Genre: Historical Romance
Synopsis:
1887 Debutante, Julia Crawford endures a lifetime of subtle ridicule
as the plump, silly daughter of a premiere Boston family. Julia strikes
out on her own to gain independence, traveling to the Midwest to marry
an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds her new home rough and uncivilized after the
sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to
ruin Julia’s one chance at love. Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the North Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs . . till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a
mail order bride would suit him just fine. No expectations of love, just
a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farm life.
The moment you begin this book you will constantly think, "What is going to happen?" The only image I have of ladies from the 1800s include big dresses, tight corsets, and prim. This is what image I think of the picture to the right. What did they dress like and act like on the farm? Well I obviously had
to do research myself to see what it was like, especially because it
was so different being in a rural setting compared to a city setting.
The picture on the left is from the Library of Congress website, which I absolutely love, and shows a business street in N. Dakota between 1890 - 1910. I always want a place to see where the story is in person, so this makes it more concrete.
As I read Train Station Bride I could not help but think how different it is for women now compared to back then. It is accepted if a lady has a baby and is not married, dates several times before finding the right man, or talks back! The main character, Julia, is basically shunned by her family and is considered the 'ugly duckling' of her sisters. In the meantime she is writing to a man across the US, she is in Boston while he is near N. Dakota. As any normal lady would do she picks up and leaves her life of fancy dresses to begin life with a man who owns a shop and needs help with his mom. Low and behold a mistake happens and she falls for a man on a farm! Can she deal with the mistake she made regarding men? Does she really love the man she just met or the one she wrote to many times? What is a girl to do when you leave your own family and wind up in a place totally unknown and different from what you knew?
"This book review is brought to you by Charisma Media Network"
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