse it got.
The story follows Shirley, the eldest of five kids and one widowed (useless) mother who needs to find a new place for them all to live and fast. On impulse, she falls in love with an old, abandoned stone barn and convinces the owner to rent it to her.
If the story ended there, it would be a saccharine but otherwise unexceptional story gaining a fairly high rating from me. It reminded me of The Blue Castle or some other L.M. Montgomery tale.
But it does not end there, and randomly throws in espionage and kidnappers and other dramatic hi-jinks so unexpected they jar the reader out of the story. The book also relies heavily on Christian lingo which added an odd, sanctimonious note to the whole thing.
The characters are beyond squeaky clean. They are morally perfect and even though I initially fell for the love interest, his sterling qualities eventually left me wanting to run away screaming.
Enough potential to round it up to two stars. I am sure my younger self would have enjoyed it more. But not enough for me today.
The story follows Shirley, the eldest of five kids and one widowed (useless) mother who needs to find a new place for them all to live and fast. On impulse, she falls in love with an old, abandoned stone barn and convinces the owner to rent it to her.
If the story ended there, it would be a saccharine but otherwise unexceptional story gaining a fairly high rating from me. It reminded me of The Blue Castle or some other L.M. Montgomery tale.
But it does not end there, and randomly throws in espionage and kidnappers and other dramatic hi-jinks so unexpected they jar the reader out of the story. The book also relies heavily on Christian lingo which added an odd, sanctimonious note to the whole thing.
The characters are beyond squeaky clean. They are morally perfect and even though I initially fell for the love interest, his sterling qualities eventually left me wanting to run away screaming.
Enough potential to round it up to two stars. I am sure my younger self would have enjoyed it more. But not enough for me today.
April 20, 2012
My Mom and Grandmother gave me a lot of Grace Livingston Hill novels when I was a young girl. They are old fashioned, but they are overall sweet and innocent. I still like rereading them from time to time.
The Enchanted Barn is one of my favourites, I like it because the main character, Shirley, is strong, independent, and very relatable.
Like most of Hill's novels the story and the main character are very dependent on the kindness of a gentleman, Sidney Graham, who goes above and beyond what is neccesary to help Shirley and her family. Predictably Shirley and Sidney fall in love, he cares for her whole family, the family likes him, and he has the money to really help them all. Throw in some adventure, religious awakenings, and a couple twists, and top it all off with a happy ending.
Predictable...yes, sappy...yes, but do I read them over and over...yes. Sometimes you want a happy ending.
The Enchanted Barn is one of my favourites, I like it because the main character, Shirley, is strong, independent, and very relatable.
Like most of Hill's novels the story and the main character are very dependent on the kindness of a gentleman, Sidney Graham, who goes above and beyond what is neccesary to help Shirley and her family. Predictably Shirley and Sidney fall in love, he cares for her whole family, the family likes him, and he has the money to really help them all. Throw in some adventure, religious awakenings, and a couple twists, and top it all off with a happy ending.
Predictable...yes, sappy...yes, but do I read them over and over...yes. Sometimes you want a happy ending.
April 23, 2021
I've read lots of GLH in my teen years but I must have missed this one. It was such a sweet read and I was just in the mood for it. Shirley and her family were an endearing bunch and their quest for a new living space ended up satisfactorily in an old barn in the country (reminded me of the Boxcar Children probably because my granddaughter has recently been reading that series!). Very innocent and nostalgic reading!
May 14, 2024
Maybe my most favorite of Grace Livingston Hill's books. I read it every so often and like it all over again! Cannot recommend it highly enough.
January 20, 2013
This is definately one of my favorite GLH books. It's about a girl named Shirley who must find somewhere for her five younger siblings and invalid mother to live. They are about to be kicked out of their small flat because it is going to be torn down, so Shirley must take a little time off from work and pray for God's help in finding a suitable home for her family. She wants to get them into the country, so she takes the bus out as far as it will go. She sees a beautiful old barn that is empty, so she finds out who owns it and hurries back to town to see how much it would cost for her to rent it. She finds that it is within her means, and she enlists the help of the young millionaire who owns the barn in moving her family out there. It is such a delightful book because it shows how daily fresh air and useful occupations can help to revive a person, as well as how a lot of ingenuity and hard, cheerful, working together as a family, can make something beautiful out of "just a barn." It's a beautiful romance with a wonderful ending, so I hope you enjoy it, too!
