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Harebell's Friend
After orphaned Felicia "Harebell" Darrell arrives in England from India to live with her cold-hearted aunt, she befriends the town drunkard and prays that he will enter the door to the kingdom of God and become a sober and hardworking man.
- GenresChristian
140 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2004
About the author
Amy Le Feuvre
182 books56 followersAmelia Sophia Le Feuvre (1861-1929) was born in Blackheath, London, England in 1861.
She grew up in a large family which employed a governess for the children's education. Her father worked as a Surveyor at H. M. Customs. Her grandfather, James Mainguy, was a reverend in Guernsey.
She dedicated her life to writing and wrote many books and stories that are filled with Biblical principles and her popularity began in the 1890s and continued for over three decades. She also wrote for magazines like 'Sunday at Home' and 'The Quiver'. Her writing was typical of the new approach of the evangelical writers to the young reader and, like many of the writers of the period she was particularly fond of the "quaint" child, "old fashioned" with delicate health, a type modelled on Paul Dombey. She also wrote of family life, specialising in the outwardly naughty child, the odd one out, whose motives are consistently misunderstood by the adults.
Her publishers included Revell in Chicago, Dodd Mead in New York, the Religious Tract Society in London, and Hodder and Stoughton in London and latterly the Lutterworth Press kept her works in print.
She died at Exeter, Devon, on 29 April 1929 after 68 fruitful years.
Her first book, 'Eric's Good News', was published in 1894 and her last, 'A Strange Courtship' was published posthumously in 1931. She wrote more than 65 books in her career, including at least one, 'Laddie's Choice' (1912), using the pseudonym Mary Thurston Dodge.
Note: Her exact date of birth is not known, she was born in the first quarter of 1861 so the date of 1 March has been used for convenience.
She grew up in a large family which employed a governess for the children's education. Her father worked as a Surveyor at H. M. Customs. Her grandfather, James Mainguy, was a reverend in Guernsey.
She dedicated her life to writing and wrote many books and stories that are filled with Biblical principles and her popularity began in the 1890s and continued for over three decades. She also wrote for magazines like 'Sunday at Home' and 'The Quiver'. Her writing was typical of the new approach of the evangelical writers to the young reader and, like many of the writers of the period she was particularly fond of the "quaint" child, "old fashioned" with delicate health, a type modelled on Paul Dombey. She also wrote of family life, specialising in the outwardly naughty child, the odd one out, whose motives are consistently misunderstood by the adults.
Her publishers included Revell in Chicago, Dodd Mead in New York, the Religious Tract Society in London, and Hodder and Stoughton in London and latterly the Lutterworth Press kept her works in print.
She died at Exeter, Devon, on 29 April 1929 after 68 fruitful years.
Her first book, 'Eric's Good News', was published in 1894 and her last, 'A Strange Courtship' was published posthumously in 1931. She wrote more than 65 books in her career, including at least one, 'Laddie's Choice' (1912), using the pseudonym Mary Thurston Dodge.
Note: Her exact date of birth is not known, she was born in the first quarter of 1861 so the date of 1 March has been used for convenience.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 3, 2025
Number of pages: 140
Genre: Children’s fiction
Series: N/A
Age recommendation: 6-12
Summary: After the death of her father, Harebell is sent away from India to live with her aunt in England. However, her aunt is not fond of children, and only took in Harebell because it was her duty. Can Harebell melt her aunt’s icy heart?
My thoughts: This is a really cute story. Harebell is such a sweet and innocent little girl, although sometimes she can be irreverent and too forward. I love her concern for others; however she often blurts out things that are very rude and should not have been said. For example, she finds her aunt very cold so she keeps talking about her aunt’s “heart of ice” and wants to find spells to melt her heart. She also blatantly tells the town drunkard that he needs to stop drinking and get a job, a cottage, and a wife. Part of me thinks it’s funny and sweet, while another part of me is thinking “don’t say that!” The beer spell she comes up with is pretty funny though… 😊
I found that the gospel message is somewhat unclear, with some very good points or explanations in the middle of muddled information. For a child growing up in a Christian home who understands the gospel, it’s probably fine, but I think a child in a non-Christian home would find it confusing.
I appreciated the message that only God is able to change us. If we are bad, we need to turn to Him for forgiveness and help to change. Tom’s conversion story was also very nice. It was so cool to see how he changed and even though Harebell was the one that brought him to Christ, he was still able to help her later on. I think that’s something the book does well: showing that everyone needs Christ and can be used by Him, no matter where they’re at now or where they came from. It’s never too late to be changed by Him. The ending is really sweet and I like how Peter owned up to his fault.
Overall, it was a pretty good book, although I wish the gospel was explained more clearly.
My personal rating: 3.5/5 stars
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Children’s fiction
Series: N/A
Age recommendation: 6-12
Summary: After the death of her father, Harebell is sent away from India to live with her aunt in England. However, her aunt is not fond of children, and only took in Harebell because it was her duty. Can Harebell melt her aunt’s icy heart?
My thoughts: This is a really cute story. Harebell is such a sweet and innocent little girl, although sometimes she can be irreverent and too forward. I love her concern for others; however she often blurts out things that are very rude and should not have been said. For example, she finds her aunt very cold so she keeps talking about her aunt’s “heart of ice” and wants to find spells to melt her heart. She also blatantly tells the town drunkard that he needs to stop drinking and get a job, a cottage, and a wife. Part of me thinks it’s funny and sweet, while another part of me is thinking “don’t say that!” The beer spell she comes up with is pretty funny though… 😊
I found that the gospel message is somewhat unclear, with some very good points or explanations in the middle of muddled information. For a child growing up in a Christian home who understands the gospel, it’s probably fine, but I think a child in a non-Christian home would find it confusing.
I appreciated the message that only God is able to change us. If we are bad, we need to turn to Him for forgiveness and help to change. Tom’s conversion story was also very nice. It was so cool to see how he changed and even though Harebell was the one that brought him to Christ, he was still able to help her later on. I think that’s something the book does well: showing that everyone needs Christ and can be used by Him, no matter where they’re at now or where they came from. It’s never too late to be changed by Him. The ending is really sweet and I like how Peter owned up to his fault.
Overall, it was a pretty good book, although I wish the gospel was explained more clearly.
My personal rating: 3.5/5 stars
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Displaying 1 of 1 review