Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliot

Overview Ann dreams of a marriage proposal from her poetic suitor, Eli-until Will Hanby shows her that nobility is more than fine words.


On a small farm in 19th-century Ohio, young Ann Miller is pursued by the gallant Eli Bowen, son of a prominent family. Eli is the suitor of Ann's dreams. Like her, he enjoys poetry and beautiful things and soon, he will move to the city to become a doctor.

Ann travels to Pittsburgh, accompanying her father on business. There she meets Will Hanby, a saddle-maker's apprentice. Will has spent years eking out an existence under a cruel master and his spirit is nearly broken. But Ann's compassion lights a long-dark part of his soul. Through his encounters with Ann's father, a master saddler, Will discovers new hope and courage in the midst of tremendous adversity.

When the Millers must return to Ohio and their ministry there, Will resolves to find them, at any cost. If Will can make it back to Ann, will she be waiting?

Read an excerpt here: http://www.rosslynelliott.com/books.php

My thoughts: 
I read this book as a participant in a Litfuse blog tour.  Lately I have not been requesting or participating in very many tours or solicited reviews, but this was one I really wanted to read.  I liked how Eliot used the names and history of real people and then fleshed them out with her own ideas and creations.  She really made history come alive on the pages of her novel and made each of the characters seem like they could really be living breathing people.

Things are so different now with what is and is not proper, that it was interesting watching and reading about how women and men had to act and how people coming from different social stations interacted.  This is the first time I really feel like I have had a glimpse inside a Poor House or at life as an apprentice.  Imagining how orphans or children whose parents were unable to care for them were forced to make their way without much help from government or society was eye opening.

Also very relevant and insightful were the glimpses of the underground railroad and how slaves found their way north and the very real dangers that they encountered in their quest to be free.  I was struck by the similarity of the runaway slaves and the apprentice, how someone who owned them or had their indenture could inflict whatever type of treatment he or she desired and the court and government would look the other way because of a piece of paper or because they were owned.

This book gave a very real feeling and once I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down.


About Rosslyn:

Rosslyn Elliott grew up in a military family and relocated so often that she attended nine schools before her high school graduation. With the help of excellent teachers, she qualified to attend Yale University, where she earned a BA in English and Theater. She worked in business and as a schoolteacher before returning to study at Emory University, where she earned a Ph.D. in English in 2006. Her study of American literature and history inspired her to pursue her lifelong dream of writing fiction. She lives in the Southwest, where she homeschools her daughter and teaches in children's ministry.

For more about Rosslyn, visit her website: http://rosslynelliott.com

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Fairer-Morning-Saddlers-Legacy-Novel/dp/1595547851/ref=sprightly-20




Blog tour schedule:  http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13424909


Details
•Pub. Date: May 2011
•Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
•Format: Paperback , 400pp
•Series: A Saddler's Legacy Novel Series
•ISBN-13: 9781595547859
•ISBN: 1595547851