September 10, 2015
3.5 stars.
This is a sweet, innocent little story, and our heroine must save the day not once, but at least three times. This is not the sort of tale where one might adopt the heroine as a role model, however--she is quite the hand in getting herself into sticky or unwise situations. I was half convinced she was going to come to ruin with the too-helpful, unbelieving young man, but no, she converts him. She might have been hurt by the desperate fellows who want her information, but her sweetness convinces them to delay their dastardly plans just a bit.
All in all, I doubt this book could find a publisher in today's market, because it's so unlikely and convenient a little tale. But I really enjoyed Shirley and her family anyway. It's a book that would be safe for all ages, but in small doses, since Shirley is an unwise example.
And they all lived happily ever after...
This is a sweet, innocent little story, and our heroine must save the day not once, but at least three times. This is not the sort of tale where one might adopt the heroine as a role model, however--she is quite the hand in getting herself into sticky or unwise situations. I was half convinced she was going to come to ruin with the too-helpful, unbelieving young man, but no, she converts him. She might have been hurt by the desperate fellows who want her information, but her sweetness convinces them to delay their dastardly plans just a bit.
All in all, I doubt this book could find a publisher in today's market, because it's so unlikely and convenient a little tale. But I really enjoyed Shirley and her family anyway. It's a book that would be safe for all ages, but in small doses, since Shirley is an unwise example.
And they all lived happily ever after...
July 23, 2012
My grandparents lived their sunset years in an apartment my grandfather had fashioned out of one section of a barn. The rest of the barn was intact, which gave we grandchildren a grand place to play, and their home was taxed as a barn. The named it the Enchanted Barn from this book by Grace Livingston Hill. Well, after all these years I finally got around to reading it. It is basically a Horatio Alger story with the main character being a woman. It is terribly dated and Victorian, yet compelling nonetheless. Sheer pluck and a strong faith in God will win the day is the theme.
September 1, 2013
I'm a huge fan of Grace Livingston Hill and this book is one of my all time favourites. I love that she manages to create a woman who both fulfills the feminine ideal of the time, whilst also having confidence and power over her own life. In many ways Shirley is my ideal sweet-alpha-female. I simply adore this book and highly recommend it.
January 29, 2018
One of my favorite GLH books.
February 29, 2012
At first, I was reading this book at face value, but it was rather horrible in an Elsie-Dinsmore sort of way. Then it added Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, and was a marvelously charming and funny read, although very dated in terms of romantic honor and democracy v. station.
Did not finish
August 26, 2019I have really wanted to like Grace Livingston Hill's books. Reading reviews of some of my GR-friends I thought it would be thrilling for my girlish heart (as Kathryn nicely calls such kind of novels).
But I couldn't even force myself to finish it (I have been listening to an audio-book from LibriVox). It was too correct, too sweet, too candy-ish. Perhaps if there had been more action, more events, I would have been able to finish it. Hard to tell.
But I couldn't even force myself to finish it (I have been listening to an audio-book from LibriVox). It was too correct, too sweet, too candy-ish. Perhaps if there had been more action, more events, I would have been able to finish it. Hard to tell.
September 26, 2024
Drop from 5 to 4 stars. Doris was annoying this time, way too much of a baby for 4 years old.
June 18, 2022
The Enchanted Barn is a novel written by Grace Livingston Hill, and published in 1918. She wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories. Her characters were most often young Christian women or become Christians within the confines of the story. This is the first one I read so I'll take their word for that.
