I am a huge fan of historical fiction. I am fascinated by how people in the past lived. How they survived without things like cars and indoor plumbing...anyway, I wanted to share with you today a book I read recently that falls into the historical fiction category. It's called "What Once Was Lost" by: Kim Vogel Sawyer
Set in the late 19th century in rural Kansas, main character, Christina Willems, runs a well loved poor house on the outskirts of town. Running the poor house is all Christina has known, as her parents (who are now deceased) started the poor house when she was a child. When a mysterious kitchen fire makes the poor house temporally unlivable, Christina has to find accommodations for her and all the residents with reluctant town's people while she finds the funds to rebuild the poor house kitchen. Finding someone to take in Tommy, an eleven year old blind boy turns out to be the most difficult. Desperate and with no where else to go she entrusts him to a faithless bachelor who owns the local wood mill, Levi Johnson. Just when you think that Levi may be the villein of story, a former poor house resident shows up in town and stirs up all kinds of trouble for Christina, Tommy and Levi.
I really enjoyed this book. It is the first book by Sawyer that I have read, and I appreciate the way she sets the scene and gives just enough detail to keep you interested in the story, but still use you imagination while you are reading. While the main story was about Christina, Sawyer expertly wove the stories of the other people in the poor house, and even other town's people into a wonderful story of loss and redemption. My favorite relationship in the book was the relationship that forms between Tommy and Levi. But I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
I've never heard of this author, but I do like historical fiction. That is the genre I am reading right now. It is an old book loaned to me by my sil-The Ladies of Missalonghi, by Colleen McCullough. It is interesting!
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