Elsie's Troubled Times

A Life of Faith: Elsie Dinsmore #6

by Martha Finley

'But the newspapers say it cannot last long, Papa, three months at most,' Elsie interjected. 'The newspapers are wrong,' Horace replied forcefully. 'This is American against American, and neither side will be easily defeated,' Edward said. Sadly, Horace added, 'We must prepare ourselves to wait out a long and bitter conflict. When we next see our homeland, all will be changed forever.' Elsie's life seems nearly perfect when she returns home from her honeymoon. But not even the true love of husband and family can shelter her from the great upheaval that lies ahead. They are soon caught up in the bitter struggles between North and South. When the nation is torn apart, how will Elsie and her loved ones deal with its tragedies? Who will survive? Elsie's Troubled Times, the sixth book of the Elsie A Life of Faith series, takes its heroine into one of the darkest periods of American history, the Civil War. As the war pits brother against brother on the battlefields, Elsie's ideals, loyalties, and even her Christian faith are threatened. Elsie's Troubled Times, adapted from the 19th century novels written by Martha Finley, is a life-and-death story sure to grip the heart of every reader.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Historical, Young Adult, Childrens

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Martha Finley was a teacher and author of numerous works, the most well known being the 28 volume Elsie Dinsmore series which was published over a span of 38 years. Finley wrote many of her books under the pseudonym Martha Farquharson.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_F... or, http://marthafinley.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay, i’ll admit this was not my favorite, i got kinda of bored and there was a lot of history that took away from the story... 🙃
but yay for finishing my reading challenge!

i actually loved the history this time around! so good

[Erynn McKelvy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this has been favorite in the series so far, but there's still 2 more to go, so we shall see. 😅

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F FIN ed: lof bk. 6

[Laura Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

SUMMARY: The book opens with Elsie and Edward Travilla's return from their honeymoon. At the end of September, their first daughter, Elsie Eugenia Travilla (named for her mother's mother and father's mother and called "Missy") is born. When Missy was six months old, her grandmother, Mrs. Travilla, had a heart attack. She got weaker and weaker until she could hardly leave her bed without tiring. One day, in the summer, Elise sewing near Mrs. Travilla while Missy was playing with her toys. Then Missy took her first steps, watched by her mother and grandmother.
Toward the end of January, Mrs. Travilla was further weakened by another heart attack. She died soon afterward. Elsie and Edward were understandibly very sad. In April, Edward Horace Travilla was born. As the year progressed, things became tenser and tenser between the North and South. Families are starting to take sides and split apart. Soon after the election of President Lincoln, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana broke away from the Union.
The Dinsmores and Travillas decide to go to England. Soon after their arrival in London, they discover that the war has begun and that their own state has joined the Confederacy. They recieve a letter from Rose's sister, Sophie telling that Harry, Sophie's husband has joined the Confederate Army, while her brothers have joined the Union. The Dinsmores and Travillas recieve other depressing letters from their families. They find a temporary home in London. In July of 1861, when ththe first major battle took place.
They had been in England for nearly six months when Horace, Elsie, and Edward went to Scotland to visit Elsie's old friend, Mrs. Murray. Later the families recieve word from May Allison that Fred Allison was killed and his brother Richard wounded in the battle of the Ball's Bluff. The families again visited Mrs. Murray. Violet Adelaide Travilla arrived in early June in London. When the War finally ends, they return to America, but they stay in Philadelphia for a while before deciding to return to the South.

REVIEW: It had a good plot, and the character's and their emotions felt real. However, it was pretty depressing at the parts when a whole bunch of Elsie's friends and relatives died in the war. Over all, I think its a really good book.

[This review, spelling and grammar mistakes and all, was written July 14, 2011]

[Faith Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this not out of interest, but simply because I felt obliged to finish the series, so it seemed more like a chore than fun activity. You may imagine that I was surprised by how good the book turned out! I was so happy to see the characters again, some parts shocked me (starting at the page and re-reading to make sure the book had said what I thought it did), and another part even made me cry. Although I have read about the Civil War many times before, having it come alive in a book once more was still interesting.

The main two problems, though, would be A. How the main characters see slavery as wrong... and yet own slaves themselves, and B. How the characters have such deep Christian faith that they seemed like angels instead of humans. Aside from owning slaves, the characters did nothing--nothing!--wrong. I don't simply mean that they didn't tell a lie or steal a pencil. There was not even the slightest bit of sass or procrastination. I'd much prefer a story with not look-at-how-wonderful-we-are but character growth.

[Emily Reimold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read more like a history book with letters from home interspersed throughout. Her books had been building to the Civil War given that it happened during Elsie's life, so it makes sense that the author would need to cover it in one of her books. It was definitely a a sad book reflecting the sad times of those years in American history. I wish we would have seen Elsie's thoughts throughout it a bit more. She has consistently simply grown up and we don't get the same personal perspective of that. However, it's been neat to watch the character blossom, I just felt like in this book in particular she was more of a background character as the author focused more solely on the war.

[Chloe H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is what started my fascination with the Civil War, but honestly, I think this book (which is about the Civil War) is the one I've read the least of the series.

It's bittersweet. We lose many of our favorite characters‐-before the war and during. (Walter, my beloved 😭😭) But Elsie's first three children are born. And the birth of a child is always sweet and happy‐- even in wartime.

I love how they told the story of the war. Through narrative and letters. It was very interesting and well-written.

Bittersweet is the best word to describe this one, but important, both in the series and history in general.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dalaina Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was pretty boring to me. Not sure why but I kept on to finish reading it anyway!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my least favorite Elsie book. So much loss. And I really dislike the Civil War. The more I learn the more upset it makes me. So a whole book around that conflict is hard to read.

I do like the time Elsie's family can spend together, seeing old friends again, and Elsie's immediate family growing. There are so many good thoughts and reminders about suffering and evil. We are living in a time now where people are probably as divided as they were then, so knows what will happen, but these truths are timeless.

[Grace Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the history aspect of this book and reading the various letters that they received. I wish that I got to read more from the perspective of families in the midst of the war efforts though rather than from those who were away from it all.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emphasizes the Civil War

[Katie Sheetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great I love learning about the civil war and this gave me a spiritual view on it. But I did cry when Mrs. Travilla and Mary Murray died. Overall I thought the book was great.