The Blessed: A Novel

by Ann H. Gabhart Narrated by Renee Ertl

Overview

It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she went to work for a preacher and his wife. When his wife died, the preacher convinced Lacey that the only decent thing to do was to marry him. That way she could continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstop. But Lacey never expected he would decide to take them all off to a Shaker village.*

In the Shaker village, Lacey's still married but living in a community that believes marriage is a sin. And to make matters worse, she finds herself drawn to Isaac Kingston, a man who came to the Shakers after his young bride died. But of course any notion of love between them is only a forbidden dream. How will Lacey ever find true happiness?

Editorial Reviews

Ann H. Gabhart's new novel takes us into a mid-19th century woman's internal struggles about her faith and her heart. After teenager Lacey Bishop argues with her, she joins the household of a preacher, his wife, and their orphaned child. When the wife dies, the minister convinces young Lacey to marry him; then, in an unexpected move, he brings the family to live in a Shaker community. For Lacey, his unilateral decision is fraught with complications: She now spends her days and nights wed to a man she only half-knows in a community that shuns marriage as a sin. Worse yet, she feels herself drawn to another man. Is there any safe way out of her soulful quandary? A paperback original.

Library Journal

In 1884 Lacey Bishop marries the preacher whose children she helped raise before his wife died. Then her husband moves his family to a Shaker village, where their marriage is frowned upon, as the institution is considered a sin. It is there that she meets the widower Isaac Kingston, to whom she is attracted. How can two people find true love when the odds seem to be stacked against them? VERDICT The story and writing of Gabhart's latest Shaker historical (The Seeker: The Believer) are somewhat dry. Readers may pick this novel up thinking it is Amish fiction but will be sorely mistaken. Recommended only to the author's fans.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169084085
Publisher:	Oasis Audio
Publication date:	07/01/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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