Our main character is Shirley Hollister, and she is faced with a harrowing situation. She, her ailing mother, and her younger brothers and sisters have been evicted from their small home, which is slated for demolition. I spent quite a bit of time in this book trying to figure out what is wrong with their ailing mother, but I never came up with an answer. Shirley seems to think that once she is out of the city and living in the country she will get better. I know I would. But I'm not sure being in the city is an illness. After many efforts to secure a home and now desperate for a place to live, she rents an old barn at an extremely low price, transforming it into a home for the family. Amazed with her progress and pluck, the landlord, Sidney Graham, begins to take an interest in the family's well-being. Mr. Graham is not an ordinary landlord for he is a young man with fine ideals, and he is not content with establishing Shirley and her family in the beautiful old place, but he wants to make the world a much happier place to live in for all of them. With the help of this young landlord and Shirley's resourcefulness, the family is able to transform a stone barn into a wonderful new home. There, that's kind of what happens.
It's good they have Sidney Graham helping them because until I read this I never knew how hard it would be to live in a barn. Of course it never entered my head to live in one, so the how to go about it never occurred to me. But I now know that barns are cold. There is no fireplace in a barn, and no furnace either, so there is no heat in a barn. Or air conditioning for that matter. Also, there is no kitchen, no stove, no sink, nothing. There are no bathrooms, no bedrooms, no living or dining rooms, and no windows, at least none big enough to bring light into the place. But we have Sidney who it seems was planning to put in larger windows because "all barns need windows". And he put partitions in to separate the big space into rooms, because "all barns need partitions". Barns also need stairs to get to the loft, not just ladders. And it turns out they do need fireplaces, and furnaces, and sinks, and bathrooms, even electricity and telephones. It's good we have Sidney around to take care of all of this, I certainly never knew barns needed so many things. You get the idea. It was a nice book, I now know I'll never live in a barn, but it's a nice book. Nice enough that I am now reading my second ever Grace Livingston Hill book, I think I'll get back to that now. Happy reading.
Our main character is Shirley Hollister, and she is faced with a harrowing situation. She, her ailing mother, and her younger brothers and sisters have been evicted from their small home, which is slated for demolition. I spent quite a bit of time in this book trying to figure out what is wrong with their ailing mother, but I never came up with an answer. Shirley seems to think that once she is out of the city and living in the country she will get better. I know I would. But I'm not sure being in the city is an illness. After many efforts to secure a home and now desperate for a place to live, she rents an old barn at an extremely low price, transforming it into a home for the family. Amazed with her progress and pluck, the landlord, Sidney Graham, begins to take an interest in the family's well-being. Mr. Graham is not an ordinary landlord for he is a young man with fine ideals, and he is not content with establishing Shirley and her family in the beautiful old place, but he wants to make the world a much happier place to live in for all of them. With the help of this young landlord and Shirley's resourcefulness, the family is able to transform a stone barn into a wonderful new home. There, that's kind of what happens.
It's good they have Sidney Graham helping them because until I read this I never knew how hard it would be to live in a barn. Of course it never entered my head to live in one, so the how to go about it never occurred to me. But I now know that barns are cold. There is no fireplace in a barn, and no furnace either, so there is no heat in a barn. Or air conditioning for that matter. Also, there is no kitchen, no stove, no sink, nothing. There are no bathrooms, no bedrooms, no living or dining rooms, and no windows, at least none big enough to bring light into the place. But we have Sidney who it seems was planning to put in larger windows because "all barns need windows". And he put partitions in to separate the big space into rooms, because "all barns need partitions". Barns also need stairs to get to the loft, not just ladders. And it turns out they do need fireplaces, and furnaces, and sinks, and bathrooms, even electricity and telephones. It's good we have Sidney around to take care of all of this, I certainly never knew barns needed so many things. You get the idea. It was a nice book, I now know I'll never live in a barn, but it's a nice book. Nice enough that I am now reading my second ever Grace Livingston Hill book, I think I'll get back to that now. Happy reading.
September 9, 2025
Sweet, nostalgic, vintage fairy tale with a dash of ridiculousness at the end!
