The Richlands

by Agnes Sligh Turnbull

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259 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Novelist Agnes Sligh Turnbull was born in 1888 in New Alexandria, PA. After a dozen years as a short story writer, Turnbull wrote her first novel, The Rolling Years, published in 1936. In the 14 additional novels she wrote over the next 40-plus years, Turnbull built a thorough chronicle of the Scots who settled and farmed rural Westmoreland County. Turnbull died in 1982.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Agnes Sligh Turnbull so that is why I read this book. This one felt shorter than her other books and did not have as much stuff going on.

Things I liked: all the colloquialisms and learning about how people lived in that time(corn husking, cider making, etc.). I love how Turnbull describes love between characters and how it’s such a sweet, tender thing. I love Turnbull’s descriptions and how she always includes God in her writing.

The parts I didn’t like (spoilers ahead) were that poor Dave never got his own wife. Of course he’ll be jealous if there’s only one woman in the area and it’s his brother’s wife. I wanted to hear more about Dave, in general. I also didn’t like that Jim seemed kinda stupid/annoying. He’s supposed to be so smart, but there were multiple things he did that I was like, no, stop it. At the end when his brothers ask for land, I’m like, why is this so hard? Obviously you should give your brothers their own space.

Anyways, I overall enjoyed the book. My favorite is still “The Rolling Years” by her, but this was an enjoyable wholesome read.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had expected something a bit pastoral and bucolic from this book, so I was more than a bit disappointed to get a soap opera. The Richlands contains the following: brothers alienated from each other due to the fact that one is lusting over the other one's wife...an attempted rape...a mystery about a possible murder...an illegitimate son...possible adultery (not sure about the timeline on that one)...a discussion about premarital sex (or as the clergyman put it, "prenuptial fornication")...and **SPOILER** the death of a woman due to a difficult childbirth. The real mind-blower? This book was in the children's fiction section of my library. Somebody slipped up. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that I liked the character, Duncan--though he was a bit of a Scottish stereotype at times.

[Jenny Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea if this was in any way the author's intent, but I found this novel to be a very compelling argument for why women should (in consultation with their own physicians) make their own healthcare choices. Yeesh.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

B. historical fiction, mom's stash, keep