February 24, 2021
This book came at the right time in my life and has encouraged me through a stressful relocation. It’s a 5⭐️ read until about 70% into the book that strained my suspension of disbelief. I worried at first that this is going to be another Cinderella story based on physical attraction, but thankfully I was proven wrong. The romance is satisfying slow-burn friends-to-lovers. The happily ever after is earned by the h not by her beauty but by her strength of character. I love that she refused to quit her job even when she got engaged to a very wealthy man. I would have preferred that the barn stayed being the enchanted barn though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2012
This is sweet romance with a capital S. Hill's characters have such strong moral fiber that you'll wish you were more like them, despite the fabric getting so thick at times that it threatens to turn dorky. Just when you're sure where the book is headed, Hill excels at inserting a good surprise here and there with enough plot-fuel to keep you happily reading. Sweet, nostalgic, and painless, the book also offers an utterly believable conversion done effortlessly by the author. Light summer reading by a master of the genre.
July 1, 2015
This book was so cute! It was slow going at first and the characters weren't super complex, but it picked up about halfway through. The romance was sweet and innocent and refreshing, even if it was simple and a little cliche. One of my favorite parts about the book was how it detailed the makeover of a barn into a home. I could really see everything coming together, as if I was watching an episode of Property Brothers haha
In all, I thought it was a very sweet summer read, and I look forward to reading some more of Grace Livingston Hill's novels.
In all, I thought it was a very sweet summer read, and I look forward to reading some more of Grace Livingston Hill's novels.
January 12, 2014
My parents went through a really nasty divorce when I was in middle school in the mid-70's. I was a big reader and I went through a Grace Livingston Hill period and read every book by her in my library. I think I was in need of gentle books about a more peaceful time. This was one of my favorites. Many of these are free for Kindle and worth the time. Note: there are Christian fiction and were written in early 1900's and might seem very dated and possibly sexist now to some readers.
July 21, 2020
Another fantastic re-read. I love GLH even though many of them are quite a bit the same, and most of them are rather preposterous scenarios. Still, they are light romances with a Christian message that I can read with a smile ... and a wish that life might really be such a fairy tale.
July 2020 ... great re-read ... reminder that God will take care of me no matter what.
July 2020 ... great re-read ... reminder that God will take care of me no matter what.
April 28, 2013
This book is a complete package -- a story of love for family, religion without exaggeration, bravery, hope, & an old-fashioned romance which is innocent & sweet. I never got bored reading this one since the author had put up some twist & turns that made me enjoy the book more. How I wish life would always turn out this way. I had to give it 5 stars.
December 30, 2014
Of all the many, many Grace Livingston Hill books I've read, this one is my fave. I just love the idea of it! The family comes together under the daughter's leadership as she tries to keep her family together by making an old barn into a home. I am listening to the audio version of this book too, even though I've read it a few times.
April 22, 2011
Spent eleven days in hospital ... and since home have been reading old Grace Livingston Hill books.
Loved The Enchanted Barn about the Hollister family's adventures.
Sweet, gentle inspirational books .... good for quiet days recuperating.
Loved The Enchanted Barn about the Hollister family's adventures.
Sweet, gentle inspirational books .... good for quiet days recuperating.
February 8, 2013
Sweet Grace Livingston Hill story. I've only read a few, but they're always a fun, quick read. I feel like they're palate cleansers between other books. This one is probably my favorite, with Cloudy Jewel and The Girl from Montana not far behind.
April 15, 2013
I especially enjoyed the emphasis on kindness and serving others. The beauty of the remodeling of the barn description made it very life-like. According to a Grace Livingston Hill book club, Grace had a friend who remodeled a barn somewhere. I'd love to see that actual barn.
August 14, 2013
If you have girls this author is one of the best. Written over a hundred books. She writes stories of struggling young people with character and how they solve their problems. Some romance of the most innocent kind. I own at least 75 of her books to pass to granddaughters.
April 24, 2023
3.5 ⭐️ There are many lovely, charming elements in this story. There are many unrealistic bits too. I was mostly disappointed in the more “religious” tone with little Gospel focus. This was written in 1918 so maybe GLH focused more on Christ in later books.
June 5, 2013
One of my favorite GLH books. I have read this book multiple times as it always seems to offer encouragement. I think this book could easily be adapted into a movie